Chopper has bad timing

After a couple of relative busy days at the ballpark, let’s call Thursday’s game, “Back up Night” at the yard to give the regulars a chance to catch their breath before jetting off to Atlanta, Florida and Milwaukee for the next 11 days. For readers of the CSNPhilly coverage of the ballclub, that means you get Dame Sarah Baicker tonight. And certainly there won’t be a dearth of news for the relief scribes. The prognosis for that “pop” Chan Ho Park heard in his right hamstring after making his final pitch of the seventh inning last night could have a major domino effect on the rest of the roster.

The obvious loss if Park’s injury is significant is the work he takes on in the bullpen. No, his numbers don’t pop off the page, but they are good. Plus, Park is versatile enough to pitch in many roles and take on more than one inning. Of his 38 relief appearances, Chopper has pitched more than one inning 13 times and three innings five times.

Better yet, when Park was moved out of the rotation for J.A. Happ in May, he went without sulking or pouting. He just went to work and as a result remains one of the more popular players in the clubhouse with his teammates.

The numbers aren’t bad, either. In 38 relief appearances, Chopper is 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA. Since the All-Star Break he has appeared in 20 games and picked up 23 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings with a 1.85 ERA.

So if Manuel can’t turn to Park, even in the best of times, it’s going to hurt. With Scott Eyre attempting to pitch through a bone chip in his elbow, J.C. Romero’s season still uncertain, Clay Condrey returning from a series of oblique injuries, and Brad Lidge’s ineffectiveness, losing Park could be major.

That’s where we get to the trickle-down effect. Just last weekend I was prognosticating my Phillies playoff roster (as if anyone would ask), and decided it would be a good idea for the club to carry 12 pitchers. Last year they took 11 pitchers throughout the playoff run from the short-series NLDS to the World Series with two games played with the DH and it was more than enough.

After all, Happ appeared in just one game throughout the run, while Eyre saw action in four games for a total of two innings, while Condrey got into just two of the games. Meanwhile, the extra players on the bench, So Taguchi and Chris Coste, played in seven games combined for 10 plate appearances.

When looking at it that way, it’s clear that Manuel doesn’t go too deep into his bench if he doesn’t need to.

But as Manuel said last week in Houston, “[Bleep] the last two years.” If the Phillies want to repeat this season, it may have to come from an unsung player on the roster like Park. If that’s not an option, Manuel doesn’t have too many sure things right now.

Nevertheless, if anything, Park’s injury just might have secured veteran Jamie Moyer a spot on the playoff roster. Here’s what I came up with:

Starting pitchers Cliff Lee Cole Hamels Pedro Martinez Joe Blanton

Relief pitchers Brad Lidge Ryan Madson Brett Myers J.A. Happ J.C. Romero Chad Durbin Tyler Walker/Clay Condrey Scott Eyre/Jamie Moyer

Catchers Carlos Ruiz Paul Bako

Infielders Ryan Howard Chase Utley Pedro Feliz Jimmy Rollins Greg Dobbs Eric Bruntlett

Outfielders Raul Ibanez Shane Victorino Jayson Werth Ben Francisco Matt Stairs

Needless to say, Manuel and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. are going to have some tough decisions with the pitching staff. If Park is able to pitch – and Romero, too, for that matter – some of the decisions will be easy.

But what do the Phillies do with Moyer, Eyre, Walker and Condrey?

It's a rager

OK, where do I start? After all this time of wondering what it was like to be in the clubhouse when the players are going nuts and pouring beer and champagne all over each other, I finally got to witness it firsthand. And to tell you the truth, it’s a lot like a couple of the really good parties I help throw when I was in college. Only we had a band play and someone started a bonfire, which was kind of cool.

Nevertheless, no one ever won anything at those parties so there was no spraying beer and champagne all over the place. I guess that’s why they put that plastic sheeting in place, which gave the clubhouse a more intimate/sky lodge-type aura. It was nice.

But what is not nice is that even after taking two showers I still think I stink like champagne and beer. Maybe the scent is just embedded into my nostrils or something, but I suppose that’s just the hazard of the job – occasionally (rarely) a kick-ass party will break out where cases of champagne and trucks of beer are wheeled in. Meanwhile, no one will actually drink the beer (they are professional athletes, after all), but instead they will pour and spray it on anyone or anything that moves.

And if some dude gets a hold of the hose that they use to water the field, look out…

It’s on.

Anyway, you know it’s was a good party when mirthful catching instructor (and all around good guy) Mick Billmeyer noted that he had more beer on him than in him, and Pat Burrell’s English bulldog, Elvis, was one of the first to arrive in the clubhouse.

Afterwards, Burrell surveyed the scene from the field as the party raged and the fans screamed from the seats and stated aptly, “This is what it’s all about.” He also took a moment to remember mentor and legendary Phillies coach, John Vukovich, which could have been the most poignant moment of the day.

But parties end and when they do it’s time to get down to business. In that regard, GM Pat Gillick, assistants Ruben Amaro and Dallas Green didn’t waste any time. Even before all the beer had stopped flying into air and dried into everyone’s skin, hair and clothes, the team’s brass huddled in the coach’s room across the hall from the clubhouse, undoubtedly to discuss what comes next.

Setting the roster The first thing the Phillies will have to do – aside from learning who their opponent will be – is cobble together a playoff roster. With a 10 a.m. Wednesday deadline to submit the roster, it still hasn’t been decided if the Phillies will take 10 or 11 pitchers into the NLDS. My gut is 11, but we should have a better grasp on this figure tomorrow when the team meets at the park for a workout.

Anyway, the 25-man roster:

Catchers: Carlos Ruiz; Chris Coste Infielders: Ryan Howard; Chase Utley; Jimmy Rollins; Greg Dobbs; Tadahito Iguchi; Abraham Nunez; Wes Helms Outfielders: Pat Burrell; Aaron Rowand; Shane Victorino; Jayson Werth; Michael Bourn Pitchers: Cole Hamels; Kyle Kendrick; Kyle Lohse; Jamie Moyer; Adam Eaton or J.D. Durbin; Brett Myers; Tom Gordon; J.C. Romero; Clay Condrey; Geoff Geary; Antonio Alfonseca

*** I'm not basing this on anything other than idle talk, but it appears as if the Phillies will play all day games in the NLDS.

*** I will have more later regarding the Mets and what we were writing about the Phillies and Charlie Manuel earlier this season. Look for that during the Padres-Rockies game.