July 3 -- TASCHNER OUT, LOPEZ IN

(To read more about the struggles of Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson in the back of the Phillies' bullpen, please scroll down to the next post or simply click here.)

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Travel day for me, so Martin Frank is filling in at the Bank for tonight's series-opener against the Mets. And Martin chimes in with this nugget: To make room for tonight's starter, Rodrigo Lopez, the Phillies have designated lefty reliever Jack Taschner for assignment.

Can't say I'm surprised. Taschner, it seemed, had nine lives with the Phillies despite clearly lacking the confidence of either Charlie Manuel or Rich Dubee. He was 1-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 21 games, but consider this: Even though the Phillies' bullpen has been stretched thinner than Ally McBeal by injuries and overuse, Taschner pitched only twice since June 19. Sergio Escalona, the most frequent rider on the Lehigh Valley-Philly shuttle, made the same number of appearances during that span. For me, that was an indictment of how little faith the Phils have in Taschner compared to, say, Tyler Walker, who has just as much major-league experience and a 2.00 ERA in seven outings since being called up last month.

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So, what can we expect from Lopez tonight?

That's exactly what I asked Sam Perlozzo, one of the Phillies coaches who knows Lopez best. Perlozzo was the Orioles' manager during the second half of 2005, when Lopez won 15 games, and in 2006, when Lopez lost 18. And while he hasn't been around Lopez since he underwent elbow ligament replacement (Tommy John) surgery in August 2007, he offered this anecdote and scouting report: "He'd get in trouble and it looked like you might have to use your whole 'pen, and he'd say, 'I'll get you four or five more [innings].' And I'd say OK, and son of a gun, he'd go out and do that and pitch his butt off and save your 'pen. ... I know he's been on the comeback trail, but when he was healthy, he was a great competitor. He knows how to pitch. He's a veteran guy. He knows how to hit his spots, and when he does, he's good. I hope he's close to being where he was before. If he's like that, then he will help us."