We have a tentative roster.
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007Looks like I was off on one point, namely they went with all 15 eligible position players instead of 14. Given that the series is going to include two off days and also comes after two days off, that’s probably reasonable. It also indicates fairly clearly to me that they are very worried about Carlos Ruiz.
Even with only 6 relievers, there’s room for quibbling. The top four (Myers, Gordon, Romero, and Condrey) aren’t a surprise and probably weren’t that hard to pick. It’s the last two, Alfonseca and Mesa, where I’ve got some issues. Apparently Geary is fighting elbow problems which explains why he isn’t there and why Alfonseca is there. Alfonseca has at least been occasionally useful this year and has had enough rest that they might sneak a decent outing out of him. But Mesa? Why? I’m not that impressed with most of the other relievers but I still take virtually any of them over Mesa.
Also of concern is that only Condrey has done anything in terms of long-work out of the pen, so they could get caught short. On the other hand Manuel is apparently planning to keep Lohse in the bullpen for the first two games, the same way he was used the last week or so. I have to say I really like that approach. It’s certainly not conventional, but under the circumstances I think it’s likely to be the best use of the available resources. If they need him for an inning or two on Thursday they can move Moyer to start Saturday and Lohse should be ready to go Sunday if needed. I’ve criticized Manuel for going too much by the book in the past, but this is a welcome change from that.
One other interesting fact is that with the first two games starting at 3, shadows on the field are going to be a real issue and the starting pitchers may fare much better than would be expected from these particular offenses.
Man, we’ve been waiting 14 years for this and it’s finally about here. Let’s go Phils!