Is there reason to hope?

The first game of the second half looked very much like a typical game from the first half of the Phillies season, a listless, lifeless loss started by Cliff Lee, with poor offensive production, and a bullpen unable to keep a game close. Any hope that the Phillies would come back from the All Star break with a renewed purpose, a sense of desperation, and most importantly some fight evaporated in the hearts and eyes of most fans. The talk shows were flooded with calls to open the flood gates and make everybody available, with the possible exception of Cole Hamels, if he can be resigned. If not, trade him too and restock the pond.

Something funny happened on the way to Ruben Amaros’s Everything Must Go Citizens Bank Garage Sale. The Phillies started to win. In the midst of a four game winning streak, with Ryan Howard hitting his first homerun, with Roy Halladay turning in a solid start, and with surprisingly positive performances from Antonio Bastardo and Kyle Kendrick out of the bullpen. Shane Victorino is suddenly hitting extra base hits, Hunter Pence is on fire with runners in scoring position and for the first time all year, the Phillies won a game in which they trailed after seven innings.  

What does Ruben Amaro do now? Does he sell? Are free agents to be Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino, Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco are on the market? What about Jimmy Rollins? The much maligned, but surprisingly productive compared to other major league shortstops, ranks near the top in nearly every offensive stat for shortstops, including homeruns, stolen bases, rbi’s, runs and doubles. Yes Jimmy pops up too much, doesn’t run out ground balls, and has never been confused with a typical leadoff hitter. But, when you look beyond the emotional reactions, you see that Rollins is having another solid year and continues to be as good as anybody defensively.  The LA Dodgers are rumored to have interest in Rollins. With Freddy Galvis suspended and injured, who would man the position for the remainder of 2012?

Does the winning streak prompt Ruben to become a buyer, shopping for bullpen help and possibly an extra man with some pop? Or are the Phillies a combination of the two, maybe shipping off Victorino for bullpen help, and turning over center field to a combination of John Mayberry, Jason Pridie and maybe even Dom Brown?

My suggestion is to extend Hamels, and otherwise do nothing, unless an offer comes along that betters the team in the short and long term. Can they win with the bullpen of the first half? No, but here’s how you fix it. Make Kyle Kendrick your 7^th or 8^th inning right hander. He’s pitched back to back scoreless relief outings and last year had an ERA in the low 3’s out of the pen. If Manuel and Dubee don’t trust him there, then flip flop Kendrick and Joe Blanton, and see how Big Joe does. In limited action last year, Blanton showed the ability to be effective in relief. Continue to use Antonio Bastardo, Jake Diekman, and Jeremy Hurst as your primary lefthanders but with a very short lease. When things start off rough for Bastardo, they rarely get better. Hopefully his back to back scoreless outings are a sign of things to come. The next thing I’d do is ship out Joe Savery-the team is a remarkable 0-17 in games he’s pitched-and Brian Sanchez. Call up Justin Friend, who had an ERA of .33 at AA Reading before being called up to Lehigh Valley. As crazy as it sounds, I’d sign Brad Lidge to a minor league deal and see if he can get anyone out at AAA. Last year he showed the ability to pitch with a reduced fastball, relying on smoke, mirrors and a still nasty slider. If he proves to be ineffective, call him up September 1^st, and the first blowout victory of the month, let the former star of the 2008 World Series finish the game and go out with one last curtain call.

Does hope exist in South Philadelphia? Before last year, I might have said no. But after the Cardinals and Rays overcame ten game deficits in the last month of the season, and given the pedigree of this club, I’d say that yes, a small amount of hope exists. As Morgan Freeman said in Shawshank Redemption, “Hope is a dangerous thing.” But during the dog days of a record breaking summer, it sure beats the alternative.