Myers Goes Down; Phils Need an Even Better Replacement

In late-April, Bry asked a Question of the Day here on the blog:  How early is too early to be concerned about the Phillies pitching staff?.  My answer at the time was late-May.  Little did I know at the time, that on May 29th news would break that Brett Myers is most likely done for the season with a torn labrum in his hip.  So, Phillies fans, it’s officially time to start worrying about your 2009 rotation.

Even though the Phils won a title with this same staff last year, it was still seen as “Hamels and some question marks”.  Let’s take a quick look at how those question marks have turned out, two months into the season.  Myers?  Done for the year with an injury.  Jamie Moyer?  He’s given up at least four runs in 7 of his 9 starts, hasn’t pitched more than 6 innings in any of them, and has an ERA north of 7.  Joe Blanton?  Despite a great outing this week, his ERA is still hovering over 6 and he certainly hasn’t done anything to show that he’s anything more than a #4 starter.  Chan Ho Park?  He may not have been any worse than Moyer or Blanton, but let’s just say I’m hoping not to see him listed as the Phils’ probable starter any time soon.

This is obviously not a group that the Phillies can move forward with and legitimately hope to win the division again, let alone the World Series.  I mean, J.A. Happ is basically the #2 starter right now.  They need at least one more starter and it needs to be a front-of-the-rotation guy.  Calling up Carlos Carrasco may make sense, but he’s not the answer right now.

Todd Zolecki had an interesting interview with Ruben Amaro a couple days ago, just BEFORE the Myers injury news broke.  Amaro was very candid in discussing the team’s interest in trading for starting pitching and acknowledging the budget concerns they have with a payroll that already sits at $132 million.  As noted in the article, Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt are attractive options that can probably be had, and the Phils have plenty of minor-league talent to offer.

Frankly, I don’t really care what it costs in prospects, I woud LOVE to see the Phils go and get either one of those guys.  They’re both already signed to long-term deals, and while it’s a ton of money to commit to, at least you know what the number is and you’re not wondering how much it might cost to re-sign the guy.  The Phillies have sold 99.6% of their tickets so far this season, a number only really approached by the Red Sox (who are somehow over 100%?).  I know they’ve raised payroll since last year, but the increase in profits they’ve seen thanks to winning the title must be staggering.  I’m not saying they can go out and be the Yankees or Red Sox, but if you add this one piece, a Peavy or an Oswalt, you put yourself in great position to win another title.  Imagine having a Hamels-Peavy 1-2 combination, with this line-up supporting them?  If just one guy from the group of Moyer, Blanton, and Happ can step up and be a solid #3, that is a team that NO ONE wants to play in October.  Granted, the payroll would be sky-high, but they would hardly have to add anything for the next two years beyond 2009 and know that they have a legit title contender each season.

Amaro’s main job over the next month or so is to make this case to the front-office, and convince them to shell out the money.  Ruben has to say: Let’s not grab a stop-gap “solid veteran”.  Let’s approach this like Matt Stairs does at the plate, let’s try to hit a home run, bring another ace to the team, and then have another parade down Broad Street this fall.