Chad Durbin's Importance to the Phillies

Last July 4th, on a rainy night in Philadelphia, the Phillies hosted their kissin cousins, the Mets. The odds makers makers had to like New York's chances as free agent sweepstakes winner Johan Santana was facing off against J.A. Happ in the latter's first big league start. Prior to the game, a simple but moving ceremony was held with members of our armed forces to mark the national holiday. Once the game got underway, the home team probably wished they could enlist the Army and Navy into their cause as Santana pitched like the superstar he is paid to be. He looked untouchable through five innings, but in the bottom of the 6th, the Phils were able maximize a few seeing eye hits and manufacture 2 runs.

Meanwhile, Happ was giving a good account of himself but he succumbed to a high pitch count and four walks after yielding two runs. Charlie Manuel pulled him with two outs in the fifth and brought in Chad Durbin. This is where things started to get interesting. Durbin proceeded to pitch 2 1/3 innings allowing no runs or hits and striking out 6 of the 7 batters he faced - one of the most scintillating performances of any Phillie hurler all year. Against a pitcher like Santana this effort might well have been wasted. But in a scenario which would be repeated more than once in '08, Durbin held the fort for Madson, who held the fort for Lidge. And Shane Victorino came through with a game-winning hit in the bottom of the 9th against the always cooperative Mets' bullpen. A most unlikely 3-2 victory.

31 year-old Chad Durbin probably carries one of the lowest profiles on the Phillies' squad and not just because of his understated personality. Prior to last season, his 10th in the big leagues, his career had been rather nondescript. In 2006, in fact, he spent a good deal of time in the minors. But in 2007, he had a very serviceable year with the Tigers. He made 36 appearances including 19 starts and compiled an 8-7 record with an ERA of 4.72, his personal best for a full season. However, the Tigers thought they had enough pitchers (remember Dontrelle Willis?) so Durbin opted for free agency and signed with the Phils.

In 2008, his first year in South Philly, coming out of the bullpen in middle relief for the most part, Durbin pitched 87 innings with an ERA of 2.87 with 63 strikeouts and a 5-4 record. A breakout season. He played a key role in a bullpen which was the glue for the team for most of the year when the hitting sputtered and the starters faltered. And the Fightin's were hardly loaded with long relievers so the Illinois native and Louisiana resident provided an unexpected lift, particularly in the mid-portion of the campaign when the starting rotation was being held together with scotch tape and Krazy Glue - Myers was in the minors and Kendricks was faltering.

The question before the house is can Durbin continue to be effective? There were some dark clouds forming late last year. While his ERA was 1.89 before the All Star break, it was 4.33 after the break with a lower strikeout ratio. Moreover, in September and October, the ERA rose to 5.50. The explanation most often offered for the drop-off was fatigue. Durbin was called on so often early in the season, he was running on empty in August and September, or at least that was the theory offered by the coaches and front office. Hopefully, this was the case and the coaches will be able to pace him this summer. But it's also possible that he was coming back down to earth - remember that his career numbers didn't foreshadow greatness. Or perhaps the hitters around the league just started to get on to him as he had been primarily an American League pitcher - his National League experience consisted of 9 innings with Arizona in 2004.

These questions are not trivial. While one of the big political stories last year was the "bridge to nowhere", the big story involving the Phillies was the bridge to Lidge, which culminated in the bridge to a championship. Chad Durbin was an important component of that bridge. With J.C. Romero out for a long stretch, the team is going to need the rest of the pitching staff to pick up the slack. Durbin could play a key role here if he can help the team get past the 7th inning when the starters get the early hook. The right-hander may not be irreplaceable, but the team would prefer not to have to find out. They don't want that bridge to Lidge to turn into a wide open drawbridge.