Phillies have a few options if Lidge needs a sub

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Your perspective on the following scenario will depend on a number of variables, from the weight you place on objective statistical analysis, to the beliefs you hold about the psychology of athletic competition, to the benefits you see in the specificity of roles.

On whatever side of the debate you land, however, one thing is clear: If the Phillies find themselves in need of a closer, and Brad Lidge is not available, there is a debate to be had.

While conventional wisdom holds that the job, as it has in the past, would fall to marquee setup man Ryan Madson, the emergence of hard-throwing righthander Jose Contreras might very well prompt a rechiseling of that concrete plan.

"There are two schools of thought: One, Madson could close if Lidge was injured or was not able to do it," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday. "That would kind of be the natural progression. The other thought process would be, why would you take the best setup guy in the game and move him from that role when Contreras has had the ability to close in the past?"

It makes for an interesting conversation, even if you assume that Lidge overcomes his current case of biceps soreness and enters the 2011 season with the same momentum he rode through the end of 2010. Injuries happen. Injuries in the bullpen seem to happen more frequently than anywhere else.

Even when a closer is healthy, there are days when he is simply too overworked to pitch. In 2008, when Lidge came off the disabled list in the first week of the season and proceeded to convert all 41 of his save opportunities, there were still five occasions in which Charlie Manuel called on somebody else in the ninth inning to record the save.

Which means, almost inevitably, somebody will have to fill in. And the Phillies have two somebodies with the skill set to do just that.

"We'd feel comfortable with either one of them," pitching coach Rich Dubee said.

Focus only on production, and Madson is the obvious choice. Last season, the 30-year-old righthander led all Phillies relievers in ERA (2.55), strikeouts-per-nine-innings (10.9), walks-per-nine-innings (2.2) and walks/hits-per-inning (1.038). Madson's 3.01 ERA from 2007-10 ranks 18th among major league relievers with at least 200 innings pitched. Of the 17 pitchers above him, 13 have saved at least 60 games during that stretch.