MLB Playoffs 2011: Philadelphia Philliess Gain Nothing with Cliff Lee in Bullpen

Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports reports here that Cliff Lee will be available to pitch out of the Phillies' bullpen tonight as they try to close out the St. Louis Cardinals.

Something about this strikes me as a little off.

For one, the Phillies are in pretty good shape in this one. At the end of today, their worst case scenario is that they will be going home in a winner-take-all Game 5 with Roy Halladay on the mound. This is the same Halladay that retired 21 Cardinals hitters in a row in Game 1.

Two, Cliff Lee didn't do that well against the Cardinals. So, why would the Phillies want to use him against that same lineup in a situation that would be uncommon to him?

This doesn't really add up. If the Phillies needed a win here to advance the series, I would be much more on board with this. But why would throwing Lee on short rest out of the bullpen be a good idea?

The Phillies have done fine in this series. I don't know if this is still just an overreaction to losing the second game of the series, but the Phillies are fine. You aren't going to sweep everyone you play. I really hope they're not overreacting.

Now, Gleeman also said that Lee will likely just be an emergency option. But even in that case, I don't see it. Let the bullpen go a little bit.

When you have Halladay going in the next game, you don't need to worry much about preserving a bullpen. And to the extent that you do, why wouldn't Game 5 be a better time for Lee out of the bullpen?

He would be on extra rest and in a needed situation.

The bottom line is that as bad as Game 2 was, the Phillies came back fine in Game 3. They won and earned the home field advantage back.

The Phillies are best served leaving Lee on the bench here. If they go to a Game 5, this is an argument worth revisiting.