General Discussion – Week of 6-2-2014 – OH MY GOD IT’S STILL THE METS SERIES Edition

Weekly Discussion

This has to be in the running for the worst series in the history of the league, just by sheer volume of bad baseball.

Also, I got around to posting the graphic and some notes in the Box Score Recap for today, so feel free to discuss that stuff over in that thread.

Discuss.

84 thoughts on “General Discussion – Week of 6-2-2014 – OH MY GOD IT’S STILL THE METS SERIES Edition”

    1. On the Singleton news . . . .

      $##$^#$!&%^#!$%!

      Is that clear enough?

      Seriously, this is about as depressed as I’ve been as a Phillies fan since around 1995 or 1996 – it’s that bad. The team is mediocre to bad with no improvement in sight. The best players are in their mid 30s. The younger players have not played well at all and it is unclear whether they will ever play well. The farm system offers no near term solutions and talent at the upper levels is thin. The front office is about 15 to 20 years behind the competition in its thinking and there’s no sign that the team is about to change its approach. The team is deadly boring to watch – no hitting combined with stupid playing on the field, at bat and on the bases (Utley has to tell Revere to take a big lead at third when nobody is covering the third base bag? WTF??!!!). They are getting beat consistently by bad teams like the Mets and losing in painful ways.

      Yes, Mr. Amaro, your plan to destroy baseball fun in Philadelphia is nearing completion. And what an expensive, torturous, master plan it was. Congratulations your royal smugness – you win.

      Ugh!!!!!!

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      1. I agree with you 100 percent , the Phillies suck and we are probably gonna finish last in the division and we should look forward to high draft picks next year too, that is about all Ive got to look forward to and who will we draft this year . Oh wait the development of JP Crawford is also exciting but that is about it

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      2. agree with you completely. couldn’t have said it better myself. so it’s official: the phillies were absolutely fleeced on the pence deal. and just wait till they promote santana. ugh …

        i’m glad you pointed out about the front office being so far behind in its thinking. there’s no excuse for that in a big-market franchise with one of the highest payrolls in baseball.

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        1. What a dolt comment. Let’s revisit every trade in history 4 years later and talk about how bad it was. Let’s talk about the Ryne Sandberg trade, the Gio Gonzalez trade maybe the Bagwell trade or how about the big Indians and Expos deal.

          Like what you were hoping wishing for Singleton not to be good just because we traded…

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          2. Dmar…you misread catchman’s comments on SIngleton….he was not wishing him ill-will….he seemed to be frustrated more by the end results of yet another Amaro strategic and tactical maneuver that in the end has failed to accomplish the mission.

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            1. I hated the Pence trade at the time, because 1) it was unnecessary — we were on path to win about 100 games and Mayberry had played well, 2) we overpaid for what Pence was, 3)Pence was not really a difference maker so getting a relatively expensive second season locked up wasn’t a big plus to me.

              Still, I’m not going to lay this one on RAJ as a failed tactical/strategic maneuver. The team RAJ put together won 102 games. It had the starting staff geared to playoff success. Pence was a big and expensive ‘vote of confidence’ and added help to Manuel and the players. Manuel had lobbied very heavily for a trade and their were noises that ownership also wanted to seal the deal then and there on another championship. When you’ve built a 102-win team with the big starter horses for the playoffs, then, apart from the SSS who is lucky enough to be hot, it is on the manager and his players to bring home the crown. RAJ had done his part. Others did not. I blame RAJ for going along with the whining to strengthen the lineup and spending so much to achieve it. I don’t blame him at all for the quick exit from the playoffs. Put that blame where it belongs.

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          3. Wait a minute Dmar – are you going to defend this administration? Singleton was just a reaction, a point of frustration – the meat of my comment is below the reaction. Is there anything I said you disagree with? If so, let me know how you think I am wrong. I’ll defend the heart of everything I wrote.

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      3. You say talent at the upper levels of the farm system is thin, . I say that talent at the lower levels is even thinner. Lakewood has only won 36% of its games (record of 20 wins and 35 losses). Clearwater is worse than I ever thought was possible: 12 wins and 44 losses winning 21.5% of its games. The worst teams usually win about one third of their games. There is little hope right now and even less in a few years.

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    2. It’s also being reported that Singleton has already signed a long-term contract worth up to $35 million before ever taking the field as major leaguer.

      I guess now we just have to wait for Domingo Santana to arrive… It’s going to be a long, long decade watching the Astros win the AL West (still seems weird to say that) year after year.

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      1. Let’s wait until it plays out. There have been several players who have been locked up really early and the majority end up not working out for the team who signed them. Longoria is the only one who really makes the signing team look good (gotta wait on Matt Moore). Seriously, look at Longorias contract it is crazy how “little”he’s made. Again wait until this plays out. I still think (and I’ve said this when the trade first went down) that Santana will end up being the best player outta all 4. Still can’t believe he was on the PTBNL list. Ed Wade doesn’t get much credit for what he did in Philly and what he’s put into place in Houston.

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        1. Well, Pat Gillick did acknowledge Ed Wade’s contribution in the first sentence out of his mouth after the Phillies won the World Series, which is one reason why I believe the hype about Pat Gillick being a very decent human being.

          The way I read it the Singleton deal basically locks up all his first six years plus one free agent year, it’s only $10 million guaranteed and the big money only kicks in if they exercise options in the later years of the contract. It seems like a pretty good deal for the Astros provided Singleton avoids the temptations now available legally in Colorado and Seattle.

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  2. It’s extra sad because if these two teams were good, this would have been a classic series with all the extra innings.

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  4. I know this might be the wrong spot for this, but I went to the Lakewood game on Saturday, and had some general thoughts worth sharing:

    – Viza was not good to say the least. He topped out at 91, but was mostly in the high 80s (according to the stadium gun). They hit a lot of balls hard. he really didn’t show much.
    – The pitcher the BlueClaws went against was a lefty, junk baller. Threw mostly breaking balls. Confused several guys. That being said…
    – Crawford was officially 1 for 3, but was robbed of a single by a poor running play by Tocci, who misread a ball that was clearly going to drop and didn’t make it to 2nd base before the CF threw it to 2nd. Otherwise, Crawford would have been 2 for 3 against a tough lefty.
    – Cozens had a tough time against the left pitcher. But Cozens had one really good play in the OF. He cut off a ball in the gap, and without any wasted motion, pivoted and fired a ball on a line to 2nd base. It was an eye opening throw. very impressive.
    – Tocci plays a great CF. He made a number of good plays and gets a great jump on balls. But he seems almost as thin as he was last year. He still does not hit the ball hard. I saw him 5 times last year and 1 game so far this year and I remain confused why people are so high on him. But I hope that I am wrong.
    – Austudillo can hit. Hit everything hard. but he is a short, round barrel body. he does NOT look comfortable on first. not sure if he is a catcher because Grullon played.
    – Grullon has a cannon for an arm. they didn’t run against him, but his arm looked great in between innings after the warm up pitches.
    – Walding is a very confusing guy. You look at him and think, this guy looks like a great ball player. He fielded his position well. Made a number of good plays and showed decent range and arm. But was completely lost at the plate. the lefty gave him fits as the 3 strikeouts would indicate.

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      1. my wife couldn’t get over how heavy he looked to be playing on professional baseball team.

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    2. I guess this is the risk on projecting a high school pitching projection. Viza at 90 isn’t a prospect in my opinion, unless he gains some velocity or learns to throw a knuckball, is just another kenrick type.

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    3. People are so high on Tocci because the majority have not seen him play. I have also seen him about 5 times and not only does he not hit the ball hard, I don’t see the potential for him to ever hit it hard consistently.

      People are high on him because he’s really young for his league and because Matt is Toccis biggest fan/propaganda manager. Just a because you’re young for your league doesn’t make you a prospect. Being good, or even holding your own (which he isn’t even really close to doing) while being young for your league makes you a good prospect.

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      1. Wasn’t that the same arguement we heard for years about Freddy Galvis being young for all the leagues he was in?

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        1. First, that’s a terrible argument for Tocci, you saying because Galvis did it, Tocci will. Second, what the hell has Freddy Galvis ever done? He can’t hit a lick. He made it to majors based on defensive versatility and being a great defender in general. I

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        2. I think the difference is that Tocci has a frame that, while rail-thin, is projectible. Also, he’s billed as having a better hit tool than Galvis ever did. (Although I’m beginning to wonder myself.)

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          1. I dont want to belabor this point anymore and I’m not attacking you Mike Honcho…but saying “he is billed as having a better hit tool” is exactly what I mean. Again, nothing against you or you or your opinion, but most people on here haven’t seen him play and are just going off Matts opinion. I have seen him and I don’t see the hit tool. In the grand scheme of things my opinion is no more valuable than anyone else’s on here but I did post in here 2 summers ago that then non-prospect Mario Hollands would make a good left handed reliever in the majors, and I did watch 2 games of Cody asche in reading and assured everyone clue could play 3B in the majors (when a lot of “experts” said he couldn’t) and I did see franco last year in reading and again assured everyone that the “expert” opinion on him not being able to stay at 3B was way off base.

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      2. Tocci is definitely risky and he definitely needs to add some weight/strength if he is not to go the way of Hudson.

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      1. I’m thinking I’ll be there for their opening night.

        And it’s slightly off-topic, but since I don’t feel like googling it: does anyone know when the LLWS starts? I’ll be attending another Crosscutters game during that time anyway, but I’ve always wanted to watch it in person instead of on TV.

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  6. Look on the bright side. The highlight of the season will come this week in the draft. At the very least it’ll give us some hope. Who knows? Maybe a Kolek or Jackson or Gordon slips.

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    1. Agreed. When combining Crawford with this years top 7 pick and next year (top 10 pick?) there will be players worth discussing again.

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          1. I guess his point is…..Crawford is slumping like all players eventually do in their careers…minors or majors leagues.
            Coaches like to evaluate a prospect’s temperament and demeanor as they progress thru the slumps.
            Interesting to see how he comes out of it….

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            1. I asked that because he is responding to a post about Crawford being a player worth discussing. As if roccom is suggesting he is no longer a player worth discussing or a top 25 prospect because he is hitting .238 over his last 11 games. Just doesn’t make any sense to post that there

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            2. Omg just saying he is not hitting right now, and I personally want to see how he reacts. does he take more walks or bunts more, just wondering, he so far looks like a stud prospect

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  7. I think at trade deadline we can move some players, Adams, Bastardo, pap, Utley, Ruiz, should have some value, at least a decent a ball prospect, also iff howard continues, maybe we eat half his contract and move him to American league to dh, we need to start over, but not with Amaro and Montgomery in charge, new leadership is needed, Lee if healthy will bring the most imo, there is no rebuild but be decent, you have to rebuild totally with the bad job ruben has done on the major and minor league levels,

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    1. Perhaps roccom, you should list what players should stay. In your list above you failed to mention Byrd, Brown, Revere or even JRoll, who all could bring back something at the trade deadline.
      I wonder if Ned Colletti would be willing to swap Pedersen for an Utley to get that ring!

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      1. Romus I don’t think jroll wavies his no trade, as far as byrd, brown and revere, I just didn’t honestly think they had any real trade value, its just my opinion

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    2. Howard is going nowhere. However, if the FO digs into its pockets and eats chunks of Papelbon, Lee and Rollins’ (assuming he waives the clause after he gets the hits record) contracts in some deals, we might be able to get some good prospects. (Not great. And I would love to see Pederson-for-Utley, but I don’t see LA doing it at this point). If the Phillies are going to become sellers at the deadline, they need to use the cash that is flush in the organization to acquire real assets for their trade pieces.

      Here’s an idea: Utley for Dee Gordon?

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      1. That could be a good idea. Pederson is unfortunately unattainable at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Dodgers trade Eithier to open up a spot for Pederson. Kemp in LF could be his future. As for us, Gordon would be an interesting piece with upside.

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      2. I actually think the Dodgers may be more interested in Rollins at this point. They can move Ramirez to 3rd. Pederson is the type of player the Phild could use. A young player who’s pretty much major league ready. I’m thinking you’d prob have to
        Put something else into the deal if your the Phils, though.

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  8. Time to vent: The worst part about how bad the team is is the fact that we’re not going to be any good for years to come. The “window” closed alright, with a thud. Project forward 2 or 3 years and who do we see that is a likely major league starter on our team? Asche showed signs of life before his injury and I love his swing so I’ll include him and Crawford obviously looks like a player. Who else? We all hope that Franco becomes a hitter but he’s certainly not putting up Gregory Polanco or Joc Pederson numbers at AAA. We have to hope that a few of our .240 minor league hitters figure things out? There’s no certainty there, none at all. Our minor league teams are getting blown out every night too. As for the rotation, Biddle has been fair and things drop off from there. Add to that the fact that Hamels is no ace. We saw Halladay for a few years and we know what an ace is and Hamels really isn’t at that level despite the fact that he’s paid like one. This is very depressing for the real fans… Who has confidence that RAJ can trade some of our veteran pieces for value back? Where’s any reason of optimism????

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      1. I don’t mean to nitpick, but Franco is almost 22. That’s an important distinction. But 23 is age appropriate for prospects at AAA.

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  12. The state of this organization is very depressing. The major league team is what it is, basically a 70 win team, give or take 5 wins, with no chance of making the playoffs. There are no trades to be made or signings to make that would change that fact in the short term. This team is not a move away, but a series of moves at a minimum and I’m not even sure that is possible at this point.

    When one starts to look to the future, the view isn’t really any less depressing. The OF, which is disastrous at the major league level at this point, does not have any relief in sight. Perkins is the closest thing and even he is questionable to be a 4th OF at this point. After that, maybe Cozens, maybe some guys in XST have some potential, maybe Tocci, but all of them are many years away and even more questions. And yes I know, I’ve sang Tocci’s praises on here the past 2 years to no end, but even I after watching him more this year am beginning to doubt whether he will ever be big enough to meet the basic minimum requirements of being an everyday CF in the big leagues, let alone the superstar that I envisioned.

    As for the infield, there is Franco and there is Crawford and there is Asche, and maybe Quinn. Crawford looks to have a legit shot to be an above average big leauger, Franco is scuffling a bit at AAA but we’ll see, Asche has some potential and so does Quinn. To assume all 4 of these guys work out and reach their potential is probably not very likely, but even if we do having Asche in LF, Quinn in CF, Franco at 3B and Crawford at SS in 2-3 years probably isn’t causing alot of sleepness nights in Washington or Atlanta. As for catching prospects, the Phils have had flameouts with Valle and Joseph (injury), Rupp doesn’t appear to be doing much, and then again like the OF there is some hope well down in the system, but again alot more questions than certainties at this point.

    From a position player perspective, it is entirely possible that of all the players in the Phils minor league system right now, we have 1-2 everyday major league players at any point in the future, which is truly depressing. Could do better than that, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

    Then for pitching – wow. So a few years ago we were all excited, me included, when we thought about how dominant our young bullpen would be with Bastardo and Diekman and Aumont and Stutes and DeFratus and Rosenberg and so and so forth. We’ve all seen how well that has worked out. Looking at the starting rotations every day in the boxscores is just shocking – there is basically Biddle and Biddle and just Biddle. And of course Giles out of the pen.

    The only real strategy is just the obvious and simple – they need to draft well for the next few years, and they need to inject the organization with some international talent – who is the next Puig? Tanaka? Abreu? Cespedes? They need to find 2-3 of those guys which isn’t as easy as it sounds, but they would be better off spending money and taking chances on those guys as the rules allow, and trading away the Kendricks and Burnetts and Byrds and Adams of the world if it frees up needed money to do that. There are no magic bullets to trade and get top 50 type prospects – the only hope at this point is to rid themselves of the Howard or Papelbon contracts, but trading Burnett or Byrd or Kendrick or Lee (injury questions now) or Ruiz or Utley or Rollins is not going to get the Phils any true difference makers. Maybe a nice piece or two if you’re lucky but nobody of any consequence.

    So here’s to hoping they draft well and make 2-3 international signings that strike gold, and the Phils get better than average luck with the development of the players already in the system. Let’s dream on October 2022……

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    2. This is all true, very sad times are coming (they’ve already started actually). No one to trade of real value and no one to promote that will make a difference. I’m not expecting much to happen on the trading front because we don’t have much value to move. Yes, this draft needs to be very good as does next year’s.

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      1. Utley to a contender could get you one prospect.
        Rollins, after 12 more hits witht he Phillies, could get you one B prospect.
        Byrd may get you in return a younger 4th/5th OF or reliever.
        They are some possibilities….but that means starting over with a more or less new foundation.

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    3. We were in a similar position in the mid 90s. Things seemed hopeless and then had one of the best 10 year runs of churning out young players in the history of the sport (I realize everyone knows this but it’s fun to type out):

      1996: Rolen
      1998: Abreu
      1999: Wolf
      2000: Rollins
      2001: Burrell
      2002: Myers
      2003: Utley, Byrd
      2004: Madson, Floyd, Howard
      2005: Victorino
      2006: Ruiz, Hamels

      That’s two probable HoFers (Rolen and Utley), three probably not-quite HoFers (Abreu, Hamels, and Rollins), two legitimate middle of the order guys (Howard and Burrell), three good middle of the rotation starters (Floyd, Wolf, and Myers), a stud reliever (Madson), and three guys who were above average regulars for several seasons (Byrd, Victorino, and Ruiz). That’s just a really impressive amount of talent.

      The scary part is it took six years to become an 85-89 win team and 12 year to become a 90 win team. It could be a long, slow climb out of this mess.

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      1. Victorino was a rule 5 pick and Abreu was signed by Houston in the early 90’s. We traded Kevin Stocker for him. It’s still a lot of drafted talent tho.

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      2. Interesting post, but Abreu was not our minor leaguer. We acquired him from Houston for Kevin Stocker when he (Abreu) was bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors.

        Here’s the interesting things about those picks and drafts. There is unquestionably a consistent stream of excellent players – almost one a year. But, as you look back at those drafts, you have to think that the Phillies got very lucky. The reason I say this is that those drafts are incredibly thin – most years, the drafts were complete busts except for one guy making the majors. Fortunately, that one guy was, in many of these drafts, extremely good, but I think, in terms of drafting, as weird as it seems to say it, the current player team gets more projectable players and produces much, much deeper draft classes. I think they’ve had some bad luck and I think the people in the system are not necessarily doing a great job developing these players.

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  13. Matt….what is your take on Braxton Davidson from NC…a big , 6’3″, 230lb, high school outfileder with a power bat.
    With lots of quality college arms in this draft, I am fearful that Ruben, on the 2nd round will take another ‘Larry Greene’ toolsey type and Davidson may be that guy.

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  14. The Phillies are apparently looking at Canadian outfielder Gareth Morgan for their second round pick. I can’t find too much about him online.

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    1. All I could find on him: from mlb.com
      Gareth MorganRank: 84North Toronto Collegiate Institute, SeniorHeight: 6’4″, Weight: 210Position: OFDOB: 4/12/1996Bats: R, Throws: RTwitter: @garethmorgan44Commitment: North Carolina StateScouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 35 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
      Evaluating high schoolers from Canada can sometimes be a tricky exercise, but thanks to the showcase circuit and Morgan’s travel to warmer climates with the Langley Blaze this spring, scouts have had the chance to see the top Canadian prep talent this year quite a bit.

      Strong and toolsy, Morgan’s raw power is undeniable. He’s put on shows in showcase batting practices in the past and has the ability to hit the ball out of any ballpark. But the jury is still out about his bat, with some questioning his ability to hit enough to tap into that power consistently. Morgan is a solid outfielder with a strong arm, giving him a good profile for right field.

      His power profiles well for that corner outfield spot, and the team that believes he’ll hit enough will be the one to take him and try to sign him away from North Carolina State.

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      1. Yay – more toolsy high school outfielders!!!! Seriously, I just hope the guy has good baseball instincts and has shown more than raw athletic ability – we have done HORRIBLY with those types of picks in the early rounds. Laughably bad, really.

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      2. Sounds like yet another batting practice wonder. Can hit the ball out of any park in BP but may not hit enough to show that power in-game. Gee where have we heard that before, and before, and before. Just don’t go there before round 5, then it’s a reasonable gamble.

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    1. One should not obsess over Jonathan Singleton’s greatness. We received great production from Hunter Pence for several, err, a few, err, one season, and have reaped the rewards of trading him to the Giants by a) releasing Schierholtz, b) watching him win a World Series, and c) seeing the exciting major league contributions, err, minor league contributions, err, nothing from Tommy Joseph and that other pitcher I can’t remember……..

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    2. I keep squinting at the replay and trying to imagine him in Phillies pinstripes – and I keep seeing Howard standing in front of him, blocking him.

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    3. As a older guy on here, I have the memory of getting nothing for ferggie Jenkins, a hof, Sandberg we got nothing a hof, so it is just another case of them, being the team with the most losses in the history of baseball. And only two world titles, keeping up there tradition. and wont change it seems under this ownership. I can remember one great trade Carlton for wise,

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  17. Over the past few weeks, there have been few upbeat comments on here (don’t get me wrong – I think many of the negative comments are justifiable).

    But, with the draft being tomorrow, I am going to suspend the current day reality for a moment, and go off to fantasy land for a moment. Here goes:

    1) Phillies draft a player in the first round that produces from the start (unless it is Hoffman). The kid either hits from day 1, or more likely, shows strong command on the mound from day 1. If he is a pitcher, he throws strikes, and is able to get people out. By the end of the year, this kid is: signed, still healthy, and coming off a solid professional debut. At the end of the year, we are debating where he should be ranked compared to Biddle / Franco (let’s assume they are still listed as prospects in the off season). In other words, we have a guy who produced, and is generating a buzz (a la Crawford)

    2) we draft a guy in the second round who actually puts up good numbers – someone who gives us optimism in the off season, instead of simply lines like “he has the tools to succeed)

    3) While we will not know it for a year or 2, we draft a guy or two in a later round who turns into a solid prospect that you can realistically view as a long-term MLB player. Think of a Brown or Asche or Madson type of player

    4) Crawford continues to progress, and Franco settles in and starts to hit a bit more consistently.

    5) Giles and Martin throw more strikes, and take control of the bullpen

    6) Amaro finds a way to ship a contract (Lee, Papelbon, etc), and actually gets a decent prospect in return. Phillies kick in some $$ in deal to increase return.

    7) Biddle throws strikes

    8) no major prospects get injured

    9) One or 2 of our prospects step up and start to generate daily excitement – Tocci, Pujols, Hernandez, Sandberg – take your pick

    10) I win the lottery

    Okay, I feel better now (I think over #10 specifically).

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  18. Excerpt from Pete Rose on Jimmy Rollins…CSN.
    “Rollins is nine hits away from 2,235, which would eclipse Mike Schmidt’s mark.
    “I don’t want to hear that [expletive],” Rose told Mike Missanelli on 97.5 The Fanatic Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t want to hear that, OK? Here’s a guy that’s worried about Philly records and not Philly championships. How is it gonna change his life if he gets more hits than Richie Ashburn got, [or Mike Schmidt]? He’s not gonna get more home runs than Mike Schmidt got, he’s not going to get more RBIs than Mike Schmidt got. So when he says he’s looking for Philly records, what Philly records is he talking about?”
    Missanelli cites the Phils’ all-time hit leader and all-time games played leader.
    “I got that in the history of baseball — what good does it do me?,” Rose said. “I’m out here in Las Vegas working 4.5 hours a day, 20 days a month. I’d rather have five championships like Derek Jeter.” Rollins did indicate to CSN Phillies insider Jim Salisbury earlier this season that he’d reconsider his stance on waiving his no-trade rights after breaking the record.”

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  19. Is Joe Blanton the “Jake from State Farm” guy in those commercials? Hoffman at #7!!

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  21. Recent calls to dump Mayberry are misguided. He’s playing VERY well so far this season. Yes, SSS, but if you look at his splits, what we are mostly seeing is better useage by Sandberg – he’s hitting with the platoon advantage much more frequently. It’s always been the case that Mayberry was a valuable bench guy if used correctly, The problem in the past is that, through a combination of need and inadequate emphasis on obtaining the platoon advantage, he wasn’t used properly..

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    1. The irony of it all with Mayberry…didn;t he hit his blast last night against the righty Strasberg?

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      1. Two of his 4 HR are against right handers, despite marginally fewer opportunities. Otherwise he has his normal massive platoon edge.

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  22. Another Mayberry tidbit: since he has been in the league, he has, against left handed pitchers, been Carlos Beltran. The point isn’t just similarity to a pretty good hitter. He’s been Carlos Beltran to a clone like degree. Their rate numbers against lefties in that time span are almost exactly the same. Triple slash .273/.323/.530 (Beltran) versus .274/.327/530 (Mayberry); their peripherals, just as close.

    Beltran has a few more PA. And, of course, can hit righties pretty well (switch hitter), making him a much more useful player overall.

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    1. Well there are ample opportunities for Mayberry to be int lineup vs starting lefties….LF, CF, 1st base.
      Whether or not Sandberg decides to go that route is debatable, since the Phillies want Brown and Howard to play as much as possible.
      As for platooning with Revere in CF….should be a formality. The defense is a wash.

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