General Discussion – Week of May 26, 2014 – Ridiculously Long Mets Series Edition

Weekly Discussion

The Phils are in the middle of a three game set with Colorado that closes tomorrow night, and is followed by a five game series with the Mets that lasts through Monday. That’s 20% more potentially very bad baseball than the schedule makers intended. I hope the town can survive.

Discuss.

33 thoughts on “General Discussion – Week of May 26, 2014 – Ridiculously Long Mets Series Edition”

  1. Severe thunderstorms, possible hail, going thru south-central PA counties, thru the evening….Jesse Biddle stay indoors.

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    1. Crossing my fingers for Kyle Freeland or Grant Holmes but it’s looking like Nola unless he’s off the board. I’ve warmed up to Newcomb. He still seems a little too much like Biddle for me for the 7th pick, but there’s a chance he could still blossom under a professional coaching and workout regimen.

      There’s a decent chance Houston takes Jackson, because Gammons and other sources report their front office doesn’t like the higher injury risk involved in drafting pitchers so high. Gordon also looks like a top 5 pick…but we figured those two would be gone. We need a surprise pick or two ahead of us- maybe Pentecost, Turner, Chavis, Zimmer, Harrison or Conforto could slip into a top spot. I’d love for a top 6 team to take Beede, but his stock is so low right now he might even drop out of the 1st round. In this deep draft teams could look to save money for later picks, leading to surprises early.

      Rodon could even fall a little bit- there’s now a non – zero chance one of Rodon or Kolek could drop to the 7th pick.

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      1. I’d love for the Phillies to take Hoffman. He’s an elite arm, and even if he needs an extra year, the Phillies are not competing for awhile anyway. They can sign him under slot and hopefully overpay for a later (better) pick.

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  5. I am happy Sandberg will now sewriously think about platooning Ruf and Howard at first.
    Though, Ruf’s sporadic and limited playing time has him hitting lefties below par.
    Looking at Ruf’s MLB numbers:
    254/346/838….OPSplus-129 – looks pretty mediocre
    HRs-18, PAs-338 – HR/PA-19 – pretty good, one of the best in MLB.
    K%-31…very Howard-like, and BB%-11, not too shabby

    Some would say he will further ‘level’ and trend downward
    But what would his numbers be if he played 75 consecutive games vs the sporadic play, with the occasional PH role, over these last three years!.

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  8. Phillies should explore to see what Dom Brown could bring back in a trade.
    Those six weeks last May/June may have been an aberration of sorts.

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    2. I don’t agree with the notion that Dom Brown only had two good months last year and therefore his numbers should be discounted. He had a very good year last year. It doesn’t matter how you get 27 homeruns–if you end the year with that total, and hit .270, you had a good year. The Philadelphia media and fanbase have been very negative about him since he first came up. The fact that he can get as hot as he did proves that he’s good. He was on a historic run last year and made the all-star team. It wasn’t just a hot streak.
      As for this year, I think he has been tinkering with his swing and it has led to some struggles. He has been trying to hit the ball to all fields. Early on, he was slapping the ball a lot to left, but not really driving it. Lately, he has been driving the ball to left, which is a new thing for him. I think he is evolving from a pull hitter to a guy who can use all fields and this makes him much more dangerous. I think he’s close–he has actually been hitting the ball hard and making outs lately. I wouldn’t rule him out by any means.

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      1. Check Dom Brown’s stat from 1 August 2013 thru today…his last 4 months.
        He is what he is….streaky hitter it appears….he will get hot again…but the hope it last longer then the last time last year.
        Lets not even talk about his outfield metrics.

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  9. Interesting article on fangraphs about how unproductive the Phillies younger players have been thus far (this aligns with many posts that Larry has been making over the spring)

    http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-phillies-are-failing-in-a-different-way-than-expected/

    I think the last paragraph sums it up:

    The Phillies aren’t losing because they are old, and that’s maybe not what we would have expected several months ago. They’re losing because their young players aren’t very good. Suddenly, that seems so, so much worse, particularly if — well, when — Utley & Rollins are unable to maintain their production. It’s still a bad situation in Philadelphia. It’s just a differently bad situation.

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  11. From K. Rosenthal:- Phillies attendance / rank

    2012 – 44,021/1st
    2013 – 37,190/8th
    2014 – 30,358/13th

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  15. Maybe Sarge but certainly not Wheels I can’t stand that friggin guy. I don’t think the 3 of them together work but Tom with just Jamie or just is tolerable.

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  16. Interesting stats from Mike Sielski on Dom Brown: Hot and Cold

    –Through May 29 last season:

    AB BA HR RBI OPS

    187 .262 13 32 .817

    –Through May 28 this season

    AB BA HR RBI OPS

    172 .203 3 22 .564

    –May 20 through June 8 last season:

    AB BA HR RBI OPS

    73 .397 12 27 1.429

    –April 27 through May 27 this season:

    AB BA HR RBI OPS

    83 .133 2 12 .437

    …apparently, he is a streaky kind of guy

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  18. Interesting rumor: the Angels need a lefthanded reliever and the might potentially be interested in someone like Bastardo:

    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/05/angels-may-be-in-market-for-left-handed-reliever.html

    I wonder what he might bring back? He’s still relatively cheap and his wildness this year aside, has historically effective when used correctly. Maybe a prospect in their 10-20 range? Speaking of which, if you want to feel better about the Phillies’ system, check out John Sickels’ assessment of the Angels’.

    http://www.minorleagueball.com/2014/1/11/5297876/los-angeles-angels-top-20-prospects-for-2014

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  19. I never understood how people thinks its okay to say, if you think we are bad look at so and so. I don’t want to look at someone worse. To me is like your kid saying. I got a 60 but john down the street got a 50. who cares, I want you to do good, same case with our system, you can always make a excuse for a team if you don’t mind be a loser. and failure in sports and in life.

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    1. So, wait, you’re against comparing things? How do you feel about keeping score?

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