Don't Sweat Number Five

Thought this was about the Eagles' quarterback situation, didn't you?

We'll have more on the Eagles and their trade of WR Reggie Brown later.

For now, we'll take on the question nearly every team in baseball is asking itself: who will be our fifth starter?

Like everyone else, this question is relevent to the Phillies. The first four spots are nearly set in stone with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ taking up spots Ace through Four. So who could sneak in as the fifth starter by the time the team moves north at the end of the month?

Kyle Kendrick: His career started brilliantly before stumbling badly at the end of 2008. Since then, Kendrick has been toiling in the minors in a quest to add diversity to his repetoire of pitches. To complement a sinker (his bread and butter pitch), Kendrick has added a cutter and changeup in the hopes of keeping hitters off balance. Kendrick doesn't have great pure stuff, so adding as many pitches as possible can only help him in his quest to be consistently effective.

Jamie Moyer: He's what, 74 by now? We love the guy (how can you not?), but we're thinking the time has arrived for the Phils to cut ties. Whether or not Moyer should also think about hanging it up is his decision and nobody else's.

By this time, we know that Moyer needs two things to be successful: 1) Absolute pinpoint control, and 2) A home plate umpire willing to give a few inches on the outside corner. And both must occur together; it is not enough to have either great command or a generous umpire. If he is left without either, his 81 mph fastball is nowhere close enough to make up for it.

With Moyer, you find out in the first inning.

Pedro Martinez: He's sunning himself in his native Dominican Republic and very much available for the right price and opportunity.

That opportunity, however, will not be as a member of anyone's starting rotation for a full season. Martinez was at his best pitching just the second half of the season, and it would be difficult to imagine Pedro getting anything more than that now. The problem with that strategy, of course, is that it is dependent on either an injury or the ineffectiveness of another starter. If Pedro really wants to pitch, he needs to be willing to go where the job is.

Ultimately, the best pitcher should get the job, and right now we see that as being Kendrick. The answer to who will actually get the job is something that won't likely be revealed until the close of spring training.

Just like every other team.

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