It's time for the Phillies to bench Taijuan Walker for his obvious replacement

The Philadelphia Phillies had 40-plus wins before June. They don't have many problems, but one of them is starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, who entered Sunday's start with a 5.51 ERA. Over his first three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, he gave up four earned runs and received boos from Phillies faithful.

Say what you want about Philadelphia fans, but they are some the smartest in all of sports. Walker's production has been a talking point since last fall, when he seemingly called out manager Rob Thomson for not starting him in the postseason.

"I haven't (spoken to him). I'll call him at some point," Thomson said at the time. "People get emotional. He's a competitive guy. I love Taijuan, I really do. This guy gave us 15 wins. Every time he goes out to the mound, he competes until we take him out and then he never wants to come out. I want a guy like that. That type of thing doesn't bother me. I love him, I love his demeanor, I love his toughness. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Walker hasn't backed up his bold proclomation so far this year, and Phillies fans are tired of it. In fact, some were even calling for his logical replacement after he gave up a home run to Alec Burleson.

Phillies should eat the money and start Taijuan Walker's replacement

The Phillies owe Walker $54 million over the course of the next three seasons, so there's no guarantee they'll let him ride the bench. Perhaps skipping his spot in the rotation one time around would be smart, as Walker is feeling the heat from the fanbase. The logical replacement for Walker would be Spencer Turnbull, who has been a weapon out of the Phillies bullpen.

Even with Walker's albatross statistics, the Phillies have the best team rotation ERA in MLB. That speaks to how productive the likes of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez have been so far this season.

Eventually, Walker is going to have to pitch up to his contract earnings. Last season, he had an incredible month of June, so Thomson's unlikely to pull the plug completely. Providing Turnbull -- a pitcher who has a no-hitter on his resume -- more opportunities isn't a bad thing, especially if it gives a struggling pitcher an extra off day.