After beating the first place St Louis Cardinals the Philadelphia Phillies looked as though they were going to go on a roll and take charge in the National League East. After being swept in New York and losing 2 out of 3 at home to the Braves, question marks about what is missing arise. The lineup certainly is not the question nor is the bench. Starting pitching has been poor but in the last 5 games (in which they have lost 4) they have had 3 solid starts. While the starters are far from off the hook, the issue that has surfaced has been a lack of depth in the bullpen.
Brad Lidge will (hopefully) work his mechanical issues out and return to form. Ryan Madson has shown that he can handle the eighth inning. What is missing is the piece that J.C. Romero provides. The extra set up man that can pitch in the seventh and eighth inning. Clay Condrey has done a nice job but even Ruben Amaro said that the later innings were not the right role for him. Scott Eyre is a situational guy and J.A. Happ is a starter who is just learning the ropes of how to be a mop up man.
Then there is Jack Taschner. Trashner should not be put in any role except that of long relief when the team is way out of a game. He has proven to be unreliable and can not get the job done, especially in a set up role. I do not necessarily blame Charlie Manuel for bringing him into yesterday's game to preserve the lead because Manuel has no one else.
As I said before Spring Training, then again during Spring Training, the Phillies are World Champions and if they want to defend their title, they need to get an additional set up man quality pitcher in their bullpen. Yes J.C. Romero will be back in a few weeks, but the addition of another quality arm will keep their relievers fresh and provide a back up if Brad Lidge can not fix his mechanics, has further knee problems, or another pitcher goes down.
The Phillies have plenty of trade bait in their organization to acquire this pitcher. We are not asking for a staff ace or a guy that can hit 50 homeruns. Just a relief pitcher. Make the move and lets solidify this bullpen.
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