Left Field Lite: Don’t Call it a Comeback

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With his win on Sunday, Jamie Moyer tied Roy Halladay as the Phillies’ wins leader.

You know, for a little while there, things were a little scary for Phillies fans. While the Phillies offense has slumped in seasons past, this year anemic didn’t even begin to describe it. Normally the “June Swoon” comes during interleague play. This year, the Phils were slumping entering interleague play. Within a week, the Phillies dropped from being right behind the Braves in the standings to 5.5 games out of first place.

Well, with a solid win against the Blue Jays today, the Phillies look to be back on track, averaging 7 runs a game in their last 5 games, finding themselves now only 2.5 games back and closing in on an early July showdown with the Braves. But as the great LL Cool J once said in his song “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

Oh, the Problems of a Crowded Staff…

In last night’s 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies saw something that had not happened since Steve Carlton relieved Bert Blyleven in 1987: one 200-game winning pitcher relieving another. After his first start at Citizens Bank Park ended because of a 66-minute rain delay, Pedro Martinez was replaced by Jamie Moyer, who was replaced by Pedro in the starting rotation two weeks earlier. In his first relief stint since 1996, Moyer pitched six scoreless innings, giving up only two hits while striking out five, leaving the field to a standing ovation from the fans who had stuck out through the delay.

An outing like this only adds more questions to the already confusing task of sorting out the Phils’ staff.

And So It Begins…

As first pitch neared at Wrigley Field tonight, I, like many other Phillies fans, took a deep breath as the Pedro Martinez era began on the road against the Chicago Cubs, praying the rotation reshuffle would turn out to be the right move.

In his first major league outing in 10 months, Pedro proved to be fairly effective, going five innings, allowing seven hits, one walk, and striking out five as the Phillies cruised to a 12-5 victory over the Cubs. His first strikeout in a Phillies uniform also gave him sole possession of the 13th place on the all-time strikeout list, passing Cardinals legend Bob Gibson.

Martinez to Rotation, Moyer to… Bradenton?

In a move that hasn’t surprised most Phillies fans, Pedro Martinez is slated to make his Phillies debut tonight against the Chicago Cubs. What may be shocking is the amount of influence Phillies’ general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. had in the decision.

Amaro stated publicly last week that lefthander J.A. Happ will remain in the starting rotation. It is difficult to argue with Amaro, considering Happ has been the team’s most consistent starter this season, with an 8-2 record (6-2 as a starter) and a 2.74 ERA.

Martinez has been average in his rehab starts. He is 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA in three starts since being signed by the Phillies, with 16 strikeouts in 12.1 innings. But 11 of those strikeouts came in the final rehab appearance over five innings for Double-A Reading.