The Inquirer’s Matt Gelb is reporting that National League manager Bruce Bochy’s plan for this evening is to bring in Cliff Lee in the third inning to relieve Roy Halladay, who was named as the game’s starter.
That means the first four innings of tonight’s game will be pitched by Phillies. It also means that if you only care about watching Phillies this evening, you’ll get to ditch the game in the 5th and watch something else, because those two are the only Phillies in the game.
Three other Phils were voted in, but Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino withdrew due to injury and Cole Hamels is ineligible to pitch since he threw Sunday’s game. Considering that Hamels was due to pitch a bullpen session today (and did), it would seem like the rule doesn’t make a lot of sense. Certainly not to Hamels.
“I’d love to pitch,” Hamels said. "Tuesday is a bullpen day. It’s usually the day I feel the best. It’s one of those things where people who don’t play the game make the rules. I don’t think they understand the way we work out and how we train. When you come, you want to play. Most of us are pretty smart; we’re not going to injure ourselves in an All-Star Game.
“I’d be all for it. I have to throw a bullpen anyway. And it’s only one inning. That’s the thing. It’s not like I’m going out to throw 60 pitches. As strenuous as it is, we’re built to throw hundreds and 25 is nothing.”
It would have been fun to see Phillies pitch the first six innings…