McCaffery

The excuses vary in tone, but never by much.

“I think this one,” Kapler said, “was more (that) he may have run out of gas.” Yeah, that was it. While not Klentak’s fault that Arrieta is semiinjured, the general manager must be held responsible for his reluctance to spend some of John Middleton’s stupid money on an upper-level starting pitcher. Dallas Keuchel was a free agent, but Klentak allowed him to leak to Atlanta, where he has gone 3-4 with a 3.86 ERA. He would have been a strong No. 2 behind Nola.

At the deadline, the Astros spent four prospects for Zack Greinke, who still has $80 million owed for the next two-plus years. That was too pricey for Klentak. That no one traded for Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks or the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd, a couple of valued left-handers said to be available, was proof that the asking fee was outrageous. But whatever it was, Klentak didn’t spend it.

So into the final two months of the season the Phillies spin, with Klentak adding only Jason Vargas, a soft-throwing lefthander the Mets no longer wanted, and Drew Smyly, fished by Klentak when the Brewers became the second team to release him this year.

“We definitely made some adjustments,” Klentak said. “Smyly and Vargas are 40 percent of the rotation right here. That has shifted Nick Pivetta and now Zach Eflin into the bullpen, so there’s a ripple effect to adding to the rotation. It makes our bullpen stronger and deeper.

“We have more depth than we had a couple of weeks ago, and I think that lends itself to perhaps some more creative pitching moves.”

The season was young when it started to show that Klentak’s trust in Velasquez, Pivetta and the ever-injured Jerad Eickhoff was anything but creative. Eflin flashed a couple of early complete games to generate some All-Star-candidacy noise, but he has been reduced to a weird long-relief/piggyback-starter role for Arrieta or Velasquez.

Nola is a legitimate ace. Vargas has a chance to help with his change-ofpace rhythm, a change of scenery and his pedigree as a pitcher who won 18 games for the Royals two years ago. Smyly has had two strong starts. But after that, Kapler will almost have to invent ways to survive with 40 percent of his starting rotation ever unlikely to see a seventh-inning stretch.

“It’s certainly our responsibility and my responsibility specifically, to plan effectively for that,” Kapler said “That’s exactly what we’ll do.”

It was the general manager’s responsibility to make sure that his manager didn’t have to be so inventive, particularly with a playoff spot so available. Yet Wednesday became Thursday, and there the Phillies were, stuck with one reliable starter, a couple of cheap, late pick-ups and two right-handers who can’t deliver length.

Arrieta insists he will remain in the rotation. But even that will not be possible without betweeninnings physical therapy.

“I think there will be multiple occasions where I can give us six-plus,” Arrieta said. “So I’m going to keep it moving, especially with having a guy like Pivetta back there who can throw two plus, and with Eflin, who is capable of doing the exact same thing.

“So during my starts, that’s kind of what it’s probably going to look like in close games. We’re pretty confident that is going to be a solution that is going to help us out.”

It’s not a solution. It’s a gamble. But that’s what happens when a general manager leaves himself stuck.

To contact Jack McCaffery, email him at jmccaffery@21st-centurymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @JackMcCaffery