• It appears the Phillies will not re-sign relief pitchers Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre before the end of the winter meetings Thursday. Park remains the team’s No. 1 priority in terms of the bullpen, but according to multiple local reports, the Phillies seem willing to move on without Eyre because they believe Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona have the potential to be effective left-handers out of the pen.
• Brandon Lyon’s asking price is too high, according to multiple reports. The Phillies were aggressively pursuing Lyon to be, perhaps, the closer if Brad Lidge falters next year.
• The Phillies have the pieces to obtain Roy Halladay in a trade. According to reports, the Phillies have had dialogue with the Blue Jays during the winter meetings.
• The Phillies have until Saturday to offer salary arbitration to right-handers Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey. Durbin, in all likelihood, will return.
• The addition of Ross Gload, signed late Tuesday, probably marks the “official” end of Matt Stairs’ tenure. Eric Bruntlett declined a minor-league contract last month and Juan Castro was signed to take his place.
• GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Phillies.com that Kyle Kendrick will “fight” for a spot in the starting rotation come spring training. Oft-injured, hard-throwing right-hander Scott Mathieson will compete for one of the bullpen spots.

The Phillies did not offer salary arbitration to relievers Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre.

What this mean is that, if either or both sign with another team, the Phillies would not receive compensatory draft picks in return.

“I don’t know that we want to put ourselves in a position to be tied up money-wise in either player,” Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Phillies.com . “I think we want to be able to keep our flexibility as far as who we’ll make a run at. And that will financially tie us up, frankly. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to bring them back. We can still bring them back.”

While both were key bullpen pieces last season, it’s very possible that neither re-signs with the club. It’s no secret that Park would rather be a starting pitcher — a foolish thought, if you ask me — and the Phillies would want him back as a five-out specialist in late relief.

Eyre’s been plagued with injuries and is leaning toward retirement. However, he wants to stay in Philadelphia because of the great clubhouse chemistry and passionate fans…

I expect Eyre back on a one-year deal and Park to move on to a team that will give him a shot to pitch in the starting rotation.

Ruben Amaro Jr.

Brett Myers will not return to the Phillies.

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said on CSN Philly that it’s in the best interest of the team to “cut ties” with Myers.

“I’m not as disappointed as I thought I’d be,” Myers said in a statement.

Myers added that he wants the “roughest treatment” from  fans if he pitches again in Philadelphia as an opposing player.

Myers was the Phillies’ first-round draft pick in 1999. He was the second-longest tenured Phillie (July 2002) behind only Jimmy Rollins (September 2000).

—

Amaro said the team is exploring options at third base and therefore may not pick up Pedro Feliz’s club option.

It sounded as if Amaro wants to part ways with Feliz. Amaro didn’t at all indicate that he  wants Feliz back.

The Phillies are rumored to be interested in Mark DeRosa.

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Amaro added that he has talked to the agent of Chan Ho Park. He said they are optimistic about re-signing Scott Eyre, who has contemplated retirement but wants to play in Philadelphia.

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Finally… the Phillies put right-hander Scott Mathieson on the 40-man roster. Mathieson is coming off a pair of Tommy John surgeries.

Mathieson could be a viable option at closer. I’m getting the sense the Phillies would like to mold him into that role to perhaps succeed Brad Lidge at some point. He’s a flame thrower and has tons of potential… but he hasn’t stayed healthy.

The Stud

The Bearded Menace (Full beard not pictured here)

IN: INF Eric Bruntlett, RHP Chan Ho Park
OUT: RHP Brett Myers, RHP Kyle Kendrick

Those are the only changes from the divisional series. Excluding Myers is somewhat of a surprise probably because he’s been a mainstay since 2002.

Myers was reportedly “ticked” to hear the news.

But can you blame Charlie Manuel? Uh, no.

Hey Brett, newsflash for you: You haven’t been healthy since May. When you came back, you looked OK… then you kind of sucked.

Don’t take it personally, dude. Park has been a bigger asset in the bullpen this year.

Kendrick wasn’t needed because you’d figure that either J.A. Happ or Joe Blanton will be the long man if a starter gets in trouble.

Bruntlett is essentially an extra runner and nothing more. I agree with this move, as well, because I don’t want to ever again see Cliff Lee pinch running during the playoffs.

The Phillies lost to the Marlins, 4-3, Saturday afternoon. They cannot clinch home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs.

Good news, though, is that the Cardinals lost to the Brewers. Thus, the Phils have home field advantage in the first round ONLY.

Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com blogged Saturday that Charlie Manuel is leaning toward carrying 13 pitchers and 10 position player on the first-round playoff roster. Here’s the breakdown as far as position players are concerned:

C: Carlos Ruiz and Paul Bako

INF: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett.

OF: Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Matt Stairs and Ben Francisco.

The pitching is a whole lot blurrier. With season-ending injuries to J.C. Romero, Jamie Moyer and possibly Chan Ho Park… there are questions here. Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels will start Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS, respectively. Joe Blanton should pitch the third game. The No. 4 spot has not yet been determined.

J.A Happ and Pedro Martinez are the candidates. Happ could be moved to the bullpen because of the team’s shortage of left-handed relievers. As of now, Scott Eyre

Don't lie to us, Charlie. If Brad Lidge has another 1-2-3 outing in a meaningless game Sunday (like he did Saturday), you're gonna put him in a save situation the first chance you get, right?

is probably the Phillies’ only lefty specialist.

However, if Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo pitch well over the weekend, either one could be included on the postseason roster. At this point, you’d have to think that both are long shots…

Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Tyler Walker, Brett Myers and Eyre are “locks”. I’m pretty sure Kyle Kendrick has earned the role of long reliever.

Either Happ or Martinez is guaranteed a spot in the pen. Clay Condrey is iffy because he hasn’t pitched a whole lot this season because of injuries…

The pitching roles are pretty much undefined at this point. With one day left to go in the regular season, Manuel has some crucial decisions to make.

J.C. Romero will not pitch again in 2009.

The lefty specialist is still dealing with lingering soreness in his throwing elbow.

Finished.

“I’ve got to play it smart, bro,” Romero said. “The arm is not recovering the way it should. When they say tendinitis, that means rest. The most I’ve rested the whole time is 10 days. I’ve probably got to rest a whole month or so. That’s going to hurt, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. … If some miracle happens before the World Series and I feel extremely good, it could be a possibility. But first round? Definitely, no. Second round? The only way I would consider that is if after the second opinion, they say, ‘Nothing is wrong,’ that it’s just soreness from the weather. If they say, ‘You’ve got to rest or you’re going to create something worse,’ I’ll shut it down.”

Romero added that the injury, while problematic, is not severe.

“I don’t have any major pain,” he said. “I’m just not recovering. I have tightness in my forearm and my fingers feel kind of weak, which tells me that I have inflammation in the tendon.”

Meanwhile, Chan Ho Park is likely not to pitch in the Division Series after suffering a setback to his right hamstring this week.

_______________________________

I kind of figured that Romero wouldn’t be back, so I’m not all that surprised or disappointed. Also, the guy has been out for virtually half the season, anyway, and he’s been OK at best. I think the true lefty specialist has been Scott Eyre, who quietly is have a fantastic season. He’s not as deceptive as Romero, but he’s been damn effective…

Park’s absence is huge, huge, huge. There’s no question that he’s been a key member of the bullpen, and losing him for any amount of time in the playoffs can spell doom for the Phillies. Obviously, some major decision have to be made regarding the pitching staff…

Left-handed relief specialist J.C. Romero had a major setback in his rehabiliation and it appears likely he will not return in the playoffs.

Romero is dealing with persistent pain in his forearm. He’ll be evaluated today in New York.

Meanwhile, Chan Ho Park felt discomfort in his right hamstring during a simulated game Thursday. He’ll be checked out later in Philadelphia.

The Phillies are about to get some much-needed help in the bullpen.

On Monday, the team announced that left-hander J.C. Romero was activated from the disabled list.

Romero hasn’t pitched since July 19. Charlie Manuel said he’s unsure about Romero’s availability.

Brett Myers threw on the side Monday and Chan Ho Park was scheduled for a bullpen in Clearwater, Fla.

Hey, OK, so Tyler Walker failed miserably in the most recent edition of The Three Outs In The Ninth Inning...

Tyler Walker was a recent contestant on "Can...You... Close.. (Or At Least Do Marginally Better Than Brad Lidge)? He did not win.

To recap, that makes three pitchers completely incapable of saving games:

-Brad Lidge “Hey man, I was perfect last year!”

-Ryan Madson “Haven’t I always sucked when I’ve been taken out of my comfort zone? Surprised?”

-Walker “Hey, I closed like 20-some games a few years back … but, seriously, you expect a journeyman reliever to close games in October? Really?”

Who’s next?

No, bad question…

Who’s healthy?

Ugh, unfortunately, Lidge… but fingers are crossed that Brett Myers will return this week.

J.C. Romero?

Chan Ho Park?

Still waiting …

Until then, “The Phillies Injured Relievers Relief Fund – We Need Your Help!”  is taking donations.