Open Discussion: Week of April 15, 2019

Weekly Discussion

The Phillies played .500 ball last week, dropping 2 of 3 to the Nationals at CBP and winning 2 of 3 at Miami.  One major concern here might be the double digit runs they gave up in all three losses. 

While most people will point to the need for a starter or reliever as a must acquisition (and I’m not saying I disagree),  I’d like to point out that both the Braves and Mets are ahead of the Phillies in many offensive stats, including AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS.

I think Vince Velasquez has pitched well in his two starts.

The 40-man roster stands at 40, the entire organization stands at 349.

This is the Phuture Phillies Open Discussion for Phillies and other baseball topics.  Still don’t want to hear about some mythical Trout trade.

Key Dates:

  • June 2, 2019 – DSL Phillies Red begins its 2019 season
  • June 2, 2019 – DSL Phillies White begins its 2019 season
  • June 3-5, 2019 – 2019 Rule 4 Draft
  • June 14, 2019 – Williamsport begins its 2019 season
  • June 24, 2019 – GCL Phillies East begins its 2019 season
  • June 24, 2019 – GCL Phillies West begins its 2019 season
  • July 31, 2019 – Non-waiver trade deadline
  • September 1, 2019 – Roster expansion to 40 players (for the last time)
  • September 17, 2019 – beginning of the Arizona Fall League
  • October 12, 2019 – Arizona Fall Stars Game
  • October 27, 2019 – Arizona Fall League Championship Game

The rosters and lists are up to date. 

Transactions (newest transactions in bold text)
4/14/2019 – LHP Kyle Young assigned to Williamsport from Clearwater
4/14/2019 – RHP Andrew Brown assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport
4/13/2019 – RHP Alexis Rivero assigned to Williamsport from Lehigh Valley
4/13/2019 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Edubray Ramos
4/12/2019 – LHP Jhordany Mezquita assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
4/12/2019 – RHP Tyler McKay assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
4/12/2019 – RHP Dominic Pipkin assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
4/12/2019 – RHP Francisco Morales assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport
4/12/2019 – OF Jhailyn Ortiz assigned to Clearwater
4/12/2019 – RHP Victor Santos assigned to Lakewood
4/12/2019 – LF Ben Pelletier assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport
4/12/2019 – Clearwater placed CF Jesus Alastre on the 7-day injured list
4/12/2019 – RHP Alexis Rivero assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
4/12/2019 – SS Raul Rivas assigned to Reading
4/12/2019 – Phillies recalled RHP Victor Arano from Lehigh Valley
4/11/2019 – RHP Spencer Howard assigned to Williamsport from Clearwater
4/11/2019 – Phillies optioned RHP Edubray Ramos to Lehigh Valley
4/11/2019 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Yacksel Rios from the 7-day IL
4/11/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed RHP Tyler Viza on the 7-day IL. Right foot turf toe
4/10/2019 –  Phillies sent CF Roman Quinn on a rehab assignment to Lehigh Valley
4/9/2019 – Reading placed 3B Jose Antequera on the 7-day IL
4/9/2019 – Reading placed RHP Trevor Bettencourt on the 7-day IL
4/9/2019 – RHP Alexis Rivero assigned to Reading
4/9/2019 – RHP Tom Eshelman assigned to Reading
4/9/2019 – RHP Julian Garcia assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport
4/9/2019 – RHP Andrew Brown assigned to Williamsport
4/8/2019 – RHP James McArthur assigned to Lakewood
4/8/2019 – RHP Kevin Gowdy assigned to Lakewood
4/8/2019 – RHP Victor Santos assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
4/8/2019 – RHP Francisco Morales assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
4/7/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed LHP Tyler Gilbert on the 7-day IL, strained groin
4/7/2019 – RHP Tyler Viza assigned to Lehigh Valley
4/7/2019 – Clearwater activated RF Danny Mayer from the restricted list
4/6/2019 – RHP Ismael Cabrera assigned to Clearwater
4/6/2019 – Clearwater assigns LHP Damon Jones to Williamsport
4/5/2019 – Phillies signed FA Austin Filiere, assigned to Williamsport
4/4/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed C Matt McBride on the 7-day IL. Right calf strain
4/4/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed 3B Gift Ngoepe on the 7-day IL. Left shin contusion
4/4/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed RHP Yacksel Rios on the 7-day IL. Abdominal strain
4/4/2019 – Reading placed RHP Connor Seabold on the 7-day IL
4/4/2019 – LHP Garrett Cleavinger assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/4/2019 – 1B Kyle Martin assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/4/2019 – Clearwater placed RF Danny Mayer on the restricted list
4/4/2019 – Philadelphia sent CF Roman Quinn on a rehab assignment to Clearwater
4/4/2019 – LHP Nick Fanti assigned to Clearwater
4/4/2019 – RHP Tyler Hallead assigned to Clearwater from GCL Phillies East
4/4/2019 – RHP Julian Garcia assigned to Williamsport from Clearwater
4/2/2019 – Phillies signed free agent RHP Saul Alcala to a minor league contract
4/1/2019 – GCL Phillies West released RHP Antonio Canizales
4/1/2019 – RHP JD Hammer assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – RHP Trevor Bettencourt assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – 3B Jose Antequera assigned to Reading
4/1/2019 – LF Grenny Cumana assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – 3B Luke Williams assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – LF Josh Stephen assigned to Reading
4/1/2019 – LHP Bailey Falter assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – LHP Jakob Hernandez assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – RHP Mauricio Llovera assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – LHP David Parkinson assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – RHP Ramon Rosso assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – RHP Addison Russ assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – C Henri Lartigue assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – 3B Ali Castillo assigned to Reading
4/1/2019 – CF Mickey Moniak assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – RF Danny Mayer assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport.
4/1/2019 – CF Simon Muzziotti assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – C Rodolfo Duran assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – LHP Damon Jones assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Spencer Howard assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – LHP Kyle Young assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – LHP Zach Warren assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RF Ben Aklinski assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport.
4/1/2019 – RHP Andrew Brown assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Luis Carrasco assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Connor Brogdon assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Gustavo Armas assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – SS Nick Maton assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – 3B Jake Scheiner assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – 1B Madison Stokes assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – LF Matt Vierling assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – C Colby Fitch assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – CF Jesus Alastre assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Julian Garcia assigned to Clearwater from Lakewood
4/1/2019 – RHP Austin Ross assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport

296 thoughts on “Open Discussion: Week of April 15, 2019”

  1. Here’s something to consider.

    Minor league players (all baseball players, actually) receive no pay during spring training. They are only paid during the time that their assigned teams are playing ball.

    Minor league players receive no pay during extended spring training. Their teams haven’t started playing ball, yet.

    So, when a player (usually a pitcher) is assigned to Williamsport to manipulate roster size and move a starting pitcher off the roster until his next start, is he off the payroll?

    For instance, after his start Saturday night, Kyle Young was reassigned to Williamsport Sunday and another pitcher was moved from Williamsport to Clearwater.

    Now, Young is no longer on the roster of a playing team. Is he still eligible to be payed even though he is on the roster of a non-playing team?

    Or, are the Phillies magnanimously paying him even while he’s on a non-playing roster?

    Obviously, if I believed this was the case, I wouldn’t be asking the question.

    And Young isn’t the only player this happens to. Spencer Howard currently sits on the Williamsport roster. Check the transactions above. You’ll see a lot of activity between Lakewood and Williamsport, too.

    I thought it was clever of the Phillies to expand their pitching staffs this way until I thought of the possible ramifications. I don’t know that the players are being hurt financially. But, I recently learned that they don’t get paid in XST. I would think that’s particularly rough on guys who expected to be in AA or AAA.

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  3. I recently saw a HBO “Real Sports” piece on Minor League Baseball salaries. It was mind boggling how much ML Baseball teams and players on the big club are making and how Minor Leaguers are paid less than minimum wage. The ‘American Pastime Act’, that was slipped into the last spending bill passed by the US Congress (on page 1967 by the way) made it the law. Minor League players did get a “big” raise by $60 a month from the bill. No discussion went on before the provision was added to the spending and other than the person or persons who added it, I’m sure no Congressman/ woman read it. More reverse Robin Hood going on. Feed the rich and take from the poor (or just about everyone else).

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    1. Nobody expects them to make anywhere close to what major leaguers make, but for these guys not to make a living wage of some sort is absolutely outrageous and shameful and for this result to be legislatively authorized is even more outrageous.

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    2. From what I’ve heard, the purpose of the American Pastime Act was to protect owners from a lawsuit making its way through the lower levels of the judicial system that in part would pay minor league players a living wage and “overtime” since their work day/week exceeds 8/40.

      Fear that payment for past services might be part of any judgement was part of the reason Baseball pushed for the Act. Now, any future decisions that are rendered have to comply with this self-serving law passed by Congress.

      One of the tactics used was the claim that raising salaries would put a lot of the affiliates out of business. A bogus claim since the major league organizations pay the salaries of the minor league players.

      The amount of money that it would take to pay minor leaguers a living wage is something like $30M (I’ve read) for ALL the minor leagues. Not much, but if past years and damages were to come into the play, the amount could have been substantial.

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    1. Why? Then we’d be struck with Altherr as a CF for 50 games when Roman inevitably gets hurt again.

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      1. Kingery can play CF. Let’s not sleep on the possibility since Gabe will now have to get Jetpax in the lineup. Trade talks should be heating up because a SP is top item on the shopping list.

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        1. I think we all saw last year what taking a random hitter and forcing them into a new position does to a team’s defense (see: Hoskins in LF, Kingery at SS, Santana at 3B, etc.). Trading a proven veteran CF (with a team friendly contract) with your team in first place during what well could be its first pennant race in nearly a decade isn’t a great look.

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    2. I hope he is added soon. He can add an element the team is missing off the bench.

      Personally, I don’t see Herrera getting moved, not after the message from the FO earlier in the offseason, well that is my interpretation of it. Same with VV, as a good many of us think VV should be in the bullpen. The FO seems dug into getting him right as a starter. His 1st two starts are eouraging, but I’m not going to give much credence to his Miami performance. Close to a AAA team.

      Kimbrel price is coming down per reports. Looks like 3’years will now get it done or maybe a large AAV to allow him to retest next year.

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    3. We’re back to this again? Besides the fact that we’re still in April, nobody is going to be trading their starters now when there could be a bidding war near the all-star break.

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  5. I don’t see Odubel getting moved. I do think Quinn will be activated later in the week and Altherr will get moved. I don’t see any way Altherr will go unclaimed. There is a chance they send Williams down for a week first though. As for Kimbrel, if his request is now 3 years, then he’ll be signed soon. I’m sure the Phils are in the mix but so is every team with chances to win.
    Yesterday’s win was huge as a series win over the Marlins was critical. Let’s beat those Mets.

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  6. I would send Williams back to AAA for the shortterm. tough on him but he can use the regular atbats
    hard to make significant trades in april
    other GMs aren’t in trade mode unless you find a team with a good SP who is tanking the season and those are hard to find
    I did like how VV pounded the strike zone with fastballs yesterday
    that has to be his route to success

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    1. While I have long been a proponent of roboumps, man that 12up site was so friggin click-baity with every story. Like Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless threw up on an internet site

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    2. Romus if the technology exists I see no reason why the MLB wouldn’t move quickly to implement it.

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    3. So far, I’m not a fan of the instant replay challenges. Seems like every close play is challenged, dragging the game out more. They need to fix this, with a better communication system between the umps, managers, and decision makers on the instant replay side.

      I’m not sure I’m going to be in favor of the roboumps because of this. Fair warning I did t click the link to learn more. I’m just starting to generally get against all these changes. I’d rather they “fix” all the INF shifting before any roboump is put in play.

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      1. Tac what if Robo ump was a simple ear piece the umpires wear? The umps hear a tone if the pitch is a strike. Or maybe it could be a device they wear as a wristband and it vibrates for a strike. If it was that simple why would you not use it.

        They could experiment with it without us fans even knowing its in use. They could have half the games being played on any given night using it and the other half not. They have all the questex data to compare so they would immediately know if its working.

        I do agree challenges while useful in getting calls right have also contributed to pace of play problems. That would also seem to be an area of the game that could be expedited. I mean by the time they walk over to the headset area the call should be ready and waiting for them.

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        1. That’s fair, again I didn’t click on the link for the robo article. If your example is the case. You can basically eliminate the ump behind the plate. For close plays at the Plate, just have multiple camera angles and your good. The home plate ump can sit in the a “press box” like atmosphere during the games.

          For instant replay, they need the same thing, a Phillies official watching instant replay and clicks a red or green light for every play. Red disagrees with that ump and green agrees play continues, and can only really review 2 plays a game in fully. I don’t need an instant replay on every bang bang play at 1st base

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          1. Most reply’s I’ve seen this year have been over turned. Every team does have someone who lets them know if the call was right or not, in their opinion in the little time they have to look at reply’s that is. I don’t think it’s a big deal. Pitch clock would be nice tho.

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            1. I haven’t liked the change in pace, they need to overturn the plays faster. To me, it Kills the feeling of the game. It seems to happen multiple times an inning. I guess I’ll get used to it, doesn’t mean I have to like it. Lastly, for the love of God ban the excessive shifts. Ruining the game imo

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    1. ‘Players should strike’…on what grounds?
      MLBPA does not represent the minor league system.

      Marvin Miller had considered including minor league players in the early MLBPA, and would talk about it thru-out his time as exec. dir. of the MLBPA. In 2012, the 94-year-old Miller spoke to Slate about the decision to avoid bringing them under the MLBPA’s umbrella:
      “The appeal of unionizing every pro baseball player, though, was always outweighed by a lack of resources, the geographic decentralization of the minors, and the dreamy idealism of the players. “The notion that these very young, inexperienced people were going to defy the owners, when they had stars in their eyes about making it to the Major Leagues — it’s just not going to happen,” Miller says.”

      :The most significant, collectively bargained assist that the MLBPA has ever given the minors was to make it so that minor league players on the 40-man roster were MLBPA members with higher salaries: this expanded the scope of the MLBPA, and improved the quality of life for players on the fringe as well, as players who could never quite break into the majors but were in the high minors or shuttling back-and-forth between Triple-A and the bigs were no longer making poverty-level wages. Instead, they were now full-fledged MLBPA members, with health insurance and benefits and (as of 2015) a $41,400 minimum salary, and they were no longer subject to the same draconian punishments for smoking marijuana as their teammates who were not on the 40-man, to boot.”

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    2. Dan…..comes down to the owners…like the Jays org is doing…increase the pay for those who are not on the 40 yet.
      Actually makes the owners look like angels in as far as goodwill goes if they did that collectively.

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      1. This is actually a fair point. The owners could up pay for minor leaguers to get public good will on their side for their inevitable clash against the MLBPA for the next CBA. Public opinion matters a bit, and fans are the ones that really pay these salaries.

        Plus if the MLB players strike, you have good will with minor leaguers who could potentially play instead. The product won’t be as good, but people will still show up.

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        1. Dan that didn’t work very well in the NFL. It was ugly, a lot of dissension, scabs, name calling, etc. and the product wasn’t all that good either, as I recall.

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      2. Stop paying teams for being bad, Take a percentage of what they give the small markets teams. and give it to the minor leagues. How does a kid live from jan to june on nothing, if his family doesnt help.

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        1. That is a good point Rocco and better yet how do they afford all those gold necklaces and chains that seem to tumble out of their uniforms? Crazy isn’t it?

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  9. Hopefully JTR starts picking things up at the plate
    he’s leaving a tone of men on base with all the harper and Hoskins walks
    right now 5,6, 7 slots in lineup aren’t driving in all those baserunners created by top 4 players OBP

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  10. Good MLB draft write-up by Keith Law: http://insider.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/26514398/law-one-college-pitcher-first-round-draft-stock-rising

    Highlights for those who do not have ESPN+
    – “This year’s college pitching crop is the weakest I’ve seen in the 18 drafts I’ve witnessed”
    – “West Virginia right-hander Alek Manoah, who pitched like someone who wanted to go in the top five picks on Friday night against Texas Tech.”
    – “Manoah is a large man at age 21, listed at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, and he backs it up with an arsenal that I think is unmatched in this draft class.”

    – Other great stuff on Manoah in the link. I liked him early on, but seems unlikely to get to us.

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  12. Harpers career K rate is 21% but through 14 games its near 30%. Despite that he is still OPSing 1.038 from as many walks as he has hits.

    I’m hoping more contact is on the way. Our $330 million dollar player is not leading the team in any offensive category yet. Is it wrong to be disappointed in that

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    1. I don’t necessarily expect more contact, but fewer K’s is reasonable.

      Also, he’s tied for the lead in OBP with Rhys. I can’t really hold it against him for not leading in anything outright with how the rest of the team is hitting. He’s right there with them despite their own hot starts, though. If some of those line drives start finding gaps instead of gloves, he’ll be leading in a few stats.

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    2. Yes, it’s wrong. Bryce Harper has played to a .80 WAR in 14 games with decent defense. If you project his performance out over the whole season it would be 8-9 WAR, which would make him an MVP candidate. You’re missing the forest for the trees in my view.

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      1. I don’t think the stats will ever tell Harper’s full value, he gets pitched around a lot/junk pitches. Now add in the shift, and I can see why his numbers looked underwhelming from afar. The SO will even put in my opinion, but you also may need to expect an increase because he needs to chase/do more with pitch arounds than say a player like Cehe/Kingery/Realmuto, etc

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  13. I think Altherr gets sent down and gets claimed and that is fine. If they need a player like him Cozens does a lot of the same things. Not saying Cozens is as established as Altherr but he has a good arm, can play all three OF positions, runs well and has power from the right side. (also trikes out a ton) in the end, he is the 5th OF on a roster where all three OF are every day players. Even if Cozens stinks, they can find 5th OF types easily.

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    1. I agree. Altherr has accumulated over 1100 plate appearances. That is ample time to determine whether or not he’s a starter or backup. It’s not like the Phillies didn’t give him chances to succeed.

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  14. DLS on the BA prospect hot sheet https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/top-mlb-prospects-hot-sheet-41519/

    Why He’s Here: 2-0, 0.75, 2 GS, 12 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 19 SO

    The Scoop: De Los Santos’ fastball-changeup combo is quite good, but the encouraging sign early this season is he’s getting some swings and misses with his breaking ball, which has long been a distant third pitch. De Los Santos likes to go up in the strike zone with his fastball and is prone to overthrowing a little when he does so, but when he’s dotting the black of the plate to De Los Santos’ glove side like he has so far, he’s a real tough at-bat for righthanded hitters. So far this year they are hitting .080 against him. (JJ)

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    1. He had a fast start to last season too. Hopefully the improvement in the breaking ball is for real; he needs it to stay in the rotation.

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    2. DLS is getting on the Radar. He maybe the first call up for SP. The Number of SO with the SO/BB ratio is pretty impressive. To hear swing and miss stuff on his #3 pitch is encouraging, while happening in AAA. He’s knocking on the door for sure. Eickhoff was in the lead imo, but is likely falling behind DLS, from his ceiling and results.

      Feels like the Phillies could go to a 6man rotation pretty easily, and have + results. It is nice to see so many arms having success.

      Whoever is slipping at the MLB level will be feeling the pressure from AAA. Looks like tough decisions ahead for the FO

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  15. Now Phillies lose Dave Roberston with elbow issues…hopefully the 10 day IL is all it will take for healing.

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      1. Matt Klentak seems to favor the more experienced relievers over the these last 4 years….must be almost a dozen now he has brought as weathered tricenarians.

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  16. Why would we call up Anderson? We need BP hep, I thought we are grooming him for a SP. I don’t know how much help he is.

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    1. matt13…more than likely, at 25 years old now, he probably will end up in the pen when he gets to the majors for good and stays there.
      He already has 4/5 relief appearances in the majors over the last two years, so it is not entirely new for him.

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    1. No, he’s an ace. He’s having a bad stretch. It happens with even the best of pitchers. Check out how Chris Sale is doing thus year and I’m pretty comfortable concluding that he’s an ace.

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  18. Really rough start to the season for Nola whether he is a 1 or a 2! He has to get better. I don’t know what is wrong with him but he needs to figure it out.

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    1. i said it last week. They better start thinking of him being a DH, he cant field. thats at least two games he lost them so far, He lets balls hit his glove and bounce out, weird.

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    2. While our defense has improved from last season, it’s still not great. McCutchen is excellent. JTR (arm) and Segura are good if a little erratic. No one else in the starting lineup is better than average. Kingery would be among the top 2b if given the opportunity.

      While Nola is yet to find his groove and the rest of the rotation is still unpredictable, the bats, baserunning and gloves must keep us in the game. I don’t know what Keuchel is asking for now, but stability is a helpful trait for a pitching staff that has been largely unreliable so far.

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    3. That play by Rhys in the 11th was truly awful. I have no idea why he went to his knees. If this was youth baseball I would say the kid was scared of the ball. He should have just taken it between his legs and put his body in front of it. As bad as that was, the relay throw from Caesar was worse. That was the worst relay throw from an infielder that I have ever seen. Off line and like ten bounces. A good relay throw and they had him at home. Bad bad defense.

      But holy cow was Diaz electric in the 11th. I had never seen him pitch before. What a weapon. Brys and Rhys were completely overmatched. Electric stuff.

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          1. Romus is right. It was either going to be Diaz or Realmuto. Because Sixto had to be included in a deal for either. I love Diaz (have loved him for a while), but Realmuto was the better buy IMO.

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            2. Saw this little tidbit on Diaz and the Phillies from the 2012 draft, someone posted..

              “Interesting note though, Diaz was sitting there for the Phillies when they drafted Alec Rash (95th) who told the Phillies he would sign for $800,000. The Phillies refused to give Rash more than $500,000 and never signed him. The Phillies would not have had any problem signing Diaz (98th) for the money they offered Rash, who never pitched in MLB anyway due to shoulder problems.”

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  20. 8mark your funny. kingery would be one of the best. Best laugh of the year. hope you dont believe that statement

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    1. Roc, nobody in the Phillies organization would disagree that Kingery has a better glove, better baserunning instincts, better acumen for the game, and soon to be a better offensive skill set than your boy. Laugh it up!

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      1. How can you automatically say someone would be one of the best in the game? A little thrown off by that statement. Granted he’s not a SS or 3B but he never looked like anything special defensively. Not saying he’s a bad defender but to say he would be one of the best in the league is quite a leap.

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        1. It’s called my opinion which is what we post here. Ridiculous as it sounds, I believe in the kid.

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  21. rocco, Kingery has been touted as an excellent defensive 2B. I know you are not on board with him, and you are a Cesar guy, but Kingery is better defensively without having to knock Cesar. I think 8 mark is correct from a defensive stance. Our D is better, but still has a lot of room for improvement. We need to beat the Mets. They keep killing us, and it is now a years long trend. Romus, I questioned recalling Anderson. He proved me wrong last night!

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    1. matt13……Anderson’s time is now.
      Lets see how he does while Robertson is on the shelf.
      It will come down to consistency for him.

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      1. I agree Anderson could be the nouveau BP weapon. The one that is in the mode of that Brad Pea*&() guy from the Astros or the one that pushes one of the other starters to be that guy.

        That said I don’t think they should be that quick to jump ship on their current starters.

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        1. DMAR…..agree….let the starters play it out a little longer.
          Anderson does provide both the reliever aspect and if need be, the odd start whenever they need him…ie second game of a double-header or a bullpen game.

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    2. Matt how many games have you seen him play at 2nd? if not at least a half of season. you base your option on a scout the same people who told you dom brown was goijng to be great, That VV was a big time pitcher and other mistakes. I go by what i see. Yes i ike Cesar cause i have seen him play and i look at his numbers same as when i defended Franco over the bar arm junk Same as i said Nola wasnt a tor guy when he was at 90-91, When he improved his velo, his stuff got better and he became last yr a stud. dont give me scouts report, i want to see what i am buying

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      1. By your own logic, you can’t “go by what you see” unless you get a significant sample of games with Kingery playing second.

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          1. You’re talking in circles.

            You say a week or two isn’t enough to make a judgment. Yet you are doing exactly that: making a definitive judgment.

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      2. Rocco I don’t think there is any question who the better defensive 2B is it’s Kingery hands down. The question with Kingery is can he hit and get on base enough to be an everyday player.

        It’s really that simple. What’s not simple is how do you figure that out with such limited AB’s.

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        1. Cesar has always been a player who comes up small in stressful situations. He makes bad throws, has dropped pop ups and generally isn’t a player who steps up. In other words, the opposite of Chase. Let’s give Kingery a chance to play a bit.
          So who is getting more nervous about our pitching?

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          1. Not sure what high leverage means but he’s a career .297/.386/.406 hitter . . . sounds good to me.
            As far as last nights throw, if you saw the replay I highly doubt a good throw gets the runner, looks like he would have scored regardless.

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  22. cesar’s performance is the perfect example of whether you believe in pure statistical analysis vs the ” eye test” of the productivity/ “clutchness” of a player.
    those who like cesar point out his above average to good obp,walks etc
    those of us who find him lacking point to his poor instinicts, the twins game where he came up in the 6th needing to get a run home from 3rd with 1 out and failed and then grounded out in 8th with bases loaded, and his overall lack of not being a winning player
    those are things that are harder to quantify
    my point is when his statistical performance drops, there is no fall back argument for him to play all the time as his fielding and baserunning are not very good
    in addition, the ceiling of his production is not very high and he’s starting to get expensive for what he offers
    that being said, everything else on this team will be for naught if Nola doesn’t turn things around.
    his performance is a must for this team to make the playoffs.

    kingery has a much higher ceiling based on his minor league performances but also a lower floor offensively as hernandez has atleast shown the ability to get on base

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    1. Kingery will likely be in the lineup vs a lefty tonight but probably in CF. God forbid he bump the sacred cow at 2b.

      Like

        1. I guess the high leverage numbers don’t mean anything? Or am I reading the numbers wrong? Guess JTR isn’t a winning player either. Such non sense.

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          1. Never mind what the eyes tell us. Cesar is a rock of stability in the lineup. Please….

            ….funny though how a bad night at the ballpark brings out the orneryness in us. And the discussion is a lot more heated.

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            1. i just think to when i was younger, and bought a new glove. how hard it was to break in, The way hopkins is missing balls into his glove and out. seems like me breaking in a new glove.

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            2. So I lay out a stat that goes against what you are saying (or at least I think it does, not 100% sure on the high leverage stat) and what? It doesn’t mean anything? Btw Rhys and Harper have a lower career average in those same situations. But hey Kingery hits .218 in those same instances.

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          2. EricD…i can recall from years gone by, the heated discussions of the term ‘clutch’.
            I guess the ‘winning player’ term may go hand in hand with the ‘clutch’ player.

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            1. I don’t get the winning player comments either. He’s been a good player on a bad team, he’s not a superstar who’s going to carry a team on his back, that doesn’t make him a “losing player”. If they win it all this year w this team, is he now a winning player?
              The classic example on here is Abreu . . . But for the premise to hold up, Abreu would have to go to a team and not win . . . Yet the majority of years he spent playing after his trade from Philly included playoff baseball. So was he not a winning player and turned into one after leaving Philly? Or were the Phillies as a whole just not that good during his tenure?

              Btw Abreu is a career .305/.420/.501 in high leverage situations. 😉
              In high leverage situations.

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            2. I think it raises the question of if you can statistically analyze all performance in baseball or are their certain players with a certain intangible who succeed in the field or at bat in key moments of the game, season, series more than other players
              that would be a winning or clutch player
              some baseball analysts would say that player doesn’t really exist but I think we all saw one here in philly with chase ultey
              we also saw one with lenny dysktra
              I believe that cesar hernandez does not have this but I recognize others will say that nonsense and I’m ok with that

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            4. This strand (and discussion) seems to have become a split end. We simply don’t all speak the same language.

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            5. Sr, you listed Nails and Utley who were playing MVP caliber baseball and were team leaders . . . NO ONE has ever said Cesar was an MVP or even a team leader for that matter. I don’t know how you can compare them even in a winning player vs losing player comparison.

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  23. The Mets are the real deal, and this division is the real deal. The 2018 Phillies would lose 90+ games in the 2019 NL East. Luckily the 2019 Phillies will be right in the mix. The Phils pitching has really struggled but are 9-6 with 12 games against good teams. That is a good sign.

    Like

    1. I agree with everything you just said. I agree that the Mets are good. For the first time in their history, they have promoted a whole group of really good hitters in a relatively short period of time (trust me, I know this from hard experience, having grown up as a Mets fan outside of New York I know that, up to a couple of years ago you could list all of the great hitters promoted from the Mets’ farm system on two hands and not use all of the second hand and this is not an exaggeration), they have a great reliever in Diaz and the starters are somewhere between good and great. They are a legit team for this year at least.

      Like

      1. And, no, I’m not a bandwagon jumper – I’ve been a Phillies fan since 1992 (not 1993, 1992) and have endured more than my fair share of bad Phillies baseball.

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        1. DMAR – Health is the main issue for the Mets, Phils, Braves, and Nats. Any injury that takes a star out of the lineup for a month or longer, will be doomed.

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          1. True Wawa Mike I was looking at it more in the ilk that the Mets have more than a handul of players who are susceptible to injury: Ramos, Conforto, Matz, Thor, Wheeler, D’Arnaud..

            Cano has been a relatively healthy player over his career however at 36 you might say the injuries are coming.

            Maybe I’m just trying to comfort myself!

            Like

    2. Yes they are very good. If their rotation stays healthy, McNeil, Nimmo and Conforto are studs as their future young core. Alonso is just a rookie but also dangerous. It’s more than reasonable to make them the division favorites.

      Like

  24. sr, I agree with you. Voice of reason, the 2008 Phillies would lose 90 games in this division? They were better at every position. We can argue Bryce vs Werth in RF, ‘08 Werth, but the advantage isn’t that great and Werth was better defensively. Perfect closer, underrated SP, great 7 and 8 inning RP, the ‘08 Phils would hit DeGrom, Scherzer and anyone else. Sorry!

    Like

      1. Catch … you started your fandom in 92’? Awww man you missed a lot of good late 80’s teams … you should go back and watch all 162 game seasons! Spoiler alert …. no “extra” games 🙂

        Lucky dog getting the 93’ team in your second season. Still my personal favorite team.

        Like

        1. Yeah, I grew up as a Mets fan outside of NYC and stayed a Mets fan for a few years after I moved to Philly at the end of 1987. I was really pissed when the Mets traded Lenny Dykstra and lost my mind when they traded David Cone. That last trade, in 1992, took me over the edge and made me a Phillies fan effective August 27, 1992 (the date of the trade) – just in time for the 1993 team. I was already a Sixers fan by that time and became an Eagles fan within a year or so.

          Unlike others in the area, I can never bring myself to really hate the Mets, Giants or Knicks since I grew up rooting for them and my wife just the other day tried to get me to admit that I still love the Mets. No can do honey!

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    1. Na Hinkie, this is a good laugh, thanks for posting. Don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen so effectively before!

      Like

  26. The Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly interested in both Keuchel and Kimbrel, per Ken Rosenthal, Jon Morosi.

    Like

  27. I apologize! On vacation, too many glasses of wine at lunch. I read 2008, so clearly need to read better. I agree, 2018 Phils could lose 100 games. It is always fun, though, to reminisce about the ‘08 team. I do sincerely apologize!!

    Like

  28. Cutch 7
    Segura 6
    Harper 9
    Realmuto 2
    Kingery 5
    Hernandez 4
    Altherr 8
    Franco 3

    Hoskins must be hurting uh oh

    Like

  29. Gabe really breaking out of his straight jacket with tonight’s lineup:
    McCutchen lf
    Segura ss
    Harper rf
    Realmuto c
    Kingery 3b
    Hernandez 2b
    Altherr cf
    Franco 1b
    Pivetta p

    Like

  30. The Mets better then the Nats or Braves . The Mets the last few yrs have been highly regarded at the beginning of the season.
    However by mid season there weakness have come forth. HEALTH

    Like

  32. Not a big Rob Manfred fan, but nice gesture by holding the ceremony at Independence Hall today to officially announce the 2026 all star game this early, reportedly because Dave Montgomery (who was unable to attend) is failing in his long battle with cancer.

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    1. Here comes Eickhoff! Excited for him. Though I will say Anderson seemed to be a good bullpen fit. Between DLS, Eickhoff, Anderson, & Irvin … the Phillies really could use that 2 man roster boost. All 4 seem worthy of an opportunity. Anderson is close, and could see a nice career in the bullpen with the Phillies, not over powering but 3 potential + pitches.

      Like

      1. They will probably have Irvin as the last man called up….he is not yet on their 40….but needs it come November.

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  36. You guys might think Pivetta is something, but he is underwhelming to me, very ordinary in fact. Here he is with a 10 run lead and every inning is a struggle.

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      1. Yes best game i ever saw him play. Dont know what happen but he is really hitting the ball. And he did show great defensive in that game

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    1. It’s almost like hes a good player and was a great prospect who struggled last year not because he stinks but because he was rushed up a year early and was moving around the diamond all year while learning how to hit ML pitching on the fly!

      I’m still big on Kingery. Hes much better than Cesar right now and honestly if the Phillies can get a halfway decent pen arm for Cesar now they should. Cesar had a few years as an above average starter but in the end of the day, hes not that good.

      Like

  39. So does Eickhoff now get consideration for Pivetta’s spot in the rotation?

    Man, my heart skipped a beat when Bryce got hit on the wrist.

    Altherr’s days are numbered.

    Great to see JTR break out with the bat.

    ….and oh yeah, sorry I just can’t resist – JETPAX!

    Like

    1. The Phillies are deep, they need the roster expansion rule … yesterday. I think it is more fair to the fringe players as well.

      I’m a big believer in Eickhoffs repertoire, plays well. All that, I wouldn’t give up on Pivetta just yet. I think he is more closer to the pitcher we saw at the end of ST. For Eickhoff, he looked more comfortable as the game
      Went on. Eick or Anderson need to stick, a shakeup is coming. Whether it comes from the SP or Bullpen, I feel like a move is on the way soon.

      Kingery is looking much better. Very glad to see. He is 50/50 or better in displacing Cehe to the bench imo.

      Like

      1. Tac deep? where? altheer and his 078 average. couple bad arms in bullpen. Alverez , nicaso There is not a lot of guys ready right now in the minors. so the deep comment surpise me.

        Like

        1. Imo, they have a deep SR, when factoring in the AAA guys. I can see Eickhoff, Anderson, DLS, and Irvin all having varying degrees of success at the mlb level. Either should be able to fill in as a 4th/5th. That will keep this train going as long as the offense does it’s part as the strength of the team. Some of those arms can trickle into the bullpen as well to strengthen. The bullpen to me is Always hit or miss, but I’ll say if Robertson is not who we thought he was, that could be troubling. Between Nesheck,Neris, Sir A, and Robertson, that should be enough to close our games

          Buckle up, this is going to be a bump ride. Will see if any team can break away in the east, my guess is no one wins it by more that 3-5 games at most.

          Like

  40. Nick Pivetta’s line tonight: 5 ip, 7 h, 3 r, 3 er, 3 bb, 2 k, 2 hr, 100 pitches (59 strikes). What do you think.

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    1. I believe Gape cant manage. I Would have told Pivetta you have a 9 run lead. Dont walk guys, if you do i will pull you. He gets two strikes and cant get the guy out, One reason is he isnt even close on those 1-2 counts. He doesnt come close to plate with two strikes to get the guys to chase, I am so down on him. i was his biggest fan, but you cant keep running him out there pitching like he does, If you look at the teams. Atlanta, Mets, National . Phillies mostly young guys, in the starting eight, The thing imo which will win the divison for yrs is pitching. and we dont have it now.

      Like

    2. Gabe kept him in for the win….if it were not for the large lead….he would have probably been gone in the 4th.

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      1. Romus was the win more important then the lesson, you dont walk guys with 9 run leads. i would have pulled him

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  42. Kingery somehow has to stay in the everyday lineup. Eickhoff wow that curve is back .

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    1. Tim, that curve and slider combo is nasty. He looked better as the game went on too. He gives the batters eye a lot of different looks, that allows him to get away with not having a 94+ mph fastball. Pivetta and VV I’m sure took notice. Even Anderson looked good in the week. So hopefully competition brings out the best in them.

      Like

  43. Didn’t see the game last night, is Segura ok?

    You ride out Kingery as long as possible right now . . . You don’t sit Hernandez either tho.

    Like

    1. Eric Segura left due to Hamstring tightness no updates yet on whether or not he will miss extended time.

      A good time to do it if its needed if Kingery’s hot streak is for real. Forget the HR last night as Matz (lefthanded) was throwing meatballs up there. I saw a sign in Kingery last night on his 3rd AB where the pitcher threw him a first pitch slider or curve on the outer half and he didn’t bite on it.

      That was pretty much the diet that he saw last season that was doing him in.

      Like

  44. Talk about a humbling game. Cody Asche signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. Thought he was older but only 28.

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  45. With the amount of positions he can play, I’m not sure why he isn’t able to play close to 5-6 games a week. Guys need rest, just rotate them so that all the starting 8 aren’t resting on the same day. Maybe I’m missing something but I’d imagine it was more of a lack of confidence in Kingery’s bat vs being able to find time. That issue seems to be over for now, so let’s see how creative Gabe can get

    Like

    1. Kingery’s problems last year were real – which is not to say he can’t evolve and get over them and excel (he’s a great athlete and extremely hard worker), but it wasn’t just confidence. Last year, Kingery took pitches over the plate early in the count, chased late and swung through a lot of pitches that appeared to be hittable. I imagine, now that he’s jumping on early strikes, that pitchers are going to adjust and try to nibble at the edge of the zone early in the count to get him to swing. When they make that adjustment, we’ll see if he can the corresponding adjustment to lay off bad or borderline pitches. But the talent is definitely there and if this new Kingery is real, to start, he will probably split time with Cesar at second (or get most of the ABs) and then fill in as a super-sub and, ultimately, he would just stay at second.

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      1. catch – “split time with Cesar at 2nd”? Barring injury, Cesar will start 90% of the games at 2nd. More likely Franco (our best player at the moment) will sit.

        Like

        1. No, I don’t think so. If the “real” Kingery roughly resembles the player we see now, his destiny is second base and he’ll start playing there and he and Cesar will share at bats there and both will play around the diamond, including Kingery sometimes playing third base. But Maikel Franco at third right now and batting 8th is a pretty much unprecedented weapon in big league history (it’s true – he’s on a pace to re-write records as a #8 hitter) and there is no way they take him out of the lineup unless he stops hitting.

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      2. Kingery is off to a great start. A quick look at his peripheral stats explains the improvement.
        1. He is swinging at fewer Balls. Last year his O-swing was 39.4%. Way too high. This year it is 33.9%. A massive improvement in plate selection.
        2. He is swinging at more Strikes. Last year his z-swing rate was 64.6%. Again too low. He took too many good pitches. This year it is 75%. And he has improved his contact rate on strikes by 2%.
        3. Thus…his k rate is down to 12.5% from 26% last year. Amazing what happens when you swing at Strikes and not Balls.

        A few words of caution though:
        1. His babip is .588. Which obviously will normalize
        2. He has become a dead pull hitter this year. This year he is pulling 61% of contact. And only going oppo on 5.6%. I assume that is small sample and will normalize. Otherwise teams will shift him. In AAA he was 43% pull and 36% oppo.
        3. He is hitting a lot of ground balls, which carry a lower babip over a large sample. So far this year 56.6% of his contact are grounders. A combo of dead pull and grounders is not a good combo.

        Note, this is all small sample so draw NO conclusion from this data. Just interesting to see

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        1. V1 a day late and a few dollars short this is an excellent post….

          And as if Scotty read this he goes oppo for an HR woo-hoo

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  46. Looking forward to today’s game quick after last night’s blowout. Anyone remember what happened on this date, April 17, 1976? (hint: also a day game at Wrigley, the Phillies were down 13-2 at one point….)

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      1. 18-16. Schmidt’s 4 homers were consecutive. The 23-20 (I think?) game came in 1979 after Pete Rose joined the team. Schmitty hit 4 that day too. That was an even wilder game. Unfortunately it didn’t propel them that season. Dallas Green replaced Danny Ozark midseason.

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    3. Was there in Wrigley that sunny windswept day. Arrived late in time for his first homer to sail out as I was settling into my seat. Had the immediate feeling I was witnessing something special!

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  47. Kingery is off to a great start. A quick look at his peripheral stats explains the improvement.
    1. He is swinging at fewer Balls. Last year his O-swing was 39.4%. Way too high. This year it is 33.9%. A massive improvement in plate selection.
    2. He is swinging at more Strikes. Last year his z-swing rate was 64.6%. Again too low. He took too many good pitches. This year it is 75%. And he has improved his contact rate on strikes by 2%.
    3. Thus…his k rate is down to 12.5% from 26% last year. Amazing what happens when you swing at Strikes and not Balls.

    A few words of caution though:
    1. His babip is .588. Which obviously will normalize
    2. He has become a dead pull hitter this year. This year he is pulling 61% of contact. And only going oppo on 5.6%. I assume that is small sample and will normalize. Otherwise teams will shift him. In AAA he was 43% pull and 36% oppo.
    3. He is hitting a lot of ground balls, which carry a lower babip over a large sample. So far this year 56.6% of his contact are grounders. A combo of dead pull and grounders is not a good combo.

    Note, this is all small sample so draw NO conclusion from this data. Just interesting to see

    Like

  48. We need to win games now, early in the season. Hope the bats continue to rake in Colorado for 4 games vs the last place, slow starting Rockies. Followed by tough 3 game series at Citi Field, then home for 4 against the Fish. Day off, and then the Tigers are in for 2 games. The Phillies could realistically win 9 of the next 14, but the starting pitching must keep them in the game, like Arrieta today. I doubt he’ll repeat his last outing. I would definitely replace Pivetta with Eickhoff. Put Nick in the pen and see how he does. Eickhoff knows how to pitch despite his lack of stuff compared to Pivetta. Plus Jerad is a bulldog on the mound. Nick looks like he’s not sure how to act out there right now, even with a huge lead.

    Like

    1. Have you ever been to CO? I have a couple of times now and I honestly don’t know how away teams manage in that thin air. Granted these guys are elite athletes but when I’m there just walking up a small flight of steps or any type of an incline will get you massively winded.

      And I’m in pretty decent shape for my age.

      Like

  49. Jim Salisbury has Altherr possibly going to the Tigers in a deal….oh please not Daniel Stumpf again!

    Like

      1. He has turned his career around….but.
        He was a Matt Klentak Rule 5 guy a few years ago…out of the Royals org….pitched in Wilmington DE for the Blue Rocks awhile back.

        Like

  50. In other news around the league Blake Swihart was DFA’d today. Braves fans were chanting “KIMBREL” last night after their BP suffered another meltdown.

    The Dodgers lead the NL in HRs with 37: The Mariners lead MLB with a game in hand at 42 HRS. Phillies are at 11th. The ball appears to be flying out west. Of all the teams ahead of us in HRs only one is an East Coast team the Yankees and they’ve played a bulk of their games out west.

    Freddy Galvis has more HRs than Harper and just as many as Hoskins

    The Phillies have 4 players in the Top 50 in OPS; They rank 4th in OBP; 5th in Runs scored and they are 8th in team OPS ahead of all other NL East Teams.

    The Brewers fleeced the Marlins e.g. Christian Yelich

    The Rays fleeced the Pirates e.g. Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows

    I am confident our pitching woes be solved here in the next few months.

    Like

    1. Hard to believe Swihart’s fall from grace…he was an across the board top 20 prospect just in 2015.

      Like

        1. roc…sorry to hear that…..probably drug needed money…by younger people mostly….that is what the cops tell us in the burbs…which happens out here also.

          Like

          2. My wife gets on my case for leaving my car door open (out in the burbs) but my reasoning is A. I don’t leave anything of real value in my car B. if they want to steal my change I’d rather they just open the door and do it LOL

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            2. Dmar the fun part for me is this the placard has a number you can see. when it is hung. I Will be driving around always looking for the car. who has that placard, then south philly style revenge. I will destroy that car i promise you, its not the money for my new window. its the guts to break into someone property for a stinking a little money they get for placard.

              Like

      2. Prospects fail all the time. And the Red Sox have had their share of failed prospects just like any other team. They just cover it up by throwing crazy money around.

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  52. Sounds like Pivetta has been options to AAA . . . Can’t say i’m surprised, had him marked down as my biggest disappointment for the year. Living up to it early. Hopefully he can figure things out and come back up to contribute.

    Like

    2. He totally deserved to be sent down. The Phillies can’t wait for him to get his head straight. I admit, I was never a fan of his but his play this season has shocked me. And right now, you have to figure that he’s behind DLS if another starter goes down.

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      1. Agreed. I love the move. He really looked like he lacked confidence last night. This team is too good and the SP depth is too good to keep him in the majors. Let him figure it out in the minors.

        Like

        1. I agree that confidence seems to be his major issue. He pitches like he’s terrified of throwing a pitch in the strike zone. Not sure if it was all of the hype before the season about him being on everyone’s breakout list of what but a chance to regroup will hopefully help him..

          Like

    3. This is surprising to me. I’ve been promoting Eickhoff, but I’d honestly think it was going to be VV, and certainly not this early. Well one of Pivetta,Efflin, and VV were slated to breakout, so far Efflin is looking the part. If he can get the consistency down, he’ll be the huge boost many thought Pivetta was going to be. Still have 3 guys knocking on the door if VV stumbles. I still think they are OK without kuechel, but I’d start getting more serious about Kimbrel if Robertson is out LT. Anderson does look like he could fill a nice bullpen role imo, with DLS or VV potentially boosting the bullpen, even if it’s for just a year to strengthen the teams chances this year. All in all, I really thought Pivetta would have a longer leash, I guess VV is on a similar one

      Like

  53. Pitch mix and pitch repertoire is one of the factors I looked for a rotation arm. I’m happy with Eickhoff’s game last night. Eick is mostly a low 90s FB + plus CB and happy to see him throw the SL with confidence. Eickhoff throw SL 37% of the time with 68% (15 of 22) for K and use SL to get at least 3 batters out.

    The CB will always be Eickhoff’s out pitch against both RH and LH, but the SL will be the key for him to be a viable rotation arm in the long term.

    Like

  54. I’m surprised with the lack of quality pitch from Pivetta but the stuff is still there – velocity and pitch wise. If Eickhoff and Eflin hold on their own and Klentak decided to acquire someone like MadBum or Minor — Pivetta and Vinny will really help this team by pitching in the back of the bullpen. We’ve seen Vinny and Pivetta pitch in the pen in short stints and both looked really good.

    Pivetta and Vinny might be a short term solution but given the accelerated timeline that the Phillies have, this may be a good approach to maximize their talent.

    Like

        1. A lot? Like who? Comforto is the only one doing his this. McNeil and Alonso are playing better than expectations but it is small sample size for them. I give NYM credit for taking 3 (of 3) from the Marlin in which the Phillies took only 2 (of 3). Without the Marlins, NYM is 7-7.

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            1. Nimmo is only 10 days younger than Hoskins but Nimmo haven’t shown the impact and potential of Hoskins.

              The Muts are counting on Nimmo and Rosario to help Comforto but it will be wise for the Muts not to rely those guys to carry them offensively. Unless McNeal and Alonso will continue their good start, the Muts will be ranked 4th in offense in NL East. Like their run few years ago, the success of the Muts will be carried by their pitching, not offense.

              Like

            2. I think you’re underselling the Mets’ offense a bit.

              McNeil and Alonso look real, they have Conforto and Nimmo and sooner or later Robinson Cano will hit and they may have stumbled into something with J.D. Davis – he was a beast in AAA last year.

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            3. Mets may have stolen Davis from the Astros….who had no need for him after Bregman signed that extension…. Mets gave up prospect OFer Ross Adolph,(39th in Stros top 30) infielder Luis Santana (21st in the Stros top 30) and catcher Scott Manea….prospects that may or may not make an impact with the Stros…..Davis is a pure hitter.

              Like

      2. Yes…..cannot see Thor, Wheeler and deGrom letting that continue for long……of course Matz skewed it pretty good last night.

        Like

  56. The rumor is that the Phillies are sniffing around 31 year old Mike Minor. Now obviously a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline, and you can bet that there will be a bidding war for his services if Minor keeps it up. I don’t really want to give any of our top prospects, so I’m going with Pivetta and 1 of Romero/Suarez/Irvin for Minor. At this point, Pivetta looks to need a change of scenery.

    Like

  57. One time Phillies prospect Travis D’arnaud has really hit the skids.His OPS is under .300 and he’s accumulated 2.1 WAR in 7 seasons! Hard to believe he’s making $3.5M to be the backup in NY.

    Like

    2. IMO, the lack of clarity in the back end of the bullpen will eventually burn the Phillies. If none of the current RPs are capable of closing, just sign Kimbrel!!

      It will up to Klentak to stop this closer madness that Kapler is employing. Klentak can either acquire an establish closer or tell Kapler that if he doesn’t stop with his closer carousel or else he can employ the same for the team skipper – Wathan will manage on TTh, Kapler on MWF and whoever on weekends.

      Like

      1. Not many left out there….except the big guy…Kimbrel.
        Mad Dog Madson is still unsigned…reunion maybe back in Philly?
        Jorge De LA Rosa, Santiago Casilla, Joaquin Benoit, Matt Belisle, Fernando Salas do not bring much to the table anymore also.

        Like

          1. Brewers also are in the game.
            I think some of the interested teams are waiting for June to see if he is still there….then try to sign him, that way they will not have to forfeit their draft choice and a portion of their international credit line

            Like

  63. Wow! That was a heart thumping ninth inning. Good thing Neris hit Ramos and struck out the young guys. Great win!

    Kingery is great to have around. If Segura is out, he plays a better than adequate SS. If Herrera is hurt, he plays CF.

    Rocco’s Uncle Ceasar is beginning to heat up. No need to sit him. There are plenty of places to play Kingery in the meantime.

    Have always been a big Eickoff supporter. He always has had very good command and a fabulous CB. If the SL is legit, he’ll be a big help.

    They have to at least split in Denver. I’m just concerned that Eflin, VV, Nola, and Eickoff will be on top of their game or it could get ugly.

    Pivetta really needs to work on command in all areas: FB, CB, and whatever else he throws. He can’t depend on throwing the FB by everyone. This is MLB.

    Like

    1. The SL looks really good last night with sharp break inside and Eickhoff is commanding the SL very well, thus, thowing with confidence (threw > 1/3 of the time). Eickhoff’s doesn’t have a good FB to set up the CB for an out, SL might be the pitch that can help Eickhoff increase his whiff rate.

      Like

  64. According to Matt Gelb, Jake Arrieta is one of 2 MLB starting pitchers to throw three 7+ inning outings. The other is Texas’ Mike Minor, for whom I would trade Williams and Velasquez, whom the Rangers have coveted in the past.

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    1. Minor is a FA after 2020, turns 32 later in this year…so you have him for two years at a very reasonable salary of less than $10M AAV.
      Williams, as a former Ranger prospect should be no problem for them accepting…and Velasquez is a young controlled arm….so that should be all it would take.
      Granted Minor is having an all-star caliber year right now, so Daniels may try to get more in return.

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      1. I offer Williams VV and Maton or Stokes to sweeten the pot, I Want a left hand starter who can give us 7 innings a game.

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      2. It’s really hard to watch this season go by knowing that the player I’ve know for a year a half should be here , and would have been easy to acquire last year at the deadline, is not here. We miss you Cole Hamels! Anyway, here’s to hoping they sign him on a 3 year deal next winter – he’s a perfect fit as a lefty #3 in the rotation and we all know he’s a big game pitcher.

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      3. Offer to take Choo and some of his money off their hands. Choo would be an excellent PH and sub off the bench…

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  65. Roman Quinn was in the original lineup tonight for the first game of LHV’s double header. He was replaced by Lane Adams right before the game began. So there you go….

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  66. That might mean Doobie goes on the IL and Quinn is brought up. Buys ten days (maybe longer) before AA or Williams has to go.

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  67. Might mean Doobie goes on the IL. This gives them 10 days (maybe longer) before making a decision on AA or Williams.

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  68. Looks like the Mets are also interested in Mike Minor:

    Bob Nightengale
    ✔
    @BNightengale
    The New York #Mets and Philadelphia #Phillies are showing strong interest in Texas #Rangers ace Mike Minor, who is off to a dazzling start. He pitched a 3-hit CG shutout Tuesday vs. #Angels, and has a 1.27 ERA in his last three starts. He’s owed $9.5 million this year and in 2020
    12:13 PM – Apr 17, 2019

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  69. Some thoughts after watching today’s game : Imagine what Pivetta would have fetched in a trade before this bad spell ? Texas’ Minor – most likely…..all the stat heads thought he was the second coming of Sandy Koufax…..fip this and that….

    Realmuto is truly a multi dimensional player. He stold that first run today. And his framing was simply amazing most of the day. Neris could throw splitter after splitter because J T goes down to get them – how about how low to the ground he gets ! Where is that extension !

    I think CBP is going to have to set up a cardiac care center after today’s “closer” did another Mitchie-Poo imitation. I literally watched the final 2 outs on the ceiling….and the chair still has to have the arms reupholstered ! Conforto – I would simply walk the guy every AB – he may be the biggest Philly killer of all time – 16 homers ? / he’s only been a player for 3 years !!!!

    Kingery ? who is inhabiting his body ? when I saw him lay off several sliders on the far outside corner – and not even flinch, I thought Chase might be taking on an alternate life. I know he is hot but he is not falling for the same stuff as last year. Incidentally, I saw him in ST more than twice and he looked – weak, over matched with high velocity? Cheerios ?

    Arrieta is out to prove he is not washed up and maybe he is going for that contract extension?

    And Chooch is still playing in Panama ? according to “Tom Mac.”

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    1. Kingery had just a horrible baptism by fire last year. He has all the physical talent and work ethic to be a big time star, the issue with him is plate discipline and contact skills. If he can control the strike zone, he has the ability to be a perennial all-star and the ability to still make the Phillies look like geniuses for signing him to that contract. Certainly, is about as much fun to watch out there as anyone when he’s going well. And, man-o-man, if this guy reaches his ceiling this could be one of the best hitting National League teams I can ever recall.

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  70. Romus did you see the article on Betts? I found it interesting, They are getting him out with way less velo. Under 85 i believe they said, They throw him nothing hard, Goes against my velo arguments

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    1. Red Sox’s divisional rivals should see if they can lure Charlie hough out of retirement, Betts would be 0-4 every game 🙂

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    2. rocco….he just will need to adjust….but I do think there is something to it also in that he is pressing a bit for other reasons, because he refused the Sox extension, 8 years over $2000M
      and wants to test FA after this year….look what happened to Harper at this time last year.

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  71. Phillies Chances on winning NL East:

    I’m feeling pretty confident they can win the East after this early sampling. They are 3-3 vs the nats, 2-1 vs Mets, and 3-0 vs the Braves. … and 2-1 vs the marlins. They took all the teams best pitching, and won the series. Arguably, they should have swept the Mets and taken 5 of 6 from the Nats, but that is how baseball goes sometimes. The Phillies can stay with any team, it’s mainly because their offense can hit “good” pitching. I’ll take it. The bumps will come but I think the Phils are in good position to win this. The nats look like the biggest threat, from the SP and lineup. If the Phils can take care of the marlins as they should, they will be in position to win the division, just keep doing what your doing

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  72. During this past winter, most of us wanted the Phillies to sign, or trade for another starting pitcher. Outside of Corbin, I didn’t like any of the options. After Corbin signed, I was content to go with what we had. I argued that Eickhoff could be a bounce-back candidate, or that De Los Santos or Irvin could step up.
    Currently, the team is in talks with Mike Minor, who I wanted in the winter, but don’t think we need anymore. With Pivetta demoted, the only pitcher who sucks is Nola. We need to look at the big picture here. The season is a tenth of the way over, and the Phillies have the best record in the NL. With so many game-changers ( Harper, Hoskins, Franco, and Realmuto) on offense, we’ll be in most of the remaining games. The pitching staff has enough bullets for now (we’ll revisit that as the deadline approaches). We’ve already seen that the offense can bail a starter out when he doesn’t have his best stuff. There will be nights when the bullpen will make you want to pull your hair out, and I’m still interested in Kimbrel.
    Sit back and enjoy what should be an incredible season.

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    1. Pretty simple concept…swing at Strikes and not Balls and make contact and you have a high probability of getting a hit. Swing at Balls and you are in trouble.

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  76. Bowa and other members of phillies are at the Lakewood game today, they finally got audio at the Lakewood game on Milb.tv

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  77. Phillies are among 4 teams interested in Keuchel who will now reportedly accept a 1 year deal at the right price.

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  78. Ominous start to the road trip. It’s too bad because Eflin pitched a really good game. Although the Kingery error only shows up as one unearned run, it changed the entire complexion of the inning.

    The game is scoreless but the error allows the first man to reach base. Eflin’s rhythm gets thrown off and the floodgates are opened up. Need to get a split in Denver. Welcome back, Roman. Golden sombrero!

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  79. Don’t look now but Hernandez, even after the horrid start is hitting .270/.356/.429, and has a positive war (yet Franco’s is neg, beyond me).

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    1. Of course we all know that Cesar is more valuable to this team than Franco. WAR is gospel. Such sacrilege.

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        1. EricD….it is his defense…..vs every third baseman in the league he probably is in the bottom third defensively.
          Now, do not ask me how they determine a players’ defensive capabilities…what now with shifts, and out of normal position playing, etc …..Franco has just the one error, which is probably one fraction of determining the players total dWAR.

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          1. I get that, but like you said with the shifting and the fact that he really hasn’t been a liability over there it just makes no sense. Do they take into consideration where they hit in the order? I feel like that is a big part, with Franco at least.

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  80. Never one to complain about umpiring but I might as well start here. Did anyone else notice last night’s game – the Phillies hitters were consistently given strikes / both inside and outside on balls that were uniformly outside of the box they show after the pitches ? This happened to Hoskins several times, Bryce once, and Cutch in almost every at bat. Granted – these 3 may be in a funk of sorts but it appeared to me that they were so befuddled by the umpire’s strike zone that all 3 of them expanded it even more ! Kingery also did his part where in one at bat he swung at balls that almost bounced to the plate – twice ! Yet, he was one of the few players that hit the ball – to fielders for outs.

    Similarly – the pitch before McMahon’s second home run was a high strike in the transposed box but was called a ball which unnerved Arano and he never recovered after that.

    What was a shame was Eflin pitched well enough to win and basically the Phils lost to McMahon assisted by terrible balls/strikes umpiring !.

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    1. RU…noticed that also. Will Little was the ump behind the plate I think….ofcoyrse Cowboy Joe West was the crew chief at first …..not many check swings on Phillies RHBs went the Phillies way either.

      BTW…Coors Field has the best camera angle from CF….right over the pitcher’s head….directly onto the home plate
      Wonder why CBP cannot get that same camera angle instead off to the pitcher’s side. I know the camera guy stands off to the side of the trees/bushes out there…why not put a stationary walled camera right on the batters eye!

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        1. Romus, Roc failed to mention that he’ll be in the back pew wearing a fake mustache, resembles Father Guido Sarducci.

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  81. Bob Brookover, Matt Breen and Scott Lauber did their Top 25 prospects and have Spencer Howard #1. I think, at the present time, I would have to agree. He has gone past Medina IMO. They have Bohm next. I am not there, but struggling with who should be #2. It might be Medina. They also have MM ahead of Haseley.

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    2. Yea, I would have MM ahead of Haseley at this time also. Same level, better production, and years younger..

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  82. Gio, right now, looks to be available after tomorrow, his opt-out date with the Yankees’ minor league contract, and also with a new agent…he fired Scott Boras.
    I am thinking the Phillies may be one of the teams mentioned for his services.

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    1. Romus, I tend to think that if the Phillies were really interested, he’d be here a few weeks ago on a major league contract.

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      1. I think the Yankess would have had to release him for that to happen…that is why he chose April 20th as his opt-out date. It was only a one-month opt-out minor league contract … Phillies however, could have signed him before mid- March if there were so interested.

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  83. If you sign Gio, who do you demote? VV after a few good starts? No. Nola or Jake? No. Eflin? No. Jered? After they just promoted him, no. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. The Phils need some prospects to step it up to increase value to get a ToR arm on 7/31.

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    1. I with you…..but will see what Klentak/Kapler will want.to do if he becomes available. My guess they will pass, since they already did that back in February when he was free to sign with anyone.

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        1. roc:
          I do not think they want to put VV in the pen unless he begins to fail.
          Right now they want him to continue his accomplishments.
          Gio will probably be signed elsewhere before they decide to put VV in the pen.

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    1. The top four teams in the N East are close enough on talent that it will be health that determines who will win the division.

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  85. In Harrisburg last night an unfamiliar player came out of the clubhouse. I asked him his name. He said Luis Martinez, I just signed with Phillies. Anyone have an idea?

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    1. Was he a tall guy? 6’6″ or so. there is a Luis Martinez who pitches/pitched in the White Sox organization. He’s 24 yo, if this is the guy. He’s been in AA and has been a starter to date. The other Luis Martinez’s are GCL tops. I don’t think they’d be in AA.

      There is a 34 yo catcher, who has actually played in the Major Leagues but not in a very long time. He also hasn’t played anywhere professionally since 2015 so it’s not likely to be him.

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  86. Guys, they are dropping like flies! I don’t believe AA belongs up, I’d rather have Cozens up, at least the swings would look better.

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    1. if Segura, Cutch and Kingery can’t play tonight, Knapp IS the bench. Would rather them not rush Segura back- only options to bring up on 40 are Walding, Gamboa and Cozens, right? but of course have to put somebody on DL first.

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  87. A loss is a loss but this was painful on multi levels. 17 hits and only 3 runs? Harper with a personal high 5 hits wasn’t enough. Franco and Hoskins each had 3 hits. Not enough. The bullpen was lights out until Nicasio came in. And then we lose Kingery. (Cutch’s injury doesn’t sound as serious.) Good thing we didn’t trade Altherr….or is it? He’s batting a whopping .048, shame because I really thought he’d become a key piece to the roster but it’s time to bring Cozens up. What have we to lose? Now I know why the Yankees don’t move their “excess” talent. There really is no such thing when major league players are dropping like flies. I can’t recall these soft tissue issues being as nearly as prevalent 30 years ago. Did players simply play through the aches and pains back then? This has gotten beyond ridiculous, and we’ve been lucky so far. You can’t read MLBTR without seeing several players being placed on the IL every day.

    On a more cheerful note, great to see the local kid Gosselin have immediate success. Looks like he’ll be getting some playing time, unfortunately.

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    1. When three players go down with hamstring injuries over the course of a week, my attention turns to the training staff. With proper exercise and stretching that should not happen. And these hammy injuries can go on for months.

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          1. EricD…he may be confusing cramping of the muscle due to hydration issues with potassium and sodium depletion..

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    2. Saw Gosselin in 3 ST games and he always seemed to get 2 or more hits – including a HR….thought right away this guy is a scrappy little hitter – look at his career stats and he doesn’t done much. Late bloomer ?

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    3. Line drives and balls down the line turned into outs, many thanks to Arenado’s gold glove. Then a Rockies’ bloop double is critical to the outcome. Hope this evens out Saturday and Sunday, but Arenado won’t likely even out.

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  88. How about the Marlins letting their hitting coach go on April 19. That’s like the captain of the Titanic firing the guy in charge of life preservers.

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  89. Now all on the IL …not even a month into the season.
    Victor Arano… right elbow inflammation…. Kingery, Segura and Herrera with hamstrings……….and earlier IL players David Roberston and Tommy Hunter.
    Catching up to the Yankees.

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  90. Romus – If it had to happen, now is the time. If Hunter and Robertson are ready by mid May, they’ll be well-rested for the stretch run. The rest of the injuries are short- term, and it gives the Phils replacements some valuable AB’s. We need to be patient with the SP’ers, but with three bullpen arms down, we need to sign Kimbrel.

    Remember, we are in first place.

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  91. Big start today for Nola. We need 2018 Nola, and we need him now. Ironically, Neither Sherzer or deGrom are pitching like Cy Young candidates either.

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    1. Kind of an out of the body experience, where the mind is back on the bench and the body is walking off the field to join up with it!

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    2. Imagine if this was the playoffs!

      I’m not even sure if would be different then, between Cehe and Herrera. I’ll say earlier last week against thr Mets, Herrera has a way bigger mental error. I’m not even sure he truly understands the game of baseball. To refresh, 2 man on, Herrera is on 3rd, the batter walks … Herrera starts to walk home as if he is “forced”
      In do to the walk. The Mets catcher fires over to 3rd after ball 4, Herrera gets back but is lucky imo. Now, I’m not sure if he didn’t realize the bases were loaded or if he thought because the batter walk and he was on 3rd, if all the base runners advance 1. Honestly, It wouldn’t surprise me. I felt he has tremendous talent, but just doesn’t know the game as well as a player who should for his level.

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      1. I’m not going to let Cesar off the hook, but…the umpire was behind him when he waved Cesar as safe but did not shout out safe, which he should have. No way for Cesar to know he had been called safe. Having said that, he should have had the presence of mind to look around to see what was happening.

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