Okay, so maybe the guy they called up is really Michael Schwimer, (@mschwimer) and not Ross from Friends. He's the guy with the 9-1 record at Lehigh, an ERA that would make Roy Halladay blush, and a career 12+ K/9. Not bad, and likely necessary with Kendrick moving to the rotation this weekend to cover for Cole Hamels for a start or two.
But when the news came down immediately after the game that Placido Polanco would be hitting the DL retroactive, I couldn't help but wonder why the move wasn't made prior to the game in any one of those previously mentioned 48 hours of downtime. When the Phils came up in the bottom of the 9th, it sure would have been nice to have another option to pinch run instead of wasting John Mayberry Jr... I understand the situation: Michael Martinez lays down the bunt to move Ruiz. So you want to pinch run for Chooch so a single can tie the game, but your only option is Mayberry because you have to save Valdez for later. You're then stuck with Ross Gload in what would normally be a favorable Righty-Lefty matchup were it not for his decrepit body and .307 SLG. Mayberry may be the better hitter in that situation, but missing that extra bat off the bench really limits what you can do and 10 times out of 10 a manager like Charlie is going to play the handed matchup. But if Polanco had been shelved a day earlier an extra bat/set of legs brought up in his place, maybe you're looking at Pete Orr standing on 2nd base as the tying run with one out. Let him run, let Mayberry hit, and let the chips fall. I don't think you'd have nearly as many people playing Wednesday Morning QB... then again, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th Jimmy Rollins shouldn't be made to look so foolish by a guy like J.J. Putz who hadn't been a regular closer for almost 3 years coming into the season.
It's just one, but it stings a little.
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