Yesterday, the Phillies entered the seventh inning against the Mariners in a 3-3 tie and wound up losing the game 11-6. Now, I know you irrational folks out there were ready to blame the bullpen just because Phillies relievers Joaquin Benoit, Edubray Ramos, and Jake Thompson combined to allow six walks, seven hits, and eight earned runs. But as Benoit, a man who walked three batters in less than an inning and retired only one out the seven hitters he faced, explained after the game: the problem isn’t that the Phillies relievers are bad, it’s that they don’t have their bullpen roles clearly defined.
Redefining the Phillies’ bullpen roles for Joaquin Benoit
