The Phillies’ Critical-Inning Candidates

In reverse order of effectiveness, Jeanmar Gomez – aka Gumby – has dropped from ninth-inning fireman to the forgotten man. He, barring temporary replacements, is the last of seven relievers in a decent pen and will eventually increase his value. That said, the hurler must build on his last appearance instead of alternating. To be more specific, Gumby tossed a clean frame in his second chance, struggled in the second inning of his fourth outing, and was the victim of sloppy play behind him in his sixth appearance. Fortunately, his seventh opportunity wasn’t a blowout, and he retired the side in order against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. Ergo, the right direction.

During his last six outings, Edubray Ramos has struggled. For instance, he has allowed six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings for an 11.57 ERA. Overall, he has one hold, one blown save and one blown hold and has yet to pitch before the seventh this campaign. Hello! Maybe he needs some sixth-inning work to find his early April mojo.

Barring any other tricky rules, Luis Garcia has used his three options and would have to pass through waivers to return to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. And even though he has had difficulty in previous seasons, he has added a splitter to his high-90s fastball. Unfortunately his first opportunity to record one out with inherited runners was unsuccessful; they both scored.

Pitching:

• Garcia: 5 Gms., 4 1/3 Inn., a 0.00 ERA and 1 Hold.

"IN OTHER WORDS:     “That’s all baseball is, is numbers; it’s run by numbers, averages, percentage and odds. Managers make their decisions based on the numbers.” – Rollie Fingers"