Phils' Manuel doesn't always go by book

"I am personally not a by-the-book guy," Amaro said. "I think there's a lot of value in a guy having a feel for things. Charlie knows his players and puts them in a position to be successful. Not everything works all the time."

Amaro acknowledged that the Phils' bullpen situation, with important setup man J.C. Romero out, situational lefthander Scott Eyre pitching with loose fragments in his elbow, and closer Brad Lidge walking a tightrope, is not ideal.

"We have to be creative in our situation because we don't have that seventh, eighth, ninth progression," he said. "You have to be creative. Charlie and [pitching coach] Rich Dubee do a good job managing it."

Manuel went with his gut and brought eighth-inning man Ryan Madson into a tight situation in the seventh inning in Game 3 of the division series. He has let Eyre, a guy with four career saves and none since 2004, start the ninth inning, and deftly picked spots for Lidge, who has three saves this postseason.

He picked Cliff Lee to start Game 1 of the division series over postseason-tested Cole Hamels and got excellent results. He has used starters J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton in relief and gotten mixed results.

Manuel liked the idea of using Blanton to fortify a weakened relief corps. But he could pay a price for the decision to keep Blanton in the bullpen if the righthander is not sharp in his Game 4 start because he hasn't gotten consistent work since the final week of regular season.

Whatever happens, Manuel is not about to change.

Sometimes he will go by the book.

Often he will follow his gut.

Even if it's smaller than it used to be.

Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.