By Zaki, PhillyGameday.com
Cliff Lee helped his cause in maintaining his spot in the Phillies rotation on Monday by hurling seven shutout innings against the Dodgers with 10 strikeouts.
Charlie Manuel said that Lee’s impressive start earned the former Cy Young winner another turn in the rotation, but another bad outing could mean a demotion to the bullpen, or worse.
“I don’t know what this guy’s problem is, but he better fix it quick,” Manuel said of Lee, who currently leads the majors in strikeouts with 100. “This last start saved his ass, but I don’t know how much longer I can put up with him and his 3.62 ERA or whatever it is right now.”
Team sources indicate that the Phillies currently have a deal in place to trade Lee back to the Mariners for another trio of can’t-miss prospects in the event that Lee allows a hit in his next start.
There are 2 Phillies who should be demoted: Charlie Manuel and Ryan Howard. Charlie is dragging this team into the gutter . The Phillies need a manager who isn’t afraid to bench Howard for his .244 average or any other player who isn’t pulling his weight. The only average Howard is keeping up is his strike-outs. If that’s the only requirement for $100 million, sign me up! How demoralizing for a pitcher to know that if he gives up one or two runs in a game, he stands a very good chance of losing that game because there is no one on the bench pushing the hitters to perform better. Blind loyalty to players and coaches in my native city is a good reason why Philly only brings home a championship ring every 25 years or so.
Bob, I’m with you on every last word you said there. I’ve never been a fan of Manuel’s and Howard is starting to wear thin just because you know what he’s capable of. It’s going to be a sad offseason if the Phils don’t win it all.