Aug. 5 -- IT'S A SETUP (plus, reader poll)

Before this season, Chad Durbin had pitched for five organizations in the past six years. He had signed three times as a minor-league free agent. He got waived once. He had ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow. He posted a 5.75 ERA in 114 major-league appearances.

And after the Phillies signed him to a one-year, $900,000 contract in December, he was the "other guy" in a press conference to introduce newly signed Geoff Jenkins.

But, without Durbin, where would the Phillies be?

Durbin has appeared in 46 games and allowed a run in only nine. His 1.77 ERA ranks third in the NL among relievers with 40 or more innings. Never a strikeout pitcher, he has fanned 50 batters in 61 innings and has served seemingly every role for Charlie Manuel, pitching in the fourth inning and the 10th, in tie games and with four-run deficits and four-run leads. And since Tom Gordon went on the disabled list last month, Durbin has been the Phils' primary eighth-inning right-hander. He appeared in five games during last week's six-game road trip and has joined J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge as a formidable trio in the NL's top bullpen.

If Durbin wasn't an unheralded setup man, he might've been an All-Star.

"I'm throwing a better cutter now, a better changeup, a better sinker, a better breaking ball, than I ever have," he told me before Sunday night's game in St. Louis.

In today's News Journal, we examine Durbin's breakout season, and here's a look at where his ERA ranks among relievers with at least 40 innings pitched.

1. Joe Nathan, Twins -- 1.18
2. Hong-Chih Kuo, Dodgers -- 1.20
3. Scott Downs, Blue Jays -- 1.37
4. Joakim Soria, Royals -- 1.42
5. Mariano Rivera, Yankees -- 1.49
6. Taylor Buchholz, Rockies -- 1.61
7. Chad Durbin, Phillies -- 1.77
Others: 9. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox -- 2.05; 15. Brad Lidge, Phillies -- 2.25; 15. J.C. Romero, Phillies -- 2.25; 17. Billy Wagner, Mets -- 2.30; 18. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels -- 2.42; 29. Brian Fuentes, Rockies -- 2.86; 37. Kerry Wood, Cubs -- 3.02

So, here's my question for y'all this morning: Is Durbin the Phillies' unsung hero? If not, who is?

***
Back in May, I wrote a story about Durbin's stake in a recruiting Web site, which is up and running. And, on Aug. 25, Durbin will be at Frawley Stadium with his partner, Jake Chapman, for a clinic. Durbin and Chapman both pitched for the Blue Rocks in 1998.