Yesterday's Phillies-Marlins game was an excellent case study in exactly what is wrong with the Phillies bullpen. In their defense, Joseph Durbin Durbin couldn't even get an out against the Teal Bastards while spotting them seven runs, forcing the 'pen to cover a full eight innings. Four different relievers were used, but the difference between each pitcher was like night and day.
Clay Condrey and the returning Francisco Rosario pitching a combined 5 scoreless innings, but Jose Mesa turned the prospect of a tasty reliever ice cream sandwich into a rancid Reuben by giving up two runs in 2 IP. Not to be outdone, Antonio Alfonseca coughed up three more runs in his one inning of work, including a home run to budding Phillie Killer Cody Ross.
I'll reiterate my point by grading each reliever's performance with a reminder of how old each player is (supposedly)...
Condrey (32): Good
Mesa (41): Bad
Rosario (26): Surprisingly good
Alfonseca ("35"): Terrible
This is the sort of up-and-down incompetence you get from the typical Adam Eaton start, and it threatens to take the wind out of the recently high-flying Phils' sails. With all of the attention garnered by the Phillies' young offensive stars, it's easy to forget that there are some older dudes on this squad.
Who would have thought that aged pitchers who have bounced around to so many teams would be breaking down near the end of the season? Sure, you don't want a bunch of guys just learning the hopes to be thrown in the heat of a pennant race, but it's time to reconsider the heavy emphasis a lot of baseball people place on "veteran experience."
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1 comment:
I feel like there are allot of parallels between the Yankees and the Phillies.
Or maybe I just think that because they both swept their respective division leaders to make the race "interesting" and proceeded to lose to a basement dweller from Florida.
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