|
After vanquishing all credible National League threats, the popular topic around the water cooler (do those even exist anymore?) surrounds the Phillies number 4 postseason starter. Will it be Oswalt or Worley?
Vance Worley has quickly risen from minor league mediocrity to MLB stardom in the span of a few months. One or two dominant postseason starts from Worley would surely transform his story from casual folklore into legend. Children 50 years from now will be asking their fathers to read to them “The Legend of Vance Worley.” It is fun to imagine, isn’t it?
But it aint gonna happen. Maybe it should happen. But it aint gonna.
The simple fact is that when it comes to the playoffs, Charlie Manuel is overly enamored with veterans and has little faith in his young hurlers. A few examples from Charlie’s four postseason runs with the Phillies removes most doubt that the winner is Roy Oswalt and not Vance Worley.
Game 2, 2007 NLDS: Kyle Kendrick started Game 2 and had a 3-2 lead in the 4th inning. After loading the bases with 2 outs and only 68 pitches, Charlie called for Kyle Lohse out of the bullpen. Though Lohse was unquestionably the better pitcher, it was a peculiar time to trot a starting pitcher into a tense situation. But Charlie trusted the veteran over the rookie. Result: Lohse gave up a grand slam, but that is besides the point.
2009 Playoffs: J.A. Happ had a terrific 2009 season in which he posted a 2.93 ERA and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. Despite Happ’s success, Charlie only gave him one start in the playoffs. In that one start (Game 3 NLDS), Charlie pulled Happ after 3 innings with a 3-1 lead. Again, little trust in the rookie.
2009 World Series: Charlie had so much faith in a 37-year-old Pedro Martinez that he started him not once, but twice. Charlie even handed the ball to Pedro in an elimination game six against the Yankees. In Game 6, Pedro had clearly lost all velocity on his fastball and had already given up 2 runs, loaded the bases, and faced Matsui who had already taken him deep. Yet Charlie felt compelled to let his entire season ride on a tired, old Pedro Martinez over a rested Happ and Durbin in the bullpen.
Putting Charlie’s gross mishandling of his pitching staff aside, he has provided enough examples of his philosophy to stick with the veteran no matter what. As well as "Vanimal" has pitched, he stands no chance with Roy Oswalt on the roster.
If you need more evidence, let’s hear it straight from Charlie’s mouth. Manuel was asked about the possibility of moving Worley to the bullpen soon to prepare him for that role in October. "Yeah, if that's what we're going to do, it would be nice if we could get him down there and pitch him two or three times," Manuel said. |
