Comparing Phillies 2009 bullpen to the current bunch

Danys Baez is set to take a physical and finalize his two-year deal with the Phillies this week, which may be the last significant move the Phils make this offseason, according to Todd Zolecki. Apparently, Ruben Amaro may still sign a couple muppets and your uncle Jimbo, but the days of signing “significant” talent like Danys Baez and his 4.04 career ERA may over with. In other words, get ready for another ride on The Bullpen. Scares the bageezus outta me.

I thought I’d compare this year’s bullpen to last year to see if we’ve gained any ground at all so far, so here goes nothin’:

Closer: No change. Brad Lidge posted a 7.21 ERA and netted 20 saves (31 saves minus the 11 he blew) as the closer for the eventual National League champs. Let’s put it this way: I don’t think it’s possible to repeat the worst closer performance in the history of closers, so I’ll say we improved slightly no matter what happens. Charlie can’t throw him out there the way he did last year if the struggles continue, right? Anybody wanna back me up on that and make me feel better?

Setup: Ryan Madson stays. Scott Eyre and Clay Condrey combined for a 2.38 ERA over 72 innings for the Phils last year and as of right now, neither will not be back for 2010. J.C. Romero returns and it looks like Baez will join him and Madson as the go-to guys in the latter innings. Romero and Baez combined for a 3.77 ERA last season in 88.1 innings, with only 16.2 of those coming from Romero. J.C.’s coming off of an injury and a long layoff, so I wouldn’t expect him to be the shut-down reliever we’re used to. Baez is coming from the AL East, so it’s possible he could look better in a Phils uniform than what he did last year with the Orioles.

Overall, I’d say 2.38 is lower than 3.77, so it looks like we had a better crew setting things up for impending disaster (Lidge) in 2009 than we currently do.

The Rest: Chad Durbin stays. Chan Ho Park, Tyler Walker and Jack Taschner combined for a 3.30 ERA over 114.2 innings and if it wasn’t for “Take out the” Taschner, that ERA would be a lot lower. As of right now, that group is gone, and likely replaced with some combination of Antonio Bastardo (6.46 ERA in 6 games), Drew Carpenter (11.12 ERA in 3 games), Sergio Escalona (4.61 ERA in 14 games) and Mike Zagurski, who posted a 3.57 ERA in 45 games at Double-A Clearwater last year.

I’d say this year’s bunch might make us beg for the ’08 and ’09 versions that we took for granted.

Overall, this year’s bullpen is essentially the opposite of what you’d want from a team that is supposed to contend for a World Series championship: A closer coming off a miserable season and very little depth with inexperienced middle relievers.

One good sign is that last year’s horrible bullpen turned it around about when Cliff Lee came on board and consistently pitched deep into games, saving the pen. Halladay should do that even better than Lee, and this time, for a full season.

Romero delivers the funny in his latest role for the Phils

What happens when you pair a recently suspended major league pitcher with a drunken fan from an opposing team? One outrageously bad decision after another.

Following a Phillies road game against Tampa Bay, an avid Rays fan (played by Some Drunk Guy) is denied an autograph request from Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero that inevitably leads to side-spiltting shenanigans.

Will Romero learn his lesson to let drunk guys do what they do best (pop off at the mouth)? Will ‘Some Drunk Guy’ grow a pair and accept responsibility for what happens when you pop off at the mouth to a large human being? Stay tuned . . .

Phils still trying to make the best of year-long home funk

The Phillies dropped another home game, this time to the Blue Jays in an 8-3 extra-inning bullpen meltdown. The loss gives the team a 13-17 record at home compared to their major league-best 23-9 record on the road.

Despite their continued headaches at home, players like J.C. Romero and Clay Condrey have still managed to stay positive in an almost Bob Ross-like way.

“Bob Ross was a pretty cool guy and you can learn a lot from watching his old shows,” Condrey said after the game. “You’ll learn that allowing five runs in 1/3 of an inning isn’t really a ‘mistake’, just a happy little accident.”