Weather Effects

The Phillies-Mets game scheduled for Sunday afternoon has been postponed, due to rain. No makeup date was immediately announced. (Looking at the teams' respective schedules, September 14th (a Monday) seems to be the best possible date to make the game up. With the playoff races more well-defined, and expanded rosters, that would be an intriguing four-game series. Well, unless the Mets are out of contention by that point.)

The inclement weather on the East Coast has also jumbled up the Phillies' plans for the next week:

• The Phillies will no longer need Cole Hamels (or Kyle Kendrick or J.A. Happ) to start Tuesday night, in St. Louis. The Phils can push their rotation back and start Joe Blanton, Brett Myers, Chan Ho Park/Chan Ho Park's replacement, and Jamie Moyer in the next four games (Mon-Thu). Hamels' spot would come up Friday.
• If Hamels isn't ready to go Friday, he could be DL'd, retroactively to April 28th. The DL stint would only cause him to miss a single start, as he would be eligible to return Thursday, May 12th, against Los Angeles. (Kendrick could start Friday, and then the first game of the Saturday, May 14th doubleheader against the Nationals, in that scenario.)
• If Hamels is ready Friday, the Phils will only need to use a AAA option for one start, in the doubleheader.
• J. A. Happ could start Wednesday (swapping roles with Park), on sufficient rest. (Kendrick or Andrew Carpenter could also start on sufficient rest Wednesday. But both of those options would require opening a roster spot, which could be done by DFA'ing Miguel Cairo. Most likely, Happ or Park will start on Wednesday.)
• The bullpen gets a bonus day of rest. (Though it still might be wise to add an eighth reliever, at least for a week or two.)
• As a result of the rain out, the Mets will pitch Johan Santana on Wednesday, and Mike Pelfrey on Thursday. (Originally, the starts would have gone to Mike Pelfrey, and Oliver Perez' rotational replacement/spot starter, likely Jon Niese, or Ken Takahashi.) This does not work in the Phillies' favor.
• As a result of inclement weather in Washington, St. Louis Manager Tony LaRussa opted not to start ace Kyle Lohse today, instead using a planned "bullpen start." (It seems like the Phillies have been using unplanned "bullpen starts" all season.) The Cardinals will now start Lohse on Monday, and Adam Wainwright on Tuesday, against Philadelphia. The Phillies, originally, would have faced Wainwright, and right-handed rookie starter Mitchell Boggs. Another bad trade-off.
• Phillies fans can spend Sunday watching Justin Verlander pitch for Detroit, and fantasize that the Tigers don't realize how impressive he has been this season, and would deal him to the Phils. (Hey, (Tigers GM Dave) Dombrowski! How about Lou Marson as your new "catcher of the future?" You won't be able to afford Verlander for long anyway, and, besides, Dontrelle Willis is BACK!)

Phils-Cardinals Monday night. Joe Blanton-Kyle Lohse. Another pitching matchup that favors the opposition, but that's what often happens when you have the audacity to employ a Blanton (and a Park) in your starting rotation. Hopefully, Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey get a chance to relax today. Those guys deserve it.