The progress of his rehabbing second baseman?
The development of his top prospect?
The lack of offensive production in rightfield?
Wait and see. Day by day. By day. By day.
But as unsettled as Charlie Manuel's lineup is at the quarter pole, nowhere is there as much intriguing uncertainty as in the bullpen. A series of early season injuries forced the Phillies to begin their inevitable youth movement ahead of schedule, and with two of the wounded now progressing steadily toward a return, Amaro and his field staff find themselves confronted with a situation that just might have to be reckoned with.
Mike Stutes has drawn strong reviews since his promotion to the active roster in the wake of reliever Jose Contreras' elbow strain. Antonio Bastardo has pitched his way from unproven second lefty to prominent setup man. Vance Worley has succeeded in every role the Phillies have thrust him - and they've thrust him just about everywhere.
"Frankly, with all the injuries we've had, I think our bullpen's done OK," Amaro said. "I mean, we've got guys all over the place as far as roles are concerned. That's a tough task for Charlie and Doobs [pitching coach Rich Dubee]. It's not easy to manage that, and by and large, those guys have done OK. We've got young kids in the bullpen, kids who have never been in these types of roles and situations where we're counting on them to perform."
Manuel has to hope that his options are more concrete by the time the Phillies make their next trip to Atlanta in September. But over the last week or so, he has learned a lot about the young arms in his bullpen.
