After Bret Myers went down with what appears to be a season ending injury a huge hole in the Phils starting rotation was created.
So far the Phils quick fix has been prospect Antonio Bastardo who was called up from AAA Lehigh Valley. Bastardo went 6 strong innings fanning 5 while giving up only 1 earned run on 4 hits in his first taste of Major League ball.
He was certainly impressive albeit against one of the worst offensive teams in the league. The real test will come in his next start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, as the Dodgers are currently the holders of the leagues best record.
All signs point toward the Phils riding the Bastardo train for a while, and it's the smart move for now. It's too early in the season to panic over losing one starting pitcher. And the rumored price for starting pitchers available on the trade market is pricey to say the least.
According to various sources the Red Sox told the Phillies the price for Brad Penny was infield prospect Jason Donald. A ridiculous asking price for a team with a plethora of starting pitching. And the Phils won't bite, not yet anyway.
Now if Jamie Moyer continues to struggle the Phils may have no choice but to over pay for a guy like Brad Penny, Jason Marquis, or Jarrod Washburn
For those of you buying into the Jake Peavy or Roy Oswalt pipe dreams save yourself the heartache and forget about either of them wearing Phils pin-stripes. I know Peavy's agent said the Phils could be a likely destination but he has to say that. Number one the Phils are contenders and can be used as a "team" to throw out there as leverage to get a better offer from another team.
For Peavy's agent to say the Phils are absolutely not an option would be foolish, and he'd be doing his client a disservice.
On the other hand a guy like Eric Bedard being traded to Phils is very likely. He's already a great fit and would probably cost a little bit more then Brad Penny would. And in my mind he's a much better pitcher at this stage of his career. In short I think he's worth what the Mariners would ask for in return.
Then again, we're jumping the gun here. Bottom line the Phils need to be patient, if they are a respectable pitcher who fills their need just may fall into their laps. Of course teams are going to know you need starting pitching, the idea on the Phillies end is to be able to control what teams know.
You certainly don't want them to know you're hurting in an unbelievable way for a pitcher, if that's the case then your trading away a prospect like Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano (What team made that trade again? Oh yea, the Mets did).
If you are patient then you just may land a top of the line starter for some run of the mill prospects with "high upside", for example Curt Schilling for Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa, Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla (What team made that trade again? Oh yeah, the Phillies did. Ugh).
In the end their isn't an exact science to handling the situation the Phils find themselves in. You can certainly make things worse for yourself, however most of the time it comes down to luck. Finding the right team to make the right deal with at the right time. The Phillies are hoping the stars align for them and they can add the piece that will get them back to the World Series.
