Cole Hamels may just be back, hurling a great game against the Mets last night, improving his record to 9-9. He's been much improved lately, and appears to be getting closer and closer to his old dominant just in time for the stretch run.
It appears that Charlie Manuel has removed Brad Lidge from the closer's role. Actions speak louder than words and despite Charlie saying he'll determine how he uses Lidge and Ryan Madson based on match-ups, he's called upon Madson for every save situation since pulling Lidge from Tuesday's game. Madson has responded well, picking up the save in all of his opportunities this week. Also, Brett Myers has been excellent out of the bullpen. He needed just six pitches to throw a scoreless eighth inning against the Mets last night.
Madson and Myers are getting the job done as closer and setup man respectively, but where does that leave Brad Lidge? Charlie should go with the guys who are producing, but Lidge is not a middle reliever. It's not fair to use him as a mop up guy or a sixth inning guy. But it's a what have you done for me lately situation and he doesn't deserve to be the closer on this team because he can't get the job done.
He has an undefined role, as Madson and Myers do, and that could be a problem during the postseason. The back-end of the bullpen needs to be established before the playoffs roll around, so each guy can determine his role and prepare for it. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
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