This Has Not Been An Easy 44 Hours For Me

Ever since our heroes last were on a baseball field 44-hours ago, triumphant 8-6 over the New York Yankees, my stomach has been in knots in anticipation for this game and this moment. It may not be 1999 anymore, but Pedro Martinez and Andy Pettitte are about to take the mound in Game 6 of the World Series. Just think about that. How great will this night be, even if the Phillies don't win. We are about to witness what might be one of the biggest World Series games of all time.

You don't think this is a big deal? Everyone in this whole area is up in arms over this series. You either support the Phillies or you support the Yankees, and everyone I've encountered in the past week has an opinion. The campus of Bloomsburg is literally split 50-50. 50% are Phillies fans. 50% are Yankees fans. I have seen as many A-Rod shirts as I have Utley and Howard shirts. Regardless of what happens, tonight, and I want this on record before hand as I'm not sure if I may be too nauseous to say this, but this has been a hell of a fun World Series and hell, I might by the complete DVD of this like I did with the Phillies-Rays series if the Yankees win.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the game. Game 6 of the World Series does not come around everyday.

Hold on a second, before I get some dinner and start the live blog, I need to feed Pedro his bottle.....

Despite the overbearing arrogance of it, unlike the Victorino in a cheerleader skirt cover at the start of the series, this cover is actually funny and it did get a chuckle out of them and not one of "HA, you guys are dreaming."

Will The Phillies Game 3 Starter Please Stand Up.....

Pedro Martinez, come on down, you're the next contestant on Start For The Phillies In Game 3 Of The NLDS!!!! Via The AP.

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel chose the aging right-hander over J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton, who made cameo appearances out of the bullpen Thursday, to face the Colorado Rockies in Game 3 of their NL playoff series Saturday night.

The best-of-five series is tied at one game each.

Martinez is 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA in the postseason, and Manuel said he likes his history in cold weather, too. The forecast for Game 3 calls for temperatures dipping into the 20s with snow flurries.

The 37-year-old Martinez sat out most of the year before signing with the Phillies as a free agent last in the season. He went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts.

So Pedro it is!

This is one of the benefits of having a deep starting pitcher roster, although, ever since his 8-inning shutout performance against the Mets, it seems as if his play has dropped off a bit.

This decision will ultimately judged based on hindsight. If Pedro pitches really well and has a great game, then it will provide the city of Philadelphia with a playoff moment it will celebrate for a long, long time. But if he falters, Charlie Manual will become a big-time goat and his decision to pitch both Blanton and Happ in Game 2 will be forever scorned upon.

Just When You Thought The Phillies Starting Pitcher Controversies Were Over.....

....Jamie Moyer comes in in relief of Pedro Martinez after a long rain delay and pitches the last 6 innings of the game, giving up only 2 hits in the process and no runs. And that's not to say that Martinez was necessarily bad, as he allowed 1 run and 2 hits in 3 innings, a pace that if kept, the Phillies would be giddy if he kept through 9 innings of play, but Moyer tore the house down. Now in all likelihood, Jamie Moyer won't get called back to the starting rotation unless there is an injury to a starting pitcher, but regardless, even though he is now a member of The Pen, tonight was Old Man (or GrandPaPa as we call him in the JFein household, even though he is not actually a grandfather) Jamie Moyer's night as the Phils won 5-1, in large part thanks to Moyer.

Moyer relieves Pedro in rainy Phils win (Phillies.com)

Pedro Martinez To Start Wednesday; Jamie Moyer To The Pen

All things considered, I guess this really is not much of a surprise. With the announcement last week that J.A. Happ would remain in the starting rotation, it was only a matter of time before the Phillies officially announced that Martinez would be in the starting rotation and Old Man Jamie Moyer would move to The Pen. And that is exactly what happened. From ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that Martinez will make his first start of the season on Wednesday at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Manager Charlie Manuel informed Moyer on Monday that he will move to the bullpen.

Martinez, 37, last pitched for the New York Mets in 2008, going 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts before injuries put him on the shelf. The Phillies signed him on July 15 and immediately put him on the disabled list with a shoulder strain.

In three rehabilitation starts in the minor leagues, Martinez went 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA.

"Based on our reports on how Pedro has pitched in his rehab starts, we felt it was time to move him into our rotation," Manuel said. "Jamie was a total professional and team player when we let him know of the decision to move him to the bullpen. He has been and will continue to be a very important part of this team."

In addition, Rodrigo Lopez has now been optioned back to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (I seriously doubt that there is any minor league affiliate period that has a team name than the Iron Pigs). And while I am certainly open to giving Martinez this chance, I am a little worried about Moyer in The Pen just because this is not really his style. Moyer is the type that typically struggles early and gets into a groove later (although he did the opposite yesterday), and that style may not play out so great in a bullpen. Alas, we'll just have to wait and see.

J.A. Happ To Remain In The Phils Starting Rotation; Possible 6-Man Rotation???

Ever since the Phillies signed Cliff Lee there was rampant speculation as to who would be the latest member of The Pen. The likely candidates at the time were Pedro Martinez and J.A. Happ with an outside shot of Old Man Jamie Moyer being demoted. Well, it looks like we can scratch one of those names off the list as Ruben Amaro, Jr. has stated that J.A. Happ will remain in the Phillies starting rotation. Via CSN Philly.

Call it a crazy convergence of unnatural forces. No one thought a three-time Cy Young Award winner and one of the best pitchers of a generation would be vying for a spot in the Phillies’ rotation along with a 23-season veteran with more career wins than Bob Gibson and Happ, who very well could be the NL Rookie of the Year.

Of course no one thought the Phillies would have another Cy Young Award winner fronting the rotation in Cliff Lee, either. So if the Phillies have been caught a little off guard, it’s understandable. Besides, it’s not the planning anyone cares about – it’s the result of it all.

So thanks in part to the 10-strikeout performance in Wednesday night’s shutout as well as the most consistent work of any starter on the club all season long, Happ and his 8-2 record and 2.74 ERA will remain in the starting rotation.

“Happ’s not going anywhere. He’s not going out of the rotation,” Amaro said. “He deserves to stay in the rotation. He’s pitched very well. He’s probably been our most effective starter.”

With Happ in the starting five, the Phillies have lefties Lee and Cole Hamels as well as the resurgent Joe Blanton. The final spot is currently taken up by veteran lefty Jamie Moyer, which is the biggest point of contention. Since Martinez is ready to be activated whenever the Phillies give the OK, the question is what to do with Moyer?

Though he leads the team in wins with 10 (and losses with eight), Moyer is the weakest link of the current five starters. His ERA is the second-worst in the league amongst the 49 starters that qualify for the ERA title with a 5.55 mark that explodes over 6 when his three starts against the Marlins are eliminated.

However, Moyer’s soft stuff likely won’t play well in the bullpen. Neither will the fact that he needs ample time to warm up before pitching. Plus, to be fair, the Marlins are the Phillies’ closest competitors and Moyer has owned them (13-2 in 15 career starts).

Aye, there’s the rub.

“We still haven’t made a decision,” Amaro said. “But it’s not out of the realm of possibility that six guys could pitch in our rotation.”

Well then! That last part certainly caught me a bit off guard. I was not quite expecting to read that, I guess because a 6-man rotation is unheard of, but at this point it might actually make some sense. Jamie Moyer, and I truly love the guy as a player, is not a bullpen pitcher. His struggles frequently come in the early innings of games, and when you are a bullpen pitcher, you need to come off the bench and get out of the inning. The Pen would be more suiting for Moyer say if he could generally go the 1st 4 innings fine and had his struggles then. But the other side of that coin, is how in the blue hell do you go out and sign shoe-in future hall-of-famer Pedro Martinez to a 1-year deal, have him do numerous minor-league rehab starts, only to place him in The Pen? He's at the end of his career, obviously, and while on paper it is not a bad idea at all, there would no doubt be questions of how Martinez can adapt to such a situation.

What will actually happen, I have no idea, but this is probably without a doubt the best damn problem that the Phillies have had all season.

Pedro Finally Signs With the Phillies

(Guest posted by 49er16 of Keith's Sports Journal)

Did you hear? Pedro Martinez has signed a one year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. O.k. maybe that isn't news because we all knew if Pedro passed his physical the Phillies would sign him.

One problem with the signing though. Pedro will be immediately placed on the DL with a mild shoulder strain. It hasn't been decided when or where Pedro will start his rehab assignment.

Whenever Pedro makes his first start for the Phillies, I like this move for Philadelphia. They are not taking a huge risk by signing Martinez to a one-year deal. Also they didn't have to trade away any top prospects for Martinez, like they would have for Roy Halladay.

From rumors that I have heard, the reason why Halladay hasn't been traded yet is because the Blue Jays are looking to dump Vernon Wells and his contract with Halladay. Wells has struggled since signing a seven-year deal worth $126 million in 2008. So that might be the main reason why the Phillies haven't traded for Halladay yet.

Halladay or not, I like the Martinez signing. I think he can help this team down the stretch with his experience. Good move, Philadelphia.

Martinez joins Phillies, put on DL (ESPN)

Pedro Portholes in Philly?

(Guest posted by James Craven from The O Files)

So it looks more and more that the Phillies might get out of the Roy Haladay Sweepstakes and pin their hopes on former Met Pedro Martinez, so sayeth The Philadelphia Daily News. Reports say that it's a one-half season deal worth $4.0 million accoring to Dominican sports newspaper.

All I can say is "Stay tuned for more details." BTW, as for the title, I refer you to Paul Lukas.