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This Unbelievable Bullpen Of Ours

I have to talk about the bullpen after last night.

Yet again, the Phils pen held together a close game, giving the Phils the victory with 3.2 innings of great pitching. (Okay, Chad Durbin threw a bad pitch to Adam Dunn, but we’ll forgive him.)

We’re more than one-third through the season (59 games) and here are our relief numbers:

Clay Condrey: 23.7 IP, 4.56 ERA (96 ERA+), 14 K, 7 BB
Rudy Seanez: 21 IP, 2.57 ERA (171 ERA+), 11 K, 13 BB
Ryan Madson: 30 IP, 3.60 ERA (122 ERA+), 23 K, 8 BB
Chad Durbin: 35 IP, 1.80 ERA (245 ERA+), 21 K, 14 BB
JC Romero: 20.1 IP, 1.33 ERA (331 ERA+), 17 K, 11 BB
Tom Gordon: 22.2 IP, 3.97 ERA (111 ERA+), 20 K, 10 BB
Brad Lidge: 24 IP, 0.75 ERA (587 ERA+), 30 K, 11 BB, 14/14 SV

Only Condrey (and barely) is below MLB average. From your long reliever it’s no big deal. For the first third of the season I couldn’t be happier with the job this bullpen has done. Condrey’s work comes in mop-up time. Seanez always keeps things relatively close. Madson is improving by the game. Durbin has done a fine job taking on a variety of situations. Romero continues to be a godsend. Gordon has been flat dominant since Opening Day. Then there’s Lidge â€” could we have asked for anything more?

This is the best Phillies bullpen in years, probably since the 1993 group (Mitch Williams, Larry Andersen, David West, etc,). Moreover, I can’t stress how amazing it is that they’ve used the same 12 pitchers all season. While the rotation has been a little below average, these guys have been tremendous. What can we attribute this turnaround to? Is it stability? Defined roles? Health? Talent? Everything rolled up into one pretty package?

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.