Baseball in Fort Wayne

It’s not often I get to blog about former Wizards when it doesn’t involve the Padres or Twins. When I do, it’s usually the Angels because of Torii Hunter or the Mets because of Oliver Perez. But today, I get to blog about Clay Condrey and the Philadelphia Phillies.

The right handed reliever went 5-0 with a 5.04 ERA over 50 innings in 2007. He has appeared in a team-leading nine Grapefruit League games this spring. During that span, he has posted a 3.48 earned run average in 10 1/3 innings as he fights for one of the Phillies’ bullpen jobs. He’s out of minor league options, so if the club doesn’t keep him on their roster, he’d have to clear waivers if they try to send him back down.

Condrey has earned a reputation of having a high ERA because he has been used to log innings when there was little on the line. Yet, when the situations are close and meaningful, he may often through one pitch to get out of an inning or put a quick end to a threat. His aggressiveness has made him a favorite of manager Charlie Manuel.

“He’s pitched good [this spring] and showed last year that he could pitch,” Manuel said. “He’s definitely in that mix of guys. He showed us last year what he could do.” [source:MLB.com]

Condrey made his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2002 after four-plus seasons in the minors. During one of those seasons, he pitcher for the Wizards. In 1999, he was 2-3 with a .378 ERA over 42 games with Fort Wayne. He had 20 saves and struck out 47.

With some key injuries in the Phils’ pen at the moment, Condry appears to have a nice opportunity. The pitcher earned a spot on San Diego’s opening-day roster in 2003, but then struggled, got returned to the minors, and did not see a big league mound until 2006 with Philadelphia.

He made the opening-day roster last year but was shipped back to triple A (Ottowa) four times. He cleared waivers each time. That means no other team in baseball felt it could use Condrey, who ultimately had five stints with the Phillies and four with triple-A Ottawa.

“I’ll never be a front-runner,” Condrey said. “They’ll always think they can find something better. So I just have to pitch lights-out and try to make the decision tough for them.” [source: Philadelphia Enquirer].

[tags]Philadelphia Phillies, Clay Condrey, San Diego Padres, Relief Pitchers, Fort Wayne Wizards, Baseball in Fort Wayne[/tags]