Phil Sheridan: Phillies' Worley looks to improve on last season

BRADENTON, Fla. - It is the other what-if from the Phillies' all-too-brief trip to the postseason last October.

We all know the main one. What if Cliff Lee, who had chosen Philadelphia for just this moment, had held that four-run lead in Game 2 of the division series against St. Louis? Cole Hamels would have started Game 3 at Busch Stadium with a chance to close out the series. You have to like that scenario.

Even Lee, with his gunslinger swagger, acknowledges he was haunted by that one.

"It was on my mind [over the winter]," Lee said earlier this month. "It was the only chance I had to help the team and I gave up a 4-0 lead. That was frustrating."

That brings us to the other what-if. Going into the series, the Phillies decided to stick with their preseason Four Aces and use Roy Oswalt as a starting pitcher. The in-season fourth ace, rookie Vance Worley, would pitch out of the bullpen.

It was not a bad decision at the time. Oswalt had the stature as well as plenty of postseason success on his resumé. Worley had been a happy surprise all season, but the Phillies would have looked like fools if they went with him and he wilted under the pressure. Oswalt was the safe move.

It backfired. Oswalt gave up five runs and the Cardinals won Game 4. That set up the win-or-go-home Game 5 and, well, we know how that turned out. What if Worley had gotten the ball and the Vanimal had been unleashed in the postseason?

"I would have loved an opportunity to start a game," Worley said after a stellar outing against the Pirates here. "I would love to put that into this season and get there this year and have an opportunity to start in the playoffs. That's all I can really do."

Worley can't be a happy surprise this year. But he can be the No. 4 starter on a team with three No. 1 starters. Oswalt is gone (although he apparently plans to sign somewhere during the season). Joe Blanton is coming off an injury-plagued season and is the subject of trade speculation.

So Worley's name is written on the schedule in pen every fifth game, even though he's still using pencil on his personal copy.

"I don't want to say that I worry," Worley said. "But it's definitely a thought in the back of my mind that if I don't come out and have success, it's not guaranteed. That job's not mine. So I need to earn it."

He pitched Monday as if his job were on the line. Worley wasn't happy with this first outing. He also wasn't happy that the story line on him seemed to revolve around the phrase "sophomore jinx." Could he avoid it? Could he be as effective now that hitters have seen him?

"It was on my mind the whole time I was out there," Worley said. "Sophomore jinx."

He pitched four perfect innings. He struck out eight batters. He didn't allow a ball past the infield. The only hard-hit ball was a shot down the left-field line by pitcher Daniel McCutchen. Pete Orr made a nice diving stop and a strong throw to get McCutchen.

"It's too early to try to strike a lot of guys out," Worley said. "Today, I happened to get a lot of swings and misses, and takes in there, too. If they're going to give them to me, I'll take it."

Hang around long enough and you'll hear plenty of players deny the existence of things like the sophomore jinx. They're often the ones who experience it. Better to react like Worley, who is offended by the whole idea and wants to throw a cut fastball on its hands.

"I had a little fire," Worley said. "For a spring training game, absolutely [more than usual]. The first game, I was upset with myself. I wasn't locating very well, so the results weren't there for me. So I said to myself before this game started, I'm going to go out there and be a little bit hard on myself and not accepting giving up hits like that. I didn't just lay it in there. I went after guys."

That was the approach that produced Worley's out-of-nowhere rookie season: 11-3 record, 3.01 ERA, 119 strikeouts to 46 walks. With Oswalt and Blanton on the shelf, he stepped into the most celebrated rotation in baseball and kept pace with aces.

It was natural to wonder whether he could keep it up. And it is natural to wonder whether he can reach the level of year-in, year-out consistency that marks the great ones.

But instead of wondering, 'What if he slumps?' maybe it's fair to wonder, 'What if he's better?' Come October, maybe he can put that other what-if to rest, too.