PHILADELPHIA -- If this World Series returns to St. Petersburg, it may -- with all due respect to Cole Hamels and James Shields -- turn into a bullpen series. Which is why it was so important that Brett Myers gutted out seven innings and required only three outs from one reliever in Game 2, and why both managers are watching The Weather Channel.
Philadelphia led the National League in bullpen ERA (3.19) and save percentage (76 percent). Tampa Bay had the identical save percentage, and was third in the American League in relief ERA at 3.55.
But what is interesting is that Charlie Manuel and Joe Maddon have diametrically opposite bullpen frameworks since Troy Percival went down. Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee have done a superb job structuring their 'pen. Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre are the set-up men to get to Ryan Madson in the eighth and Brad Lidge in the ninth; Lidge has 47 straight saves and never had to pitch in the eighth, and he and Madson have an ERA under 0.70 since the first of September.
"We pretty much set it up the same way as often as we can," says Manuel, who with Myers getting 21 outs and the off day is well-positioned for the final five games of the series. "It's not just Madson, although he's been great. Those others have done a tremendous job for us."
'Pens in postseason
PHILLIES RAYS
G 11 13
W-L 1-0 1-1
ERA 1.71 3.00
SV 6 2
IP 31.2 39.0
H 26 30
BB 15 23
K 30 44
In contrast, the Rays' bullpen, which melted down in Game 5 of the ALCS in Boston, has otherwise been superb without Percival. In Game 2 Thursday in St. Pete, Maddon brought in David Price in the seventh and left him in the game to get seven outs. He brought Price in with the bases loaded in Game 6 of the ALCS to strike out J.D. Drew, and left him in for the four-out save. In the ALCS Price was brought into the game in the 11th inning for two outs, and got the win, which means his first save and win as a major leaguer came in the playoffs against the defending world champions.
In this postseason Maddon has brought Grant Balfour into games in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. He has used J.P. Howell in every inning from the fifth to the ninth, Chad Bradford in every inning from the sixth to the ninth, and Dan Wheeler in every inning from the sixth through the ninth. The bullpen has pitched 39 innings in 13 games, Howell is the only one with as many as 10 innings pitched, and Price and Wheeler have split the team's two postseason saves.
"This is fun; just playing in this is the time of my life," says Price, whose seven-out closing job Thursday was vintage Rich Gossage, in case you'd forgotten that Gossage came into the '78 playoff game at Fenway Park in the seventh inning.
It's been since 1975 and the Big Red Machine with Rawlins Eastwick III and Will McEnaney that a World Series champion did not have a designated closer. So in some ways, Maddon has become the sabermetric poster boy for all those who believe in bullpen by committee.
"Sometimes, you have to make do with what you have," says Maddon. "A prominent, proven closer is great to have, but they're also going to be very expensive, which might not fit for a lot of teams, because of the cost and the risk. But to make this work, you really need a couple of components.
"The first," says Maddon, "is to have four or five guys who aren't afraid of the ninth inning. For instance, no one would throw Howell into a discussion of the best relievers, but he's been that for us; he's gotten as many big outs at the end of games for us as anyone, and he can pitch at any juncture of the game. To be honest, there aren't a lot of guys like Mariano Rivera who stay calm and close out the ninth inning with ease. Finding four or five who can do it is very important.
"Obviously, stuff is important. So is makeup. But to make this work you have to have several guys who can finish an inning, sit down, then get back out and get an out or two in the next inning. We have that. One of the things we want to try to do in our organization is to try to develop those guys. We're too geared to getting guys in to start and finish one inning, but not sit and get back up. I believe that can be done in the minor leagues. Pitchers can be trained and conditioned to come in, close out an inning, sit down and go back out for more outs, rather than throw a finite number of pitches for one inning then call it a day."
Price obviously is going into the Tampa Bay rotation next season, but look for the Rays to take a big, hard-throwing lefty like Jake McGee -- who is coming off Tommy John surgery -- to try that role. Maddon says McGee throws harder than Price, and he sees McGee being used in important roles out of the pen once he learns how to pitch, sit and pitch again.
It's been a long time since Eastwick gave up the Bernie Carbo homer in the eighth inning trying to close out the '75 series in Game 6, but McEnaney succeeded in Game 7. Perhaps Maddon has latched onto something in terms of building a bullpen from Class A ball on up, detaching clubs from the strict closer position that can melt faster than one can say "Salomon Torres," as well as eliminating even the thought of having to invest $75M in Francisco Rodriguez.
The Phillies have arguably the best end game in the majors. But the Rays have given several other organizations a way to look at the end of games for years to come.