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(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."
BY SCOTT LAUBER
A few notes while we await the results of Brett Myers' MRI:
One week into spring training, Pedro Feliz still wasn't swinging a bat. His recovery from offseason surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back was going more slowly than expected, leaving his readiness for opening day in some doubt. One thing, though, seemed assured: With infield prospect Jason Donald learning to play third base, the Phillies weren't likely to pick up their $5 million option on Feliz's contract for 2010.
Uh, not so fast ...
Two months into the season, Feliz is batting .307 with 25 RBIs and a team-leading 13 doubles. He's playing his usual Gold Glove-caliber third base. And with Donald struggling at Lehigh Valley (and now dealing with a sore hamstring, evidently), Feliz is looking more and more like a guy who factors into the Phillies' 2010 plans.
"Him playing well, there's nothing bad about it. It's all good," Ruben Amaro Jr. told Philled In yesterday. "I really hope he does put us in a position to say, 'Hey, this guy's less expendable than maybe he would've been a couple years ago.'"
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We'll get into this more over the weekend, as J.C. Romero makes his final minor-league appearances at Lehigh Valley. But with Romero eligible to be activated Wednesday after serving his 50-game suspension, the Phillies have a roster move to make, and they seemingly have two choices:
a) Send lefty Jack Taschner, their only reliever who still has options (he can go to the minors without clearing waivers), to Lehigh Valley. Taschner has a solid 3.92 ERA in 15 appearances, but he has walked 15 batters in 20-2/3 innings and lefties are batting .318 against him.
b) Return slugging reserve outfielder John Mayberry Jr. to Lehigh Valley, leaving only four players on the bench. Mayberry hit his first major-league home run last Saturday at Yankee Stadium, but he hasn't gotten an at-bat since Sunday.
Personally, I'd keep Mayberry and stash Tasch in the minors, adding to the Phillies' stable of veteran relievers at Triple-A (Gary Majewski, Mike Koplove, Tyler Walker, etc.). What would you do?
***
Two interesting stats about Jimmy Rollins:
a) Until the fifth inning last night, he hadn't grounded into a double play in 259 at-bats, since Sept. 7, 2008.
b) After hitting 30 homers in 162 games in 2007 and winning the NL MVP, he has hit only 14 in 186 games. Charlie Manuel believes Rollins has been pitched differently since his MVP season, namely he has seen more high fastballs out of the strike zone and slow breaking balls than hittable fastballs. And as long as Rollins keeps chasing those bad pitches, he'll keep getting them. But Manuel also believes Rollins' homer-hitting days aren't a thing of the past. "If he did it once, why can't he do it again?" he said. "He's 30 years old."
