127 thoughts on “Phillies Discussion, 4/15/24”

1. I will just mention one thing I said to my 9-year-old grandson last night. He is all excited to be going next Monday to Cincy to see the Phillies vs. Reds. Being 8-8 is disappointing to me in that the Phillies have played almost all home games so far and really have taken no advantage of it. Maybe the weather getting better will help. Hope so.

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   1. Now 9-8….and last night was another ‘lucky’ win IMO. 

      Will never understand how so many star veterans’ bats go into sleep mode together at the start of a season. Last season was JTR, Schwarber and Turner…this season Castellanos, Harper and young stud like Stott.

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      1. Romus. I got home after high school game and saw Pache get the winning hit. I saw all of the 10th inning. April wins count the same as September wins. I do not have an answer for your comment. At least Marsh has been good, and he missed some of ST.

         Here is a really weird stat for grandkid. Six games now. He has not hit a ball in play where he has made an out. Did have a Sac Fly last night. Either base hit, K, BB and 1 HBP. A year ago, he hit ball all over field. Now someone has him pulling everything.

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      2. I thought Bud gave us one last night in the 10th………..and using a pitcher to PR is stupid… I realize he was a couple people short….now he could be one more.

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2. Braves starting pitching has done a 180 from their glory days of the 90s…..those starters ..Smoltz, Glavine, et al rarely got injured…now virtually every young arm they promote and does well early on…goes down for the count, now Strider….prior there were Soroka, Wright, and Anderson. I hope this fate does not work itself to the Phillies young pitchers coming alongstaff…so far Painter and McFarlane. However, Abel and McGarry seem to have healthy arms.

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   1. I believe Pedro Martinez said the younger players should be focusing on pitching skill and letting their ligaments get stronger. He said back in the day thats how they did it. Today the pitchers are focusing on their muscles too much. The players today appear to be more fit than they did back in the day. Muscles grow faster than ligaments. To be honest, I am kind of stuck following professional baseball as a habit. The more I think about, the more I think the owners should be paying the fans to support the team as opposed to the other way around. I don’t get why working people pay a billionaire for the privilege to watch millionaires have fun. A sport that has a future, rock climbing, has this same thing going on with the muscles and the ligaments. It is all about the ligaments in rock climbing, and they need to develop slowly. Focusing on the muscles is a recipe for putting too much stress on the ligaments too soon. The ligaments will definitely break if the level of effort follows the muscles.  

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3. Another good post with interesting stats on the correlation between velocity/spin and TJ. It’s all velocity and spin. The problem is that velocity and spin are effective. That won’t change. So either:
   1. Accept it as a fact of the game or
   2. Limit IP of pitchers.

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   1. Sorry meant “limit pitch count” not limit IP

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      1. v1. I have no info on this. I have a grandson at the high end of the youth baseball and one at the beginning of it. As we have mentioned most tourney’s have a pitch limit and with Game Changer it is easy to monitor. Do you think they might bring the number of pitches down a few say 10 or so going forward with these younger kids?

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   2. The fraying of the UCL usually starts earlier than when these pitchers reach the major league level. That is why I would start the PRP procedure very early into kids teenage years–15 thru 17–…whether or not there is a tear or not…taking your own blood from continued healing and strengthening is a better alternative than when the tear actually occurs and you have take a ligament from another part of the body to repair a complete UCL tear.

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      1. Romus. That is true on the strain beginning at young ages. The owner of one of these facilities only spoke of how hard the pitchers were throwing when I spoke recently with him. I mentioned a while back though on the down time from PRP. Every kid and parent believe they will be the exception and they can continue without any major damage. That is how the mind works. I am amazed at the number of 15–16-year-old kids just in this area who have had TJ. I am aware of close to 10 around here. I am sure the Grand Park facility plays a part because unlike 15 years ago now everyone’s kid can be a baseball star. I am only like 15 minutes from it so I here all the stories. Plus, when I was a kid, I never told anyone if my arm was sore. I am sure that is still true today.

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      2. I am not a doctor. Are you?

         My understanding is that once there is some “fraying” there would be some pain or discomfort symptom that the kid would feel. Which would usually cause a trip to an orthopedist who will do checks. If you agree with this, then there is no evidence that TJ starts early and is just waiting until they get to the majors.

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         1. No…not a physician but then again most docs do not know anything about it anyways. And every individual is different….fraying may not indicate any symptoms…..but I can tell you this much….virtually every kid will have some soreness in their arm if he pitches enough innngs at a high velo…..that is a fact from what i have seen. So who knows if fraying is happening….you cannot do imaging every time a kid feels like he has a sore arm from pitching…..the protocol is rest. And the other thing…PRP is an expensive procedure so only a certain level of a family income can incur the cost for their boy. But there are parents/fathers who will do it. If the kid is on the MLB scouting radar….parents will make that investment.

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      3. PRP Injections are not covered by insurance. At least when my kids had them. Depending on the doctor it can cost anywhere from 10-15 K. It is more than a 1 injection procedure and takes up to 6 weeks until you are able to start a throwing program. The cost is prohibitive for prevenative maintenance

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   3. Nice post.

      I think the view of a SP is changing. Long gone are the days of Carlton, Seaver, etc. But even now, look at last year’s FA – last two big names – Montgomery and Snell.

      NFL used to hand out $$$ for RBs only to find their shelf-life was 4 years. Now RB’s are viewed as plug-n-play guys to fit a system.

      See a similar path with SPs – too many breaking down. That said hope Wheeler and Nola defy this analysis.

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   4. I keep coming back to changing the incentives around player development and the best way to do that is to deaden the ball. If home runs are harder to hit then pitchers will throw more strikes rather than nibble. More velocity and spin will always be more effective, but if you lessen the penalties for throwing strikes with lesser stuff then you might normalize the game closer to what it was 20 years ago. Whether one would need to shrink the strike zone as well to penalize pitchers without command is another thing that should be tested.

      More velocity and movement will always be better. We just need to raise the incentives for the command and control guy to level the playing field somewhat. At that point maybe you could lessen the number of pitchers on a roster. If that happened today though it would just lead to cycling more players through the final roster spots and would not solve the injury problem.

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      1. That makes the game more boring. That’s the opposite of what they want.

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4. It was just one AB but it encapsulates everything I’ve been saying since February about the whole Pache/Rojas debate.

   And never did I say Pache was going to be some type of star for the next 3-5 years but he does have better control of his barrel, he does have some HR ability and he has all the defense you need for CF even if he is a notch below Rojas.

   And that’s all before we get into the whole one has options one doesn’t and one never took a single AB in AAA.

   Neither is the CF of the future Crawford is!

   Along side some ok moves this FO does some dumb things like giving Merrifield $8 million to take ABs away from young guys who are probably better than he is at this point. (Wilson) or can do what he does from the left (Clemens)

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   1. dmar. I spoke of the new kid on the block theory regarding Merrifield. Back in my coaching days at school it was always that the new kid was better than the one you had for years. Many times, that was not true. Everyone likes the new toy in the store.

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   2. I think you are reading a lot into one at bat. 

      Pache is a strikeout machine compared to Rojas and a lot of players on the team. His SO% is 33.3% to Rojas’ 14.9%. His 33.3% is the second worst on the team behind only Marsh’s 39.7%. 

      If the season so far is too small a sample size (although it is much larger than one AB), he had a SO% of 40.5% in spring training compared to Rojas’ 16.1% in a similar number of at bats.

      And Rojas has shown improvement while Pache has regressed. In 2023 Pache’s SO% was 28.4% and Rojas’ was 25.6%.

      I have to consider Pache as more than a notch behind Rojas in CF. Last season, Rojas ranked 4th in Runs Saved among centerfielders even though he ranked 37th in innings played in centerfield. 

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5. Anyone concerned and getting 2011 Phillies vibes? Very good pitching team with an offense that got over the hill quickly? Need guys like Bohm, Stott, and Marsh to be playing well and consistently well at this point 3-4 years into their careers to keep the offense afloat when the vets’ bats look tired (which they mostly do right now). I know it’s early and this is probably all a distant memory in 3-4 weeks, but I’m concerned that the lineup might age quickly. Let’s hope guys start hitting soon. Turner has started looking sharper and guys have been hitting the balls hard and seemingly into some bad luck. Would love to see the avg. exit velocities and BABIP for the team or any outliers if people have the inclination to check those stats (I’m not savvy enough with research and statistics to do it myself!).

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   1. Out of their starting 9, the Phillies have 5 players age 30+. And that’s not including Merrifield, who is the oldest of the bunch at age 35. Father Time always wins, so you’re hoping for the decline to be later rather than sooner.

      The Dodgers are in the same boat, but the difference is that their older guys are hitting right now.

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      1. Right… and it’s their 5 stars/big money guys… Turner, Schwarber, Harper, Castellanos, and Realmuto. I don’t think any of these guys are going to be a major liability this season, but I do worry about any inkling of them slowing down given how much is still committed beyond this season. Let’s hope things start to turn around quickly. They haven’t hit any of these mediocre pitchers they’ve faced of late. Haven’t seen a single ace come through in a few weeks and yet we haven’t sniffed a big inning/big game. It’s concerning.

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         1. What I’m seeing is high fastballs (or out of the zone) and lots of breaking pitches in the zone. And the Phillies are not adjusting. Yesterday, Cal Quantrill was throwing a boatload of splitters and the Phillies were just rolling them over.

            It seems that the Phillies are getting no fastballs to hit, which makes sense since they are a notorious fastball hitting team.

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   2. Let’s face it John Middleton hitched his wagon to Bryce after the 2018 season. I’m sure JM and his wife flying out to Las Vegas had a lot of in depth conversation about BH being the guy to revive Phillies baseball.

      It probably also was structured and a handshake between both gentleman ensued that JM was going keep spending around BH and bring in guys he wanted who were established big leaguers.

      BH strikes me a legit good dude with a lot of pride and his goal at the time probably involved a lot of being able to stick it to the Nationals. We all know some of the facts of that time. Rizzo on the record with a $300MM offer and then really no other teams stepping in to beat it.

      John not only offered a deal better than $300MM but he likely also offered him a seat at the table when discussing roster and draft decisions. Stott for instance in the draft 2019 then the night BH was in the broadcast booth and he said on live TV Trea Turner was one of his favorite guys in baseball. 

      And then it happened Turner was a Phillie with a deal that far surpassed any of the other SS’s available at the time. And there were some good ones too.

      2019 the era of Bryce all begins and 3 seasons later 2022 they back into the playoffs and get all the way to the WS. The town erupted and Phillies baseball was back on the map and top of mind.

      I’m sure DD has his hands full with all the cooks he has in his kitchen. He’s no stranger to working for owners that want their say but I wonder if he has ever had to deal with a star player sitting next to the owner influencing those types of decisions.

      Bryce is a really good player and I’m sure he knows talent. Stott was a really good pick in 2019 coincidence or not that was BH’s first Draft. 

      But There were a few other players taken behind him you have to wonder about: Corbin Caroll, George Kirby, Daniel Espino, Anthony Volpe.

      Wonder in the sense that in the absence of BH’s voice would we have rated one of those guys higher?

      C’est la vie perhaps but when we get to the end of this era and if we haven’t brought the WS trophy back to Philly how will we remember it?

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      1. They do listen to Bryce Harper (and take his thoughts seriously), but Harper doesn’t run the draft room. Stott was a very good pick there. Any time you get a first division regular from first round pick, it’s almost automatically a good pick.

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      2. It will be remembered for the time the Phillies threw crazy money at it and it didn’t work. Here is a quick look at the present state of the contracts and whether it was worth it so far:

         Harper: 5 full season into his mega deal, he’s delivered on average 3.7 WAR. So he’s played up to his contract so far and I don’t want to think about the future.

         Wheeler: I don’t even have to mention it, his initial contract with the Phillies was a steal of gross proportions. Then the Phillies gave him 3/126. He’ll have to average close to 5 WAR to justify that extension. Oh well.

         Reamulto: 3 full seasons in, he’s provided value to the Phillies thanks to that massive 6.6 WAR season in 2022.

         Schwarber: Had an average 1st year and then declined.

         Castellanos: Never really got going and it’s looking downright awful.

         Walker: Was meh when he signed and he actually had an average 1st year. Now he’s hurt and his velocity is fluctuating.

         Turner: Hated this contract when it got signed and to his credit, clawed his way into an ok first season after a miserable 1st half.

         Moral of the story? The Phillies need to start developing more players because throwing money isn’t working that well and guys are inevitably declining.

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         1. I agree with your conclusion that our farm system needs to produce more star players. I like our top 4 of Painter, Crawford, Miller and Abel. And we have some intriguing higher risk prospects as well. But until we see results at the MLB level we will have to over pay for vets.

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         2. Guru – this is damned good analysis. I agree with you completely and, it is worth noting that the better of the long-term contracts were signed before DD was the GM. He is a good GM and you might even say a very good GM, but there are some things he does not do all that well. And the biggest of those is choosing who to sign and for how long (Turner’s contract was long by design but it will be weighing this club down for 4 or 5 years at the end – I hate dead money – it’s like an anchor). But, yeah, they really need to continue to develop talent in the minors. We need to raise our share of stars and also good players. But one thing the GM has done remarkably well is put together a very talented and deep pitching staff and to fill in the holes that existed in the BP and the rotation. This team is really talented on the mound – I think one of the best in baseball and will be better than they were even the last two years. It’s quite remarkable they are above .500 now. If they are even average at the plate they should make the playoffs. 

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      3. Coincidence. The Phillies were going to select a pitcher who was taken by the Nationals, I think, a couple picks later. They expected Stott to be off the board by their pick and jumped at the opportunity to take him when he was there.

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   3. No. I am not concerned at all with this team. Really talented. Still plenty of prime years. Gamers who rise to the occasion. Great pitching. Really good defense. This is a playoff team if we stay healthy. Not concerned at all. 16 games is not a measuring stick of anything for MLB in my opinion.

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      1. Please advise me as to “when” I may apply the “proper” measuring stick! I don’t want to miss that milestone!

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         1. Imo all star break is a good time to take stock in the record. Just my pov.

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         2. Skeet…..according to Elias Sports Bureau data,

            58% of teams (90 of 155) that were in sole possession of first place on the morning of June 1, have gone on to win their division in the wild-card era since 1995 and excluding 2020.

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            1. Good stat

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6. Also I guess it was last week when the wife caught on about the new Jerseys and she asked why are they doing those uniforms and my exact one word response was MONEY

   Being in marketing and branding for as long as I have its always about the next wave of revenues.

   I haven’t paid much attention to others city connect uni’s but I believe the executive Jim speaks of put out a memo that it should be the teams design but also be far and away different than their traditional unis.

   Only 2 teams don’t have a city connect jersey at the moment. One you all could probably guess. The other was a surprise to me.

   and both couldn’t be on more opposite ends of the spectrum

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   1. Like trivia questions…the one should be the Yankees I would think being traditionalist as they are. with pin stripes and all.

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      1. Romus. Let’s go Dodgers with 2. I have no idea. Think Yankees are good guess.

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         1. Nope the Oakland A’s

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            1. The A’s City Connect uniform should be the image of an old time depression-era hobo holding a stick with a bag at the end to symbolize their relative poverty as a franchise and the fact that they are bumming around until they can move. It would be classic!

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            2. A’s are moving to Vegas…not a good idea to go with a new jersey…locals are not keen on their decision on the relocation.

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               1. Hence the hobo.

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7. BTW. Anyone wants to see the marketing bonanza come to Indiana. The Caitlin Clark money grab is in full force here in Indy now. Also, network tv.

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   1. Caitlin Clark is the golden goose. I saw some of the WNBA draft yesterday, Clark was decked out in Prada. Clark is getting paid and the WNBA wants to get paid.

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8. I just saw that Carl Erskine has passed. He spoke at one of my team banquets back in high school. 

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9. The Phillies really need to win four of the next five games against Colorado and the White Sox.

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10. Prospects who can steal 100 bases. First prospect listed in article:

    Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies (No. 4, MLB No. 70): “My goal is always to be aggressive, play fast and play hard.” That’s what Crawford told MLB Network from Phillies camp this spring shortly after winning a plurality of the votes for the fastest prospect in an offseason MLB Pipeline executive poll. He’s followed up last year’s 47-steal performance with five more through seven games for High-A Jersey Shore — a pace that puts him on track for 86 over a 120-game season. Perhaps more are in store as the weather warms up.

    https://www.mlb.com/news/prospects-who-could-steal-100-bases

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    1. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies decide to move him to Reading later this season. Assume if he rakes at JS it is a foregone conclusion…..but if he just has an average or mediocre season there at JS will they still bump him up to get a taste of Double AA pitching at Reading in Aug. or Sep. prepping him for 2025.

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       1. I think that his timeline will align with the end of Schwarber’s contract. He gets a cup of coffee in September 2025. And then penciled in as starter (with a vet backup) for 2026. Moving Castellanos to DH for final year.

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       2. My expectation is Crawford will half and half the season or there abouts and definitely finish in AA this year. And yes 2025 should see him start the 2025 season in AAA and then go from there.

          I believe once they believe he is ready he will take his place in CF sometime in 2025. I really don’t think it will be contingent on any players blocking him.

          Meaning one of Rojas or Pache will be the odd man out. 

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          1. By the end of this season, the Phillies will know if Rojas is starter level or a backup. If he’s not, then I can see the Phillies trading him as a change of scenery candidate in order to maximize his trade value.

             Then Pache can be the stopgap in CF until Crawford is ready.

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             1. Hope they actually limit his SB attempts… just another play he can get injured on that really doesn’t add to things until he is with the big club… obv he can steal, cool.. now stay healthy.. SB’s in the minors for any of the top 10 prospects is kind of foolish.. and a good way to get a bad ROI out of your top guys… if it’s a guy working on his 1st step or his slide, fine.. but JC has nothing to gain from swiping lots of bags in the minors

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11. Miller’s homer tonight was 427 feet

    https://www.mlb.com/gameday/760421/play/59

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    1. He smoked that thing, damn! Some nice nice power and going with the pitch.. get him a jersey

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12. Every start Ranger’s price goes up. Sign him now!!

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    1. He is so good right now

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    2. If I’m Ranger’s agent, he’s not taking any discounts. He’ll be a FA in 2026. I’m starting at 6/135 which buys out his final arbitration season.

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13. Am I the only one who is irked that Pache’s reward for coming through big in extras was a seat on the bench?

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    1. I was disappointed that Pache didn’t get a start, but the Phillies are giving Rojas every opportunity to hit. Hopefully Pache gets more starts instead of Merrifield in the OF. Also, the Phillies are giving Marsh opportunities to start vs lefties but it’s not working out so far. Marsh has a .472 OPS vs lefties. I wonder how long that will last before the Phillies put LF into a platoon.

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       1. Castellanos has a .452 OPS against lefties. So hopefully they’ll at least be consistent if they put Marsh back into a platoon.

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          1. Marsh has a career OPS of .584 vs lefties.

             Castellanos has a career OPS of .874 vs lefties (.769 vs righties).

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             1. Marsh is 26 years old and posted a .717 OPS against lefties last year, including an ISO and walk rate over twice as high as his previous years, suggesting that he may have been making improvements against them.

                Castellanos is 32 and has been wildly inconsistent, alternating between good and bad offensive seasons for the past 5 years (last year was a good one, for what it’s worth). We know his upside and it isn’t very high. Especially when you take defense into account.

                No starter should be losing play time because of small sample size, but if anyone’s losing it it shouldn’t be Marsh.

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                1. I don’t disagree, I’m just letting you know what the probable outcome would be, which is for Marsh to lose ABs to lefties. He doesn’t have the track record of Castellanos and Castellanos is making $20M. I know, money shouldn’t have a say in this, but unfortunately, it does.

                   If it was up to me, Castellanos is losing starts to Pache.

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                2. Memo to file – Castellanos actually wasn’t even that good last year. He was okay, but still nowhere close to the player we were told they were getting. He does seem to work hard and hopefully, he can have a miracle recovery, but so far, it’s been a dreadful contract. 

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    2. Yes. He did his job. Would you still be irked if he was sent to Lehigh Valley if he didn’t come through? One successful at bat does not change any of the negative issues with his offensive performance, like his high K rate.

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14. Not sure keeping Rojas up to suffer the humiliation of not hitting is a great idea for him in the long run. If it reaims like this for the next two weeks, then IMO, 6-8 weeks at LHV with little pressure may be in his best interest……Wilson and Clemens can be brought up for some 4th OF duties or other versatile assignments in the infield.

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    1. ‘Wilson or Clemens’

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       1. ……. or Luplow

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15. Clemens.

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16. Thanks to some excellent starting pitching, a little bit of power hitting, and Alvarado, the Phillies now have a higher winning percentage than the Dodgers.

    Obviously that’s meaningless this early in the season, but I thought it was funny.

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17. Rojas’ first 8 games were rough, but over his last 8 games: 26 PA, 1 K, .348/.400/.435 for an .835 OPS. And he isn’t getting crazily lucky, with a BABIP of .364. In particular, the K rate is promising.

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    1. West… agreed. Albeit a SSS, Rojas has shown some slow but steady progress. He doesn’t seem to be an AO anymore (or at least not as much). He’s striking out less and even walked a couple of times. I like that he’s stealing bases too. If this keeps up, he can put some pressure on the opposing pitchers while they battle the top of the lineup. Fingers crossed but enjoying the ride so far!

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18. Phillies need to cash in against these poor teams like the Rockies and the White Sox. They went 2-2 vs the Pirates who went into NY and got swept. The Mets are a decent team.

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19. Two questions for those who know: Does Soto have any minor league options? 

    I think it was a couple of seasons ago that the Phillies sent Alvarado down for a few weeks to get things together. 

    Number two: What announcer from long ago would call the White Sox the pale hose?

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    1. Soto does have an option remaining. Fangraphs shows option years remaining on player pages if you wanna look up other ones (maybe while looking up other stats).

       And Ken Harrelson?

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       1. If it were a Phillies announcer I think it may have been either Bill Campbell or Byrum Saam.

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    2. I don’t know the announcer, but the pale hose were the 1906 White Sox also known as the “hitless wonders” who sported a .230 hitting average. Was it Frank Deford?

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20. It was the Yankees announcer who used to call Yankee Stadium “the big ballpark”. He was none other than Red Barber.

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    1. aggghhh …… Red Barber …… interesting point on the 1906 pale hose “hitless wonders”, they won the AL pennant that year and the World Series! Must have had a really good pitching staff.

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21. Garrett Crochet reminds me of a young Chris Sale. He’s currently sporting an astounding WHIP of .838 and a K rate of 12.3. With that he’s only averaging 5.5 IP per start.

    Hopefully the approach is to get his pitch count up early and get to their BP.

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    1. DMAR…I liked him when he came out of Tenn….Phillies took Mick Abel a few picks later. He will be tough tonight…..ChiSox have not given him much support it appears early on.

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22. No idea why the Pirates are keeping Paul Skenes at AAA when he’s clearly ready for the bigs. He hasn’t given up a run yet this season and his SO rate is an absurd 19.2. He could have been one the few pitchers to make the jump from LSU to the show and not miss a beat. But the scary part is that he only turns 22 next month. Skenes is younger than George Klassen!

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    1. Easy why they are keeping him down for a few more weeks….why start the clock early and then lose him a year earlier to free agency…..they will not have the $$$$ to pay him down the road and if he is as good as they expect, when he hits his first arb year his price tag in abitration will start the upward ascent.

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23. Romus……….where is the red stripe? Come’on …… I thought you had pull!😎

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    1. LOL…my friend is at the game tonight with her sister and brother….she told me this afternoon there are wearing the city Connect….she likes it….I told ger th same….need some red somewhere on that marketing schematic uniform….like the blood red stripe that the USMC have on the dress blues.

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       1. Romus. They have worn the City Connect the last two Fridays. I wonder if they are doing that for all home Friday night games. Pittsburgh announcers said they are to wear them 12 times.

          Nice when same guy hits back-to-back 3 run home runs. Usually, good chance to win. I am ok with the blue Liberty Bell hats. I am thinking of getting one. Preferred the red one but I have not seen it on any site I have checked. The helmets sure look dark on tv. How did you like the look of Realmuto? Could not miss where he was.

          Turnbull should in NO way be sent down or bullpened. He has been most consistent of all. He and Ranger.

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          1. Yes Don….Friday home games those unis are being worn…thru the league I think for the other 28 teams also.

             Why do you say Turnbull will be sent down…though he may be bullpened.

             When Walker comes back they will need to make a decision.

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             1. Romus. Others were saying that might happen. In the games I have seen he has been really good. One thing I noticed last night he has a smooth delivery so that should help maybe preventing further injuries. He was good last night. I think Turnbull should stay in rotation.

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          2. No Don, they have NOT won both games in the City Connect uniforms. They lost last Friday to the Pirates and Bailey Falter.

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             1. Jim. I said worn. I knew they lost. I kidded that on Saturday that they would not go 12-0 in those.

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                1. Sorry. I should have had my glasses on.

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             2. Jim. Funny. I went back and was looking to see how Romus thought I said Turnbull should be sent down. I think he has been really good. It was early and I had some people coming over so thought maybe I had goofed on the keyboard. Hope you are feeling better. Phillies are starting to play better every day. Thanks for all you do. I know the guys love the game recaps. Since I am not familiar with most of the young guys, I just read the posts.

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24. I sure hope Turnbull isn’t the one they have in mind to send down when Walker is deemed ready to come up. Going to be a tough decision, I like our starting 5 and I don’t believe Walker is better than they are.

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    1. Seems like they want to be cautious with Turnbull’s IP since he’s been hurt for a couple years. So he’ll likely be going to the ‘pen or becoming a piggy-back starter with one of the other guys (probably Walker himself, at least to begin with).

       But I don’t think he was ever at risk of being removed from the roster. I agree that I don’t like Walker better than any of our starters. But maybe he can come back and pitch well enough to be included in a trade package where we don’t have to give up anything significant.

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25. I wouldn´t mind trading Walker’s 18 mill AVV, although I don’t see many takers.

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26. I read somewhere that Turnbull and Walker would piggyback to keep both their innings down. It would also be good to have 6 starters when they need to play a doubleheader.

    I praised the Turnbull signing on this site when it was announced. The guy lost 17 games one season but had a 4.6 ERA. I can remember when the Mets entered baseball and lost a ton of games.

    Roger Craig was their “ace”. He lost over twenty games that season. It has been said that if a pitcher is losing close to 20 games, he is still in the rotation because he’s a good pitcher.

    In my opinion, the “Philly” uniforms would look better if they replaced all the blue with red. When I think of the Phillies, I think RED.

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    1. On the uniform, I think the vast majority of us agree there should be red. I dunno about a pure color swap, though, Red and yellow as a color scheme would just make it look like a McDonald’s sponsorship.

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       1. Dan…I’d prefer just a red stripe on the dark pant and red lettering on PHILLY and the number on the back. I suppose then to coordinate, the Liberty Bell on the hat should be red also. I can just imagine those coming up with that color schematic.

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27. Romus. I have a question for you or anyone who may know the answer. I only get the White Sox, Reds, Cubs, Cardinals broadcasts when team are playing the Phillies. So tonight, and last night after each pitch by either pitcher screen shows speed and also pitch. Ex. slider, 4 seamer, sweeper, sinker, etc. How are they able to list every pitch? Are they connected to the pitch com of the catcher? Just wondering.

    I am still thinking of ordering one of those blue hats. I too like the red Liberty Bell hat better.

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    1. They classify pitches based on speed and movement. It’s not always right (because, obviously, some of the pitches are similar and can look like a different type of pitch based on how it’s thrown). Just there to help people figure out what’s going on since it’s hard to determine pitch depth on the screen.

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28. not hard to figure out who’s spot Walker takes on the roster when he’s activated.

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    1. Yeah I am sure Pinto will be DFA’d soon. Question is do they use 6 starters? How do you take Trumbull out of rotation?

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       1. Not a good outing for him. A little bad luck but his pitches were everywhere. I see no way Turnbull does not stay in the rotation. No idea on the 6-man deal. But Wheeler was great again.

          It was mentioned Spencer and Roger Craig comparison. That was good. I remember when he had all of those losses for the Mets. The first time I saw Spencer I wondered to myself how could he have lost 17 games for the Tigers.

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       2. Phillies have no choice, they still owe Walker at least $45M so they are going to put him back into the rotation. And they’ll keep Turnbull to piggy back on Walker’s starts just in case.

          The Phillies need Walker to be healthy and effective. If he’s not, the situation is going to get messy. How messy? Like when Nick Pivetta wasn’t effective as a starter and the Phillies had to put him into the bullpen. The Phillies traded him away the following season for pennies on the dollar .

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       3. Everyone knows that Trumbull isn’t staying in the rotation long term. Similar to Strahm last year where his innings need to be limited.

          They need Walker to become the 5th starter and give them innings.

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29. Dan. Thanks. I had not seen this posted for any other teams before, so I just wondered. Wheeler is easy with his pitches. But Sox had several guys, and some did not look as described. Same with Pinto in the ninth. Had some called sinkers that were at the guy’s shoulders. Not much sink.

    Saw something else in the bottom of the 8th I had not seen before. Sox pitcher pitch com was not working, and shortstop gave him his. I did not realize that fielders also wore those as well.

    Learn something new every game.

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30. Marsh should have caught that ball in the corner. Well it’s Nola’s turn to get his era under 3. The Phillie’s starting 5s statistics are ridiculous right now. Nice to see Nick have a good game, still think he should be in the rotation of sitting games.

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31. Watched Zach Eflin mesmerize the Yankee hitters yesterday in NYC..six innngs Game Score of 72 with 6 Ks, 3 hits……I am sure he is happy down there in Tampa, but wondered how it would be with the Phillies, if he was still here.

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    1. Romus. I saw highlights of that game. Eflin looked really good. He appeared to be pitching much like he did in Philly. He just seemed to have some bad luck injury wise for Philly.

       Little grandkid is in a 9U tourney in Kokomo today. Tommy Underwood old home turf. Then tomorrow they are taking him to Cincy to see Phillies vs Reds. Told me they have seats behind Phillies dugout. He is such a Philles and Harper fan. Every day when I pick him up off the school bus, he has his Phillies hat on. He is really excited. He told me other night they are going to Detroit when Phillies play there in June. His mom is from Michigan. Look for the little kid with a Phillies hat on tv.

       Maybe Phillies can be going for 7 in a row tomorrow. Sox announcers said kid pitching today is making his 2nd start of season.

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       1. Don, you have your grandson learning well. Though he may take some abuse from all the kids there who are Reds fans.

          Phillies are hot….also now the Mets are right up there.

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          1. Romus. Kids today are more players driven than when I was a kid. He has his Harper baseball shoes. Phillies are much more popular now because of recent success. He had his Phillies hat and jersey on last year at Reds game. It helped him get two baseballs from Phillies players. He told me he is going to try to get there in time that he might be able to get an autograph or two tomorrow. I only know they are taking him out early from school. Guessing maybe two and half hours from here. Almost all interstate so fairly easy drive.

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32. Romus. I just looked at standings. Quiz for you without looking. Who has best and worst record in baseball this morning. I would not have guessed either. Yes, Mets are like 12-3 in last 15 games. Astros are really having a bad start. I did not realize that till guys last night said that when giving score of their game with Nats. Most wins and fewest wins. NO looking. LOL

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    1. Worst has to be the ChiSox…best Royals???

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       1. Guardians 15. White Sox 3. Rockies only have 4. Phillies need to sweep today.

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33. Being honest, I was happy to see Wheeler give up a hit in the 8th and get taken out immediately. He was already past his pitch count limit. I hate when a no-no enables a pitcher to throw too many pitches. It results in injuries.

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    1. He looked satisfied as he left the game. Good point.

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34. I am excited as anyone on the site that the Phillies have won five in a row and are now five games over .500. What I keep telling myself is that they have beaten two of the worst teams in baseball (the third will probably be the A’s).

    It’s great that they aren’t playing down to the competition and are cashing in early against these poor teams. I really feel bad for the ChiSox. They were inept for 17 innings until Pinto entered. Hope they haven’t woken up.

    And finally getting back to Roger Craig. He played two years for the Casey’s Amazin’ Mets. It was the first two years of their existence. Craig lost 22 and 24 games in those two years. His catcher back then was Choo Choo Coleman.

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35. Big difference between Turnbull and Strahm: Turnbull has never been a reliever. 65 big league appearances, 64 starts (he made one relief appearance as a rookie). In the minors he had 99 appearances, 99 starts. With the way he has pitched, I would not remove him from the rotation.

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    1. Also the same with Walker….virtually a starter in all of hia MLBgames.

       Maybe they will rotate starts but instead of 4 days between starts it could be 9 days…..pitchers normally prefer regular starts and not those long lay offs..

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       1. Yep. Neither of them have relief experience, unlike Strahm, who has primarily been a reliever in his career. And they have very similar career ERA+ marks (106 for Turnbull and 104 for Walker). So in my opinion the Phillies should run a 6-man rotation for a month or so . . . and the better pitcher this year should win the spot.

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          1. By the way, this falls into the category of “a good problem to have”! Most teams can’t find 5 viable starters.

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          2. Turnbull isn’t throwing enough innings in 2024 to remain in the rotation and why would you want to take starts away from Wheeler, Nola, and Ranger to give them to Walker and Turnbull.

             I would rather have Turnbull available in September vs. running up against an inning limit by the all-star break.

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             1. Games in April count just the same as those in September. Plus you never know if he might get hurt or if a layoff/inning limit will make him less effective later. Just let him keep rolling and rack up the wins now. If we need to shut him down, we need to shut him down. But he wasn’t going to be in our playoff rotation anyways, so we don’t need to worry about having him up to speed for that.

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36. The on-field results might come into play, too, with respect to the 5th starter question. Walker’s velo needs to be 3-4 mph higher than it is currently:

    https://twitter.com/Matt_Winkelman/status/1782128446195261843

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    1. We dont really need Walker at all. We need him to come back and pitch well enough to command a trade. Right now he’s an expensive luxury and a drain on the organization. 

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       1. Will be tough to move him because of that contract….and his age can be a factor along with whatever is going on inside the right shoulder.

          Dombrowski may have to eat a prtion of the contract and/or add more value to a deal, like a prospect. But if anyone can do it , he may be the one

          https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/taijuan-walker-14342/

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          1. oh he will definitely eat part of that contract for sure.

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