361 thoughts on “Open Discussion: Week of May 22, 2022”

1. Once Moniak appears healthy, I’ll be curious to see if he gets a quick promotion to the majors. Plus who will get sent down? Hererra or Quinn? Quinn still shows he’s a good 4th OF with that crazy speed and good defense. If Moniak is playing, why keep Odubel?
   This team needs to hit to win games. It’s still early and I think they’ll hit but they really need to pick things up as the calendar turns to June.

   1. Adios Odubel.

   2. Herrera, technically, cannot be optioned down, he now has over 5 years of service time, he has to be DFA off the 40.
      But who will claim him anyways….so he will be reassigned to LHV.

   3. Currently, the Phillies are carrying 14 pitchers. They need to bring this down to 13 pitchers on May 30. This means that the Phillies can activate Moniak on May 30, and send down a reliever, likely between Norwood or Brogdon.

2. Garrett Stubbs has been the 3rd best hitter, maybe he should see more starts (JT@1st? for a few games). Adding Mickey (lefty) to roster if he is ready is an interesting senario. Do you have him replace Herrera (a lefty) or Quinn (switchhitter)? The OF/DH will be entirely lefthanded except Castalanos if Herrera remains. I guess they could replace a reliever for Moniak. We will see.

   1. If MM matches Bellinger 5-14-.215. And makes $16+ million less a year. Who could argue?

   2. Stubbs is a great story, but his career OPS is .648. If there was an opening at DH, he could be an option, but there isn’t. So Stubbs will continue to get 1-2 starts per week, and hope that Realmuto breaks out of his slump.

      1. Stubbs is best backup since Chris Coste, IMO. Before that ?

         1. Stubbs is hitting like crazy, so yeah, he’s probably the best backup.

            Having a great backup is you know, great, but not the best thing. It usually implies that the starter is not playing well and the backup is eating into his time. You would much rather have JT with 4+ WAR and Stubbs with 0.5, rather than JT with 2 WAR and Stubbs with 1 WAR. As I’ve mentioned previously, the starters will determine the trajectory of the team because they play the bulk of the minutes.

3. Jim. I’ll agree but it is still early. Apparently the Phillies are in the tough part of the schedule, so that gives some hope they can make a run back for the division Will see. That said, the Mets are down their top 2 pitchers soooo.

   I’m excited about having Bohm, Stott, and Moniak in the lineup. Hopefully the youth can put a fire under the high paid players

   1. Tac3…..”Mets are down their top 2 pitchers soooo….”…and maybe Megill also for awhile with a right biceps issue.

      1. Time to catchup! Many say they don’t like seeing a team’s top players go down, they want to beat a team at full strength etc .. well count me as a guy who doesn’t mind 🙂 after watching this team for 36+ years … I’ll take any way into the playoffs. If it means taking steroids, stealing player reports, using tacky substances for grip, bribing the home plate umpire … I expect the Phillies to do it …. For the PHANS. If you ain’t cheatin… you ain’t trying 🙂

         1. Wouldn’t that be blackmailing home plate umpires?

            1. Dykstra did it .. that’s why I mentioned it. Now some think Lenny is full of it… but the team did have 5 players in the team with 100+ walks … which at the time, was pretty unheard of if my memory doesn’t fail me. For the record,I believe him.

4. Roman Quinn should have a +1.0 added to this years war score lol. Yes a bit skewed but not to many players over the last several decades of baseball could have beat that throw to win the game. I know his elite speed is factored in already, but I bet it’s underrated in the stat.
   I keep him for sure over herrera once Moniak is ready. Late inning Defense replacement and pinch running. I don’t care if he doesn’t hit that well, should be the best option with Moniak getting his shot

5. It is what it is at this point. I fully understand and respect the “this isnt football, every game doesnt matter, its a long season” side, but it is just hard to see a team that looks bound for a huge playoff run when watching these games.

   What we really need to figure out, is what is in the water with this organization?. How come, no matter who the team goes out and gets, and whoever they plug into the lineup, that player underperforms? Why does JT look so bad? I fully get that its early and you can’t win a division in May, but you also don’t want to put yourself in a position where you need to go on a crazy 2h run and you need a team that has been great so far to fall off.

   So what is it? A few guys in this site have hinted that it may be something with the clubhouse – that it is just not a fun place to be which makes the players view baseball as a job and not something they love to do. Maybe its Joe G and the old adage about a team taking the personality of the manager. Again, I know there are some optimists here and people who can stay calm during bad times, but for me its not just wins and losses that worries me, its the overall vibe and feel I get when watching.

   1. I see that viewpoint. I’m not privy too the clubhouse, I can only guess. That said … the job mentality vs having fun playing baseball aspect … it’s pretty weak imo on the players. Your getting paid a boat load, and your incentivized to play hard so you make a boat load more … even if your team sucks. I still get it. A great clubhouse , getting paid boatloads of money, & winning is the ideal scenario in the town of your choice .. you can’t usually have it all. 3 of the 4 is possible but if your team is losing? It’s not as fun for sure.
      The next point is, you might be seeing something different because of the expectations. This team is expected to win, and it’s not. That’s going to limit the fun they can show … until they win. This town would rip them apart for having too much fun losing.. after their historic offseaon spending for the club.

      Realmuto doesn’t worry me, they have O’Hoppe if not, this team breeds catchers.
      Castellanos… he doesn’t either. He’s goes on long hot stretches
      Schwarber doesn’t either … mainly because he is mr clutcH. He’s the Danny Briere of baseball. He comes up HUGE in the playoffs. The issue is getting there
      Wheeler has addressed his concerns
      Nola … a little worried he’s losing it. Probably needs that tacky substance to get a better grip
      Knubel worries me … seems more like a setup man
      Other than that .. they can make it work. I expect them to be in it. Division and WC teams. 120ish games to go. If I was running a 3k race. This is exactly how I would do it. But I’d start picking it up right now. Unfortunately it’s not a 3k race either

6. Herrera should not be cut. Moniak has proven nothing in the majors (or minors). Quinn is what he is. A terrible hitter and always one step away from a season ending injury. We’ve been down this road before counting on the Moniak/Haseley/Quinn/Vierling types that haven’t done it. I still remember most people on this board dying to get rid of Cesar so Kingrey would be the starter. Herrera may not be great but so far he has proven a lot more than the rest.

   1. If the rest of the Phillies team were “pulling their weight ” we wouldn’t worry about MM in center. Look at the Dodgers. Lux was below. 200 a week ago, Bellinger and others just above .200, Smith cleanup, Chris Taylor in LF, Kershaw out, bullpen pitcher started Saturday and they have best record in best division.
      Once Hoskins/Harper/JT/ Nick C/ Swarber get going everything good will follow.🤞

   2. NL……………..thanks, that needed to be said. I think MM should be given the chance he earned in the spring, but this team is not good and I don’t believe any of these guys will resurrect it.

      1. Its a shame Quinn cant hit a lick, with that speed and his defense just hit 250 and a 330 obp and i would be thrilled

   3. Your point is well taken, but I think that’s about to change. Herrera is living off a season from what 2017? 2018? He’s been so so ever since. Maybe 1 good month of ball. Moniak did well enough in ST to take a chance on. I’d rather they find out what he has vs seeing the same old herrera out there. 1 spot shouldn’t kill this team .. not with schwarber, Harperx Castellanos, realmuto, and Hoskins in it ..

      1. I dont buy the “Gotta keep Odubel in case MM doesnt play well” because A. I dont think MM can possibly be worse than Odubel and B. Lets just say that he is, there are guys out there in AAA or on other teams benches who you can go acquire for not a lot who would be better than Odubel.

         1. That’s fair. He’s not putting up MVP numbers.. not even Allstate… he’s average, arguably below. No knock on him, but if your team is fearing replacing a guy like herrera… they got bigger issues. He’s expendable, and the one area this team should be able to upgrade – internally or through trade.

            Personally, I think MM has turned the corner. He should be better than herrera. He has to prove it, but I believe he will. Rather easily too. Let the Moniak era begin!

            1. I think MM has turned a corner too, but, as Stott showed, ST is not always a very accurate predictor of in-season success. It looks like MM is going to be a big league player, but it’s really hard to know precisely when that will happen, or how long that’s going to take. Cutting Odubel loose now is pretty risky.

   4. The issue with carrying Moniak and Herrera together is going to be playing time. Agree Moniak has not earned it yet, though we also know that Herrera is never going to be better than below average these days. There is also more of a need to sit Schwarber against LHP than Castellanos against RHP, so few opportunities for extra LH OF bats. I think I add Maton for the time being for flexibility as he does not need to play every day.

      1. When Moniak is called up, he should be the CF full time. Herrera has done all he could, but he’s not part of the long term plan. Herrera should be the 4th OF.

         1. Either way we are looking at a platoon. Moniak needs to beat Herrera out for the long side of the platoon. Other side is between Quinn and Vierling and maybe Kingery eventually.

7. NL – very well said. I am pulling for MM but he has not achieved at any level since he has been drafted. Maybe this time will be different. But remember past performance predicts future behavior.

8. At this point, I would prefer to see Moniak return and play the lion’s share of CF, keep Quinn’s speed and defense in utility, and say goodbye to Odubel whose only value is in his capacity to play everyday, which hasn’t proven to be much.

   Play Stott, play Bohm, and let the chips fall as the summer rolls. If the Phillies haven’t closed the division lead by the deadline, sell whoever you can and at least shed some payroll to better position the team for 2023. This wouldn’t preclude WIN NOW mode, but delay it one year, the 3rd of DD’s 5 year tenure which he may turn over to Sam Fuld at that point.

9. It’s curious how nobody is saying anything about JT getting fooled by Turner, or Hoskins diving into 1B and taking it out on a garbage can in the dugout. If this happened to a certain player, I’m sure the fallout would be tremendous.

   1. JT play was a dumb mistake by JT.

      Hoskin’s “error” and his anger with the trash can was the grounding into a DP. His diving into 1b was meaningless, he was out either way. I don’t like when players do it but it happens often.

      Difference between them and that certain player is because that certain player has a tendency to make mental mistakes frequently and has shown no ability to learn from those mistakes.

      1. I think the certain player has learned from his previous mistakes. I don’t recall any base running mistakes this season.

         For me, it doesn’t matter who the player is, a dumb mistake is a dumb mistake.

10. Guru, I said as soon as it happened that it was the dumbest play I have ever seen from a player I respect. The deke out, “oops, I missed the ball” trick is from Little League. And, where was Dusty? Coupled with Dusty’s stupid decision to send Herrera home has eliminated him from any Managerial discussion, IMO. As for Rhys, at least he showed he had some emotion. The next time I see any from the Manager, will be the first time.

    1. Agreed. As I’ve said, the love for Dusty as a manager, has me baffled. His qualification is that he is a bad third base coach (actually VERY bad). And this qualifies him to be a good manager how? Mystifying that he gets all of this love as Joe’s potential replacement.

       1. Most of the runners in MLB don’t watch the 3rd base coach anyway.

          1. I don’t agree with this statement. If you watch the Phillies games, the announcers will tell you whether or not the runner ran past a stop sign by the 3B coach. I think this happened once this year by Castellanos? Anyways, the runners look at the 3B coach a lot. And if the runners don’t look at the 3B coach, then that’s a serious issue that needs to be rectified immediately.

             1. How many onfirst run to second with a hit to right field and look over their shoulder to see what the RFer is doing? The other day Odubel on 2b on fly out to CF didn’t go back to tag to advance to 3b. Coach should have been yelling this instruction.

                1. For the most part, the 3B coach is there for the runner when they are close to 3rd. This also includes 3B tag ups. Going from 1st to 3rd, is mostly the judgement of the runner. Same with 2B tag ups.

                2. Yeah, Guru, that’s what the third base coach does – third-base tag-ups, going to third, rounding third – all things that Wathan screws up royally. He’s pretty easily our worst third base coach since Steve Smith – the guy that Charlie Manuel finally had to fire. But make no mistake, Wathan is really bad at this job – far too many guys getting nailed at the plate by a mile or taking an extra base or tagging up at the wrong time. Again, so what makes everyone thing this failed third base coach could be a savior or shot in the arm in the dugout? Don’t – get – it – at – ALL!

       2. I really do not see many, if anyone promoting Dusty as the Phillies long term answer as manager.
          If Joe G gets relieved during the season…all Dusty will probably be asked to do is be the interim, until Dave D can set up interviews with more experienced managers after the season is completed..
          I cannot recall one time , where a manager is fired in -season, and the GM decides to set up a slew of interviews with prospectus managers.
          …….continuity is the name of the game during the middle of a season.
          Nevertheless…..interim could also be , Rob Thomson …..he has plenty years experience as a BC and could be asked to fill that role as interim ilo of Dusty.

       3. what did Wathan ever do to you, Catchman? I mean, what are your qualifications for what you are looking for?

          Like, Charlie Manuel would have been an awful awful third base coach. What about pitching coaches who then became managers? And I’m not sure how we’re judging third base coaches anyhow.

          Qualifications: all time winningest manager at Reading and 2x Eastern League Manager of the year. Managed all phillies affiliates. Has been a MLB coach for the last 5 seasons.

          “You hear a lot of guys say that ‘this guy is a player’s manager.’ Well, Dusty is that to a T,” Hoskins said. “I felt very comfortable going to him with baseball stuff and non-baseball stuff. To have that in your manager’s office is pretty special and just adds to the bond that he has with his players.”

          “He loved to win just as much as we did,” Crawford said. “He brought that winning atmosphere into the dugout and what not. We loved playing for him. He has that energy and that vibe that just sets off good.”

          So to say his only qualifications are being a bad 3rd base coach is pretty dishonest.

          Here’s the thing: I think a MLB manager is the least valuable of any of the head jobs in the major sports. Tactically, they make less decisions and they don’t really draw up plays (a hit and run here, etc). Honestly, the value of a manager is managing players and having them feel comfortable – which I’m not sure is generally happening during the game. Oh, and not screwing up a bullpen and making, more often than not, the obvious change in the field. Like, you can win with a terrible manager (Dave Roberts, Ned Yost) if you have enough talent. Charlie Manuel wasn’t a great tactician but he had great players who all loved him. Get players to feel comfortable, do the obvious. Girardi clearly lacks in those two. Like how many times has a pitcher coming back from a wrap around inning worked this year?

          1. I agree about the managers role on a MLB team. One thing you can say in Joe’s defense is that the team has not quit on him. They play hard. They run every groundout hard to first base. Roman Quinn could have dogged it to third base when Bohm gouned out weakly to 2nd base, but he busted it from the time the ball hit the bat. If the players are playing all out and giving 100% all of the time then the manager is doing his job.

          2. Why not give Dusty a chance? Look at the last couple of WS winning managers; not rocket surgeons.

    2. I’m not saying that Dusty is a good 3B coach, but I think he had a worst send last week when Harper was out by like a mile and tried to leap over the catcher.

       When JT got caught at 3B, was he reacting on his own, seeing Turner run behind him?

       As for the Odubel send, I can understand a little why he sent him. If Betts had to dive for that ball, you have to send him. To Betts’ credit, he caught a difficult ball and threw a strike to Smith. It just looked really bad when Harper would have come up with the bases loaded. If it was me, I likely would have not sent Odubel because Harper hits really well with the bases loaded.

       1. Also, if we call out Dusty for his bad sends, we need to give him credit for the good ones. Yesterday, Quinn slowed down rounding third. Dusty told him to go home and the rest is history. Dusty could have easilty told Quinn to stay at 3B and nobody would have thought twice about it.

          1. In relation to both plays, I was listening to the radio, so I can only say what was reported:

             For Quinn … they said on the radio that he ran through a stop sign.

             For Realmuto … they said Wathan was pointing directly at the bag telling Realmuto to stay right there

             I didn’t see any of the video

             1. Just saw the Realmuto play … Wathan was emphatically telling him to stay at third

                Justin Turner made JT Realmuto think the throw went over his head so JT got tagged out at third as the tying run in the bottom of the 10th pic.twitter.com/C7tSM1zT56

                — Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 22, 2022

                1. A previous poster said it – JT fell for a Little League trick. Just unbelievably bad base running.

             2. Just looked at the video again, Dusty initially stops Quinn at 3B (and Quinn slows down) and then signals him to go home after Muncy boots it. So Quinn followed Dusty’s instructions both times.

11. I know we have much larger issues than Dusty, and I also don’t think DD fires Girardi in season. He has never done that before. I just don’t elevate Dusty to Manager, if that were to happen. JT’s blunder is foremost on JT. It was fun, though, to see a hitter put the ball in play, the other team botch it, and one of our guys make a great play with his legs to win a game. It sure beats pop ups and Ks. Castellanos, Schwarber and Realmuto need to start earning their pay checks. It may still be early, but falling behind the Mets by double digits is no pathway to a successful season.

    1. matt13…….Rob Thomson could be the one to step interim for the last 3 or 4 months of the season if Joe is relieved of duties. It will probably be him or Dusty.
       But like you say…Dave D may be hesitant about firing the manager in-season.
       Phillies did not pick up Joe’s option year, so way or another this is probably his last season….unless of course they go on and get to the World Series.

12. Painter leap frogs Abel on the top 100 mlb chart. Was just reading from one of you how you think the front office likes painter more … looks like the gig is up.

    Abel maybe a trade chip this deadline. Not crazy about the idea, I’d like to keep both to make sure we don’t trade away our once in a decade ACE/#2. I hope they keep McGarry as well

    1. Tac3……TINSTAAPP……latest, ie Spencer Howard circa 2019.
       As much as one likes to dream on and project years down the road on hi-velo pitchers….many times it just does not materialize as expected.

       1. Ditto Sixto Sanchez

    2. There is no doubt that Painter has more of a ceiling. At 19, he’s performing well at Clearwater with 2 pitches.

       Trading Abel is a mistake. He’s still only 20 at JS and he’s holding his own. Abel could repeat JS next year and still be younger than most of the players. Pitching is expensive. The Phillies need to start keeping their prospects (and develop them of course).

    3. I think Logan O’Hoppe should be top 100. He’s 22, and he has 1.003 OPS at Reading. But I get it, high draft picks will always get the publicity. I mean, O’Hoppe is younger and doing it at a higher level than #89 Austin Wells, but Wells is a first round pick and O’Hoppe was drafted in the 23rd round.

       1. Plus, O’Hoppe’s splits are:

          Home: .227/.414/.409 for an .823 OPS
          Away: .352/.425/.690 for an 1.115 OPS

          So it is not a Reading effect

       2. I was looking at some of the prospects in the NL East, and one that I don’t get is #65 JJ Bleday of the Marlins. He was drafted #4 overall in 2019 but hasn’t hit anything close to his lofty pedigree. Not only that, the Marlins are promoting him up when he really doesn’t deserve it. His career minor league slash is .219/.327/.708. And he’s a top 75 guy? After a certain point, the numbers should matter more than the ceiling.

          1. Marlins may be hoping Bleday re-ignites as he did in Arizona in the fall.
             He does draw plenty of walks……and is running into some bad luck..his BABIP is rather low. The con on him…..swing and miss is high.

       3. Yeah, that’s true for a while, but as some point, the rankings more close match the performance. O’Hoppe is going to start getting some of the attention he deserves. He’s become a hell of a prospect.

       4. When you look at the top ten catching prospects right now.
          I think O’Hoppe has as much upside, or maybe more, as Campusano of the Padres and Melendez of the Royals….and both are older than him.

       5. Teammates LOVE this kid. Plus he’s a stud…Good things are in his future..

    4. No. No. And no.. Abel should not be a trade pick…

13. To hang the season on the return of MM is a bad state of the team. Look I hope he does well. We all want to see the Phil’s win. But MM has never done anything at any level he was good in spring training but was that against beer league pitchers or pitchers working on stuff? I hope he is legit. Would be great to finally plug the CF hole

    1. Don’t think anyone is hanging the season on MM return. Just hoping for an upgrade in CF. Season will be won or lost on Guys making big $$$

14. Man, Atlanta is playing some bad defense.

    1. Austin Riley is a truly terrible defensive player. Potentially the worst defensive regular in all MLB. Kid can hit, but so bad defensively. He is a DH.

15. No, you are all wrong DD said so, don’t believe me, read the article.

    We are ok, trust me or better yet, him! Odubel is ok, he’s just a complimentary player. Joe is ok! He’s here for the year. The BP is ok! The stars (article tells you who is a star) are just a little slow getting started they are ok, too. DD is ok. They all just need to get a little better. They are ok! 😂

    So cheer up, be happy! I’m ok, your ok, everybody’s ok. 🎼You are my sunshine, my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are gray………🎼 🥵😝🙄👍

    1. I actually don’t get the narrative that our bullpen has been bad this year. Dominguez, Knebel, and Bellatti have all been excellent. Brad Hand’s results thus far have been stellar (although his numbers suggest he won’t keep it up). Brogdon and Nelson also have good results with middling stats to back them up (that is to say, they’re likely to look more like middle relievers in the long run, but still serviceable).

       Really the only problem in our bullpen is WHEN relievers are being used. Familia is fine. A 4.30 ERA will absorb innings when needed. He just shouldn’t be the 4th most-used reliever (which he is). It’s also weird that two guys with 7+ ERAs (Norwood and Alvarado) are 5th and 6th ahead of Bellatti and Hand. Both of those guys are subject to some bad luck (Alvarado especially; he has a .412 BABIP). But even accounting for luck, the usage rates would be out of whack based on results.

       For fun, here’s some stats:

       Our bullpen has given up 66 earned runs in 146.1 innings pitched. For an ERA of 4.06. The League’s average RP ERA is currently 3.75. So below average, but also not bottom-5 in the league. An improvement over last year, to be sure.

       However, if you take Norwood and Alvarado out of the equation our numbers look like this: 46 ER in 121.1 IP, for an ERA of 3.41. That would put us at number 10 in baseball. It’s even more impressive if you get rid of Damon Jones’ 5 ER in 4.2 IP (3.16 ERA, 6th in baseball).

       Now that’s not entirely a fair comparison, because those innings needed to be pitched by someone. We don’t know what would have happened if Seranthony or Bellatti or Nelson took over in those situations. But based on what we’ve seen… likely fewer runs would have scored. Probably by a non-insignificant amount.

       So yeah. Our bullpen is actually pretty okay. It’s just an issue of allowing the good pitchers to pitch.

       Looking at you, Joe…

       1. Our bullpen has been decent. The #1 issue is the bullpen walks. The Phillies have the second highest bullpen walks in the majors. If they clean that up even a little, it would lead to less runs being scored.

          1. In bullpen 3 have a bad WHIP:
             Alvarado 1.78, 8 BB, 1 HBP in 12 innings
             Hand 1.74, 9 BB, 3 HBP (yikes) in just 10 innings
             Sanchez 1.30, 6 BB, 3 HBP (also yikes) in 12 innings

             Now Norwood has a 7.11 ERA but he has a WHIP 1.26 showing the underlying numbers are better than say Hand who has a 1.74 ERA.

             1. Our bullpen imo hasnt been good , where do they rank in baseball? Something i hate about the three batter rule, Last night 5 runs up if there was no 3 rule, then you start Norwood if he doent get out the first batter you then bring in someone else, but now with the 3 batter run, your hands are tied, hate that rule, it isnt baseball,

                1. rooco:
                   FIP……..12th (3.72)
                   xFIP…….27th (4.26)
                   ERA…….22nd (4.06)
                   fWAR……10th (1.2)
                   BABIP…….3rd (.307)
                   BB/9….NUMERO UNO….leads the majors…..4.8 per 9

       2. So a 26 ranking by our bullpen is good? maybe i am reading the numbers wrong

          1. rocco…..rhetorically speaking, how do you measure a teams BP vs the league.
             You can go by WAR…..or go by straight peripherals….or the older adage ERA…or modern analytics like the use of FIP/xFIP….or lastly, blown saves (Phillies only have 4 BSs so far for 21st in the league) …rays and Red Sox lead the majors with 10 apiece.

             https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=rel&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2022&month=0&season1=2022&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2022-01-01&enddate=2022-12-31&sort=20,d

          2. They aren’t 26th in any metric that I’m aware of, so yeah you might be.

             But also you missed my point; we have the talent and bottom-line numbers to be a better bullpen than our results thus far suggest.

             All the top 10 bullpens have pitchers with 5+ ERAs. The difference between them and us is that those pitchers aren’t in the top-5 of usage for their teams. We are very close to having THREE 5+ ERA pitchers in the top 6 of our usage. And it’s not out of necessity; Bellatti and Hand have both been used less than Alvarado, Norwood, and Familia. Brogdon has been used less, too, but he missed time so that’s understandable.

             Put it this way: using Familia last night was fine. We were up by enough that we just needed someone to eat some innings and he came out before he could have lost us the game. But just the night before, Alvarado came in for a 1-run game. It turned out fine, but WHY is a reliever with an ERA over 7 coming in for that situation? Dominguez historically can go more than 1 inning, Knebel hadn’t been used yet, and both Hand and Bellatti should have been available. Likewise, when we beat the Dodgers 8-3 the other week, for some reason we used Seranthony and Brogdon (less egregious). But the very next night Familia comes in when we’re up by 2 and gives up a run. We ended up losing when Knebel gave up two runs. Maybe we win if we had that extra run, maybe not. But I’d definitely rather use my dominant reliever (Seranthony) in a close game than in a 5 run affair.

             So yeah. It’s one thing when you have no good relievers. But we do. We’ve actually got enough of them to consistently close out games after the 5th/6th inning. But we need to actually use them in appropriate situations. Doesn’t matter how good they are if they’re still sitting in the ‘pen when the other team comes up to bat.

       3. It just doens’t feel like they are good when you need them to be. Like you said, some of it is management – I mean, who doesn’t love Familia in a high leverage situation – but they allow a lot of runners, walks etc. They are just a very uncomfortable bullpen. Who when they blow it, blow it big.

          1. We definitely do have an issue with walks, but it’s also amplified by a couple people. Most of our relievers are actually only slightly below average in walk rate. And considering how good some of them have been with their K rates, it’s more than acceptable.

             Dominguez (3.78), for example, has a BB/9 slightly below the league average (3.54). But his K/9 (11.34) is WAY higher than average (8.98).

             Likewise our team rates for BB/9 are not good, but K/9 is excellent. We’re also not giving up many homeruns, and as a unit we’ve been good about limiting hard contact. If anything, this is the type of bullpen that’s ideal for our team; walks are better than hits because your defense can’t generally turn a walk into a double or triple.

             And I’m glad you brought up high leverage situations. Wanna know who our most-used relievers are for high leverage? Knebel (good), Dominguez (good), Alvarado (uh…), Hand (fine), and Familia (what?).

             Alvarado and Familia are our only relievers currently on the roster that average a higher leverage AFTER they come in by the way (meaning they, on average, make the games closer, or more out of hand, than when they started pitching). Well Knebel does, too, technically. But that’s because he only comes out of the game after a blown save.

             Oh, and the best part? Bellatti, that guy with a 2.38 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and 13.5 K/9, is 9th on the team in average leverage when he enters the game. Ahead of only Norwood, Sanchez, Falter, and Damon Jones. He ranks #281 in all of MLB.

             Talk about misusing your assets.

16. Atlanta is not the same without Freddie Freeman. Thank god he’s in LA.

    1. I was watching game and said the same thing, It imo was heart of that team, like letting a chase go in his prime, I quess Atlanta wont spend even for a great player like freeman, who came up thru there system; i know i caught a little of Ruben talking about it, Also is it just me or is Ruben not a good color man?>

       1. Agree with Ruben assessment. Only thing I like about him in that seat is when he gives insight during his time in Phillies mgmt. Trades he made and didn’t make and such.

17. Phillies starting pitching ⬆⬆⬆⬆ has been everything the FO could have hoped for so far this season. Zack Wheeler ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆ is really rolling after his slow start/dead arm.

    Not to be overlooked, Connor Brogdon ⬆⬆ has also rebounded from his own bout of early season dead arm. That was a big 8th inning K of Austin Riley.

    Roman Quinn ⬆⬆⬆ has been outstanding lately. He’s had a direct impact on the last two Phillies’ wins. Like I’ve argued on this site in the past … 80 grade tools (Quinn’s speed) don’t grow on trees. No other Phillie has one. Roman’s defense is also plus, and his arm is underrated/also probably plus.

    Roman Quinn with a 99.9 mph assist!

    That's the 2nd-fastest tracked OF assist in MLB this season

    It's also the fastest-tracked OF assist by a Phillies player tracked by Statcast (since 2015) https://t.co/435quDIWzb

    — Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 23, 2022

    1. If only he wasn’t the player most likely to be struck unconscious in the dugout by a screaming foul ball off a check swing.

    2. IMO, Quinn is a better version of Kevin Kiermaier. KK has a little more pop, but Quinn’s base stealing impact is truly elite. They are similar defensively imo.

       Obviously Quinn gets injured often, so you need a good CF option when he does. But Quinn has the talent to be a high impact regular if healthy.

       1. I think it’s a little unfair to KK to say he’s a worse version of Roman Quinn – KK has been far, far better than Quinn over his career – it’s not even close.

          As for the future, Quinn has tools, but he’s no kid anymore and needs to do it consistently AND not get hurt. But Matt’s thoughts on him are right – he provides them with useful skills they don’t otherwise have and if he gets on base and hits a little, he’s a perfectly fine centerfielder, especially if he’s sharing the position.

          Finally, nice updated profile pic – it’s like “V1again, GQ edition” LOL.

          1. Agreed that KK has clearly been more productive than Quinn over his career. Not even close as you say. My comment was on his tools/talent. both are elite defensive players with a low OB%. both have similar OB%s over career. Quinn has game changing speed on the base paths. That is why, IMO, he is a better version if healthy. But I recognize that is a very big “if”. I am not saying go all in on Quinn. No way. Just saying, Quinn is a very valuable role player if he can stay healthy. if Quinn and Mickey can make a good platoon in CF then that is great. No need to trade an elite prospect for a CF as have been mentioned here.

             Thanks for the comment on the profile pic. I realized that my prior one was old and I have much more grey hair than I was showing in that pic…lol.

          2. my comment on Quinn didn’t age well…lol. That was a truly terrible defensive play in the 9th. Yikes.

18. At the very least, Roman is a very good late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner. Those are valuable commodities, and deserving of a spot on the team. Whether he hits enough, or stays healthy, is a whole different question, but just as he is, he brings value to the Bench. He is the best defensive CF on the team, and as a late inning replacement brings his arm to every OF spot.

19. Lindow back to Reading. Let’s hope he pitches better there this time.

    1. His numbers look pretty good as a reliever. He deserved the promotion.

    2. 5.0 inn. 4 h 2 r 2 er 3 k 0 bb 1 hr

       1. I guess he’s back as a starter. He threw only 64 pitches against a bad Rumble Pony team, but they featured 2 of the Mets top prospects: Alvarez and Mauricio.

20. Kudos to Roman Quinn. That was a huge play! If he doesn’t make that throw, the Phils go down a run and perhaps even more if Wheeler gets into more trouble. Then, the boys play from behind again and we all know that they haven’t played well from behind of late.

21. MM with a hit in Reading today in his first at bat. I fully understand the “If you are resting your season hopes on MM’s shoulders, your season is already over” point and all, but the kid really did look great in the spring. And somebody above made a comment that he succeeded this spring off of truck drivers or something, but that is not correct. He had many HRs off of legitimate MLB Pitchers. I bought into him more than most I guess – the talent has always been there, he didnt luck into being the number 1 pick. But this year he even looked like a different guy- definitely more confident and physically a little more yoked. He looked like a man and not a boy for the first time, and I think he could have made a serious push for ROY if he started the season in CF (i guess he still can).

    All I’m saying is I hear ya on the don’t overestimate Moniak, but also don’t underestimate him. It is very possible that a 23 year old is finally coming into his own and putting it together. I’m much less bullish when its some 27 year old career AAAA type player who crushes it in the Spring.

22. This is just a comment on my part. I have been around baseball for lots of years. But Rueben made a comment last night in 6th or 7th inning after Camargo had made a nice play on a ground out. It might have been after the DP to end the 6th.
    The comment was Dallas Green always liked to have the 2 out infielder. The sure handed guy who with 2 outs in an inning if the ball was hit to him the inning is over. I simply had never heard of that reference. Rueben and Tom then discussed a few of those guys. The reference by Rueben was in the confidence that Camargo demonstrates in his fielding ability.
    I have seen and heard many times in reference to a team trying to hide a player the ball will find you. Bryce did that on his hit to left last night.

23. O’Hoppe is still hitting today. It’s still a little early, but he’s forcing the Phillies hand if he continues to hit like this. It’s a very good problem to have.

24. He’s not on the 40 man is he?

    1. No, this is only O’Hoppe’s 4th year in the system. I believe he doesn’t have to be added until after next season.

       1. He will need to be protected and added before Nov his year,
          Draft year is 2018….next year will be his 6th in the system.
          https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ohoppe000log

          1. “……..by Nov this year”,
             …. prior to the Rule 5 in Dec

    2. Whenever a Rule 5 eligibility question arises, you can look it up above on

       organization’s Rule 5 eligibility (5/22/2022) (includes player info, assignments, …)

       It’s one of the three files I include with every post.

       2022 and yellow background = this year’s draft

       White background next year’s
       Pink background further into the future
       Green background eligibility year passed, eligible for the major league portion if not on the 40; eligible for the minor league portion if not on the LHV roster

       1. Currently, these 43 guys I have as becoming Rule 5 eligible this year – (Stott is already on the 40, O’Hoppe will need protection, and then who? Maybe Rojas? Any pitchers? Miller, probably. (XXX) is current assignment.

          Stott, Bryson – SS (PHI)
          Iser, Herbert – C (LHV)
          Hendrickson, Josh – LHP (REA)
          Leverett, Adam – RHP (REA)
          Marconi, Brian – LHP (REA)
          Miller, Erik – LHP (REA)
          Moore, McKinley – RHP (REA)
          Friscia, Vito – C (REA)
          O’Hoppe, Logan – C (REA)
          Cornelius, Chris – SS (REA)
          Gozzo, Sal – SS (REA)
          Markwardt, Hunter – CF (REA)
          Anderson, Aidan – RHP (JER)
          Armenta, Erubiel – LHP (JER)
          Barber, Albertus – RHP (JER)
          Francisco, Carlos A. – RHP (JER)
          Pipkin, Dominic – RHP (JER)
          Reyes, Carlo – RHP (JER)
          Schultz, Andrew – RHP (JER)
          Schulze, Brett – RHP (JER)
          Van Scoyoc, Spencer – LHP (JER)
          Tatum, McCarthy – 3B (JER)
          Rojas, Johan – CF (JER)
          Castillo, Starlyn – RHP (CLR)
          Cotto, Gabriel – LHP (CLR)
          Glogoski, Kyle – RHP (CLR)
          Marcano, Rafael – LHP (CLR)
          Martinez, Jordi – LHP (CLR)
          Pina, Nicoly – RHP (CLR)
          Segovia, Eduar – RHP (CLR)
          De Freitas, Arturo – C (CLR)
          Simmons, Kendall – SS (CLR)
          Flores, Wilfredo – 2B (CLR)
          Encarnacion, Jeff – RF (CLR)
          Barboza, Edward – C (FCL)
          Francisco, Freddy – C (FCL)
          Jerez, Albert – SS (FCL)
          Valdez, Wilson – 3B (FCL)
          Wingrove, Rixon – 1B (CLR)
          Garrido, Maikel – LHP (CLR)
          Urias, Manuel – RHP (DSR)
          Sanchez, Sergio – LHP (DSR)

          1. Rojas and Miller are getting protected.

             It’s an interesting list. Some big arms with not great results. I can see the Phillies maybe losing Armenta, Pipkin, Moore.

          2. of course O’Hoppe but after that I don’t think I’d be afraid to lose anyone off that list. So its either an indictment of my knowledge of our system or the talent within…

             1. DMAR…only two from that list I’d protect right now…’Hoppe and Miller…..Rojas if he cannot get out of Hi-A….then I would not protect him.
                I doubt any team will carry him on their 26 for an entire season in 2023.
                However if he happens to find his groove and explodes out of Jersey Shore onto Reading and also does very well there….then perhaps I would protect him.

                1. If you’re a bad team, and especially in this universal DH era, it’s a lot easier to stash a 5th OF especially if they can play defense. I would take a shot at Rojas if I was a bad team.

25. MM 2-5 with Reading today.
    1 – Flyout
    2 – Single
    3 – K
    4 – K
    5 – Single
    Hitting leadoff, I would take that for our lead off hitter in Philadelphia.

    1. Different level of pitcher in AA as opposed to MLB

       1. You see the Phillies bullpen? Lol, sorry.

26. Eflin and Phils agree to a 1 year, $5.7M contract. Having Arbitration hearings during the season seemed a bit silly to me, and I am glad to see that. Mutual $15M option for 2023

27. Eflin may be back in 2023…. he and Phils did avoid arbitration this season…..Eflin will be guaranteed $5.7MM, . contract also contains a mutual option for 2023 valued at $15MM, .

28. Romus…have you ever heard of the 2 out infielder Rueben spoke of last night?
    Like I told you when I went to Alabama in 71, I had never heard the phrase My Bad.
    All the Southern boys did.

    1. Don…..I am like you…never heard it before.
       Even the time I spent in Oklahoma.

       1. Romus remember that old saying, i forgot where i heard it, only two types of people live in Oklahoma, steer and ?

          1. rocco…yes I heard it….but wasn’t it Texas, not Oklahoma?

             1. You may be right, i am old and forget

29. The outfield at Truist Field looks like a big pasture. No definition of mowing “streaks”, just plain grass. Outfielder look small.

30. Tied game and Girardi brings in a reliever with a 7+ ERA, lets him give up a HR, and load the bases before finally going to the guy with a sub-3 (who then proceeded to get out of the inning beautifully, by the way).

    Again; our bullpen isn’t bad. They just aren’t utilized properly.

    1. I’m done watching until Girardi is fired!

    2. ………..,and, the ninth?

       1. The pitcher selection in the ninth wasn’t as egregious. Sometimes good pitchers just have an off day. That being said, Nelson also is nowhere near our best reliever. I assume our closer wasn’t available because he was used last night in a game we won by 4 runs (which was questionable because he had just pitched the night before). But where was Seranthony? Hand and Bellatti absolutely rose to the occasion.

          Even if we go with the same exact pitchers used, wouldn’t it have made more sense to go with Nelson instead of Norwood (with the thought that he might need to go multiple innings)? Then you go to Bellatti or Hand, THEN the other one closes it out. It also would have helped if Norwood hadn’t been left in for the walk, because then the Braves don’t score that second run on the sac fly.

          So if Joe had used the pitchers in a reasonable way and it still turned out poorly, yeah that’d be solely on the pen. But he didn’t, and the pitchers will get crucified even though two of them absolutely dominated and it’s overshadowed by one getting left in too long in a situation he never should have been in to begin with and a second being treated like a closer instead of a long man/middle reliever.

          It also didn’t help that we had a bit of a defensive mishap that helped the Braves score the second run in the ninth. But that one’s not on Joe.

          1. I think your logic is sound on the BP usage, Dan. I wondered too, why Nelson wasn’t in earlier. The mishap as you call it, was Roman’s ball, why Castellanos didn’t give way I don’t know. Perhaps he didn’t call Nick off. One thing is for sure, they can turn a flower bed to a manure pile in a heartbeat.

             1. And it is located in Phillies’ CF

31. Just terrible.

32. How many games at this point has Girardi gone out of his way to help this team lose? How can you be John Middleton and not fire Girardi after this?

    On top of that, you cannot win in this league without a reliable closer and this team has done nothing about that forever.

    Final point I’ll make is that Realmuto is not only atrocious offensively, but he calls terrible pitches and this is not talked about enough.

33. How does this happen? Nobody was available? We had to bring Nelson out for a second inning? An error? Wow, just when you thought you’ve seen it all, the Phillies find new ways to lose.

34. I turned game off bottom of 6th at 2-2. Gibson just has to go deeper than 5 innings.
    Did anyone notice the look on his face on the Swanson fly ball that dropped in front of Schwarber. That is the 13U travel pitcher expression of why we put our worst fielder in LF.

    Phillies are just really a flawed team at this point. Did anyone really expect the BP to turn in 4 IP in this game? 2 innings are a reach for this team. I defend no one. If you take away Harper and Segura this is at best a mediocre team. Maybe not even that. The starting pitching is ok and in fact probably better than ok.

    I have thought for years that JT does not call a good game. Listen to Ben in the booth sometime at what he feels should be called and what is actually called by JT. Normally not on the same page.

    Looks like this may be a 500 or so team. Maybe that is good enough. Probably not but we will see. We are at the quarter pole, and I saw the Phillies in the Power Rankings at 16. Kind of in no man’s land. So, what else is new. I just have tough time watching an entire game at this point.

35. I HAVE one question, why is Norwood still on this team, he plain stinks,

36. rocco…..LOL.
    Relievers can be unpredictable.
    You have to catch them on their good bio-rhythm days.
    Joe should have chart like that on his relievers.

    1. Romus…that is really funny. A biorhythm reliever chart. You may be on to a big discovery. Here are my thoughts on the BP. I mentioned several times over the winter that I was still not confident in the BP guys even the additions. Seems for some reason few teams want the guys the Phillies end up with in the end. Maybe I am wrong on that thought.

       The BP is not very good. I listed an article last week that highlighted 5 protentional BP additions for the Phillies. Article also said Phillies BP was ranked at that time 26th of 30th teams. Last time I was in school being ranked 26 out of 30 was not very good.

       I know there are some here on site who feel BP is ok and it is how it is handled. They may be correct. I do not know but I know I never feel secure when the BP guys come into games.

       Here is a quiz for the BP believers. I think Phillies have 8 BP guys at present.
       Honestly, who on a game-by-game basis do you have trust in that when they enter the game, we can expect a 0 to be put up on the board for their inning or the 3 batters they must face. We are only asking them to get 3 outs maybe at most 3 times a week. We expect the starters to get 15 to 21 outs per start. Those numbers are low compared to my bygone years.

       Romus…the Stat Master. Here is one for you. You can find everything. I do have trust in you. Go back 3 or 4 years and see what the W/L record is for Phillies when the BP has to pitch at least 4 innings in a game started by a starter. Discount BP games. I am going to take a wild guess it is around 30 maybe on the winning side.

37. Don53 – Stop bellyaching. We are still #4 in team salary! Kidding, of course, Don. You are spot on in much of what you wrote. I saw the free game on MLB and thought Schwarber should have caught that ball, also.

    On the subject of caught (or not caught) balls, Quinn has no reason to call off Castellanos on that fly ball. He’s running away from that ball toward right field and there’s no way he’s throwing it home to get the runner. I think, after Monday night’s assist, that he feels he can throw anyone out from anywhere.

    If it was Herrera who would’ve misplayed that ball, this site would’ve lit up like Christmas lights in wealthy neighborhoods. Most people on this site like Quinn and give him a pass so he won’t take a lot of heat whereas many dislike Doobie who would’ve been lambasted.

    Finally, I don’t understand why Knebble wasn’t “available”. He only threw nine pitches on Monday after pitching on Sunday. Don’t stoppers go 3 days before they need a day off? Girardi used him with a 7-3 lead. I get that because Girardi is probably gun shy after the debacle against the Mets but let the guy earn his 10M.

    1. In general, the CF has priority on balls that he can get to. But you’re right, he’s drifting away from the runner, it would have been extremely difficult for him to throw out a runner moving like that. Quinn should have let Castellanos have it, he had a better angle.

       And yes, if that was Odubel, he would have gotten destroyed.

38. I thought last nights loss was as poorly of a managed game as you will see at the MLB level. Not having anyone warned up to pitch the 9th is malpractice. But several other bad decisions.

    Regarding JT’s pitch calling, imo that is a silly debate. 1. We don’t know which pitches are being shook too. Norwood shook JT to a fastball on the homer that Olsen hit. How’s that JT’s fault? 2. Location impacts the outcome far more than the pitch call.

39. I’m so glad I missed the last several innings of that game. I wasn’t in favor of canning Girardi until he ruined the 7-1 game due to his horrible use of pitchers. But now, I think he really needs to be replaced. He’s just awful at managing pitchers – it’s nearly embarrassing. If you don’t think Middleton isn’t steaming hot about what’s going on, I can assure you, you’re wrong. Girardi’s seat is much hotter than anyone in the media is letting on. If this team doesn’t look like it’s fixed it’s problems within the next month, I think he’s going to be replaced, regardless of whether DD would prefers he stay or not. For better or worse, Middleton will make baseball decisions when he feels it’s necessary, and I think we are approaching his breaking point.

40. If they do fire Joe and I’m leaning that way (you obviously can’t extend him) there will be a huge spotlight on DD and his construction of this team.

    The bullpen is really not as improved as we thought. I don’t even think DD was factoring in Seranthony and that has been a positive surprise. Hand Familia Norwood all pretty awful.

    I expect if we don’t win this series a move is going to get made. I’m just not convinced on how much of a difference its going to make. The new manager is going to have the same team and the team again is flawed.

    Even if accidentally as you can’t predict the injury to BH and the waterfall effect that has.

41. This past offseason we had a discussion on the importance of defense. A few commenters said, “defense is overrated.” I took the opposite view. I said that I wouldn’t have invested our FA money to upgrade the defense, not in big hitters that are poor defenders.

    Well we are at the quarter mark. Here are our team rankings:
    – Record: 20-23, 18th best in MLB.
    – OPS: 6th best in MLB
    – Runs scored: 8th best in MLB
    – Slugging: 4th best in MLB
    – Pitching WAR: 3rd best in MLB
    – Pitching FIP: 7th best in MLB

    How does a team ranked 3rd in pitching WAR and 6th in OPS have the 18th best record you may ask?

    Well…
    – Defensive Runs Saved: -25, worst in MLB
    – Outs above average: -15, tied for worst in MLB

    I understand that watching guys hit tanks into the upper deck is fun. But defense and pitching wins baseball games.

    1. typo…”I said that I *would* have invested our FA money to upgrade the defense, not in big hitters that are poor defenders.”

    2. 6th rank in OPS is perplexing to me when we only have one player BH with an OPS above 800

       next highest is segura at 794

       1. The only active position players on the Phillies who have an OPS+ UNDER 100 are:

          Realmuto
          Quinn
          Stott

          So the Phillies may not have multiple players with big OPS numbers. What they do have are a lot of players who are slightly above the average.

       2. Well it is true: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2022&month=0&season1=2022&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2022-01-01&enddate=2022-12-31&sort=9,d

          Hitting is down across the board this season due to changes to the ball.

42. I still don’t understand why our Closer was in a 4 run game Monday, and why he couldn’t pitch last night. Both decisions baffle me. If we go back into Joe’s career, he would have lasted a much shorter time in NY without Mariano Rivera. And if we are saving these guys for the Pennant race in September, and there isn’t one, can we re-do these games? So frustrated! Harper’s HR should have been something to rally around, and instead it’s another punch to the stomach. There are set up guys and Closers for a reason. They require different Pitchers than trying to keep a score down when the SP gets rocked, or you need multiple innings in the middle of the game. I think we have 4 or 5 guys who have closed before, and Nelson is not one of them. And, just a comment on the Quinn/Herrera dynamic. Yes, Quinn made a mistake last night, but he just contributed to 2 Ws, one with his arm, and the other with his legs. He doesn’t get dumped on today because both the RF and LF are terrible defensively, and he has skills that are valuable. Fans are much less forgiving of Herrera because you would not get any game saving defensive plays or game winning running plays from him.

    1. Quinn’s defense and speed are elite, there’s no question about that. And making splashy plays to win games, yes, they are highlight worthy. So people remember the highlights but they don’t remember that he has an OPS of .437? Roman is not making these type of plays every game. So people rag on Odubel for a bonehead play but in the background, Roman is hitting .171 and getting a pass? So you would rather have Roman hitting .200 for the rest of the year instead of Odubel? At the end of the year, Roman’s dWar will be negated by his oWar. He’s a 0 WAR player. Do you know what his career WAR is? 1.

       1. Quinn’s defensive tools are elite* fundamentally as an outfielder he’s pretty bad. Bad routes and that’s not the first time he’s failed to take charge in the OF.

          In a perfect world he’d be the 5th outfielder on this team backing up a legit MLB centerfielder or at least an average one. I think Herrera can get hot but ready to see what Moniak can do (assuming he continues to hit well on his rehab).

          1. Quinn is the best outfield the Phillies have he would have caught that ball but I know he wasn’t willing to get hurt off of a silly communication

       2. I see Stott hitting less than Roman with more an U don’t hear any negativity from the group about that he’s not the only not hitting look at the stats and be for real

          1. This is the second time you’ve compared Quinn to Stott. You do realize that expectations for rookies are vastly different than those for veterans, right?

             Quinn has a long history of being a poor hitter. We more or less know what he is. We don’t know what Stott is going to be.

43. What do you do with Hall? Can you trade him? Let him earn some money in the bigs. I would move him for Pitcher or Reliever. There has to be value for him.

    1. The Phillies do what’s best for the Phillies, same with any other team. The Phillies are not here to make sure Darick Hall gets paid. If Hall wanted to be in the bigs earlier, then he should have hit a lot better in the minors and forced the issue.

       There’s absolutely no reason to trade Hall right now.

       1. Agreed. Rhys hasn’t finished a season healthy in two years, depth is important. Hall will get his shot somewhere, some day.

    2. LAPhilly…..some GM may take a chance with Hall, however the return would be a minor league prospect who could be in that particular team’s lower prospect range/area…ie 25 and lower.

44. My dream scenario has always been Brandon Nimmo getting squeezed out in NY, and signing/leading off for the Phillies. Jon Heyman says it’s not out of the question.

    MLB Insider @JonHeyman mentions Phillies as potential landing spot for Brandon Nimmo after 2022https://t.co/yvDQBRMRlf

    [@TimKellySports]

    — Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) May 24, 2022

    .

    Please make this happen. Nimmo (.392 career OPS) is exactly what the Phillies need. He also provides his team a ton of energy. Yes, please.

    1. Everybody wants Nimmo. He’s going to have a lot of suitors and he’s going to get seriously paid. You’ll be surprised how much he will get if he gets say 5 WAR this season.

       1. How much do you think he’s going to get paid? And how much is too much for Middleton to ante up?

          1. I believe Nimmo will get something similar to what Castellanos got (5/100M). I doubt that would discourage Dombrowski/Middleton from signing him.

             1. it’s fun to continually sign big name/price free agents. but reality is until our farm system produces quality players consistently, we won’t win. FAs are needed to supplement a team. not build an entire roster.

                1. v1 … agree with you on that. Unfortunately, the Phillies don’t currently have the farm system/young players (or at least enough of them) to be in a spot to win the supplementation of FAs. This is a club on the clock. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Harper, Realmuto, Hoskins, Castellanos, Schwarber, Wheeler, and Nola are all in their primes. Middleton hired Dombrowski to do whatever it takes to win now. Your cousin Steve is spending his way to a possible pennant in NY. As long as Middleton is ok with keeping the LTT in his rear view mirror, we as fans should be fine with buying a contender.
                   But yeah, I absolutely agree with your premise above. Too bad we had Matt Klentak overseeing the rebuild. He failed. We’re here now, and have to act accordingly.

             2. I think Nimmo gets 5 years, $100-$110M to start. But I could see a team going 6 years, $126M because he’ll only be 30 next season.

                1. I agree with you, Guru. That’s the neighborhood of Nimmo’s next contract. That shouldn’t be a hill too high to climb if you’re Middleton and are looking to win during Harper’s prime. Just my opinion (and not my money).

          2. First of all, the Heyman story reads like an obvious plant by Boras to drive up interest from the Mets and what better way to do that than by including the Phillies as a team of interest.

             Let’s see if Nimmo can stay healthy for a full season because it’s still early. Players with his health history don’t suddenly become and stay healthy in their 30’s and his prior neck injury will give teams a lot of pause.

             While it’s somewhat premature to identify what free agents they’ll go after in the offseason (if anyone at all), I don’t see the Phillies dedicating nine figures, or anything close to that, for Nimmo. For a variety of reasons, I see them making more trades to fill needs next year than signing free agents.

             1. Howard:
                You make a fair point on Nimmo’s injury history.
                And it could be a reason the Mets may let him walk.
                Twice in the last three months he had a ‘stiff neck’ and had to have it managed by the therapists

                05/2022…Knee…Day-To-Day
                04/2022…Covid-19…10-Day IL
                09/2021…Hamstring…10-Day IL
                07/2021…Hamstring…Day-To-Day
                05/2021…Finger…10-Day IL
                04/2021…Right Hip…Day-To-Day
                05/2019…Neck…60-Day IL….diagnosed with a bulging cervical disc pushing on a nerve in his neck.

             2. I agree. If CF (and/or SS) is still a void of talent, I definitely think Dombrowski goes the trade route. I think Middleton shot his load on the FA market last off season. It’ll be time for either young talent to emerge or trading good prospects for major league upgrades since, as Hinkie reminded us earlier, this regime and roster is on the clock. Nimmo? Don’t see him here for several reasons.

    2. Sorry. Meant .392 career OB%

45. The debate over Doobie vs Quinn is like arguing between which mode of suicide is less painful, and evidence that we need to see what Moniak can do when he returns – hopefully Monday at the latest – and then consider outside options at the trade deadline if he doesn’t.

    Joe Girardi is showing us all how great Mariano Rivera made him look all those years in the Bronx. The man can’t manage a pitching staff, especially the bullpen. Unfortunately I don’t think he gets fired unless the Phillies are 12 or more games out at the end of June. Hope I’m wrong.

    And I’m still waiting for someone to explain why Rhys Hoskins is in the leadoff spot. I understand the absence of a legit catalyst, but really. C’mon man!

    1. Look like not only is Quinn and Dobie but the whole team look exactly the same MM can’t do any better so why r y’all trying to make a savior out of him

       1. He’s not our savior. He’s cost-controlled with possible upside.

          If your choices are a history of mediocrity or a chance at something better, you take the chance.

          Plus it gives us something to get excited about. If a team can’t be good, they should at least be compelling. And a young guy potentially becoming a useful major league player after years of doubts and setbacks is a very compelling story.

          1. Maybe not ur story but he’s still with the Phillies with all the setback

             1. I genuinely have zero idea what you’re trying to express here. Which “he” are you referring to? Quinn? Herrera? Moniak?

    2. Mark…Joe puts his name first on the lineup card. Only explanation I have.

46. If may be crazy to think with all his intangibles he provides but maybe think about moving JT if we fall out of the wild card race. O’Hoppe is waiting in wings and the money could be well spent in other aspects

    1. Please don’t kill me for this just an out of the box thought

       1. If you trade JT during the offseason, everybody knows that the Phillies are concerned about his decline. Otherwise, we would just keep him. Not only that, he’s still owed $71.625M for the final 3 years of his deal. So teams would be reluctant to trade serious assets for a player on the decline AND owed that much money. The Phillies would have to eat at least $30M to make it work I think.

          Anyways, it’s way too early to think about trading JT when he’s only in the second year of the deal. I don’t think you trade him until he has at most 2 years left on his deal. At this point, JT needs to play better.

47. And all of this anguish took three hours and 58 minutes to work itself out. Oh, for the days when the average game was 3:04.

    1. Frank…..only two hours on Comcast Sportsnet…..4AM to 6AM ..following morning! 🙂

       1. Romus, thanks, but 4 a.m. is time to go to bed.

          1. Oh yeah …sorry Frank….forgot, in Florida you are in the crowd of late night party animals……..the swinging seniors!

48. A contrarian view. Discuss:
    https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-phillies-defense-might-be-good-enough/

    1. Very interesting article. If the benchmark was “a complete disaster defensively” then I agree they have overplayed that level.

       But the bottom line, the defense has been a drag on this team. And the offense, while very good, has not been special beyond Harper, who has been otherworldly. To overcome a bad (even if not disastrous) defense, our offense needs to be elite. And until Castellanos and Schwarber start hitting, it won’t be.

49. The Phillies are planning to go to a 6 man rotation for 1 turn in order to give the starters an extra day of rest. Bailey Falter will be the 6th starter. I’m not crazy about this, since there will only be 7 relievers in the bullpen.

    1. Joe can manage a short bullpen.. LOL

    2. TBH … I’m all for the six man rotation. I think eventually (over the next few years) most teams will use six starters. For the Phillies, it should allow Girardi to leave his starters in the game maybe an inning longer. It, in theory, should shorten the BP. And that would be a good thing for the Phillies. It could also help save an injury (or two) to one/any of Wheeler/Nola/Eflin/Suarez/Gibson. A serious injury to any of those guys has been my biggest fear since the start of the season.

50. Joe just continues to amaze

    1. Another day, another 1-run situation where he brings in a 7+ ERA pitcher.

       I’m frankly amazed that he managed it two days in a row considering we only have two of them on the roster.

       1. Dan, did you happen to read where Joe didn’t use Knebel yesterday, because he has a rule not to use a guy 3 days in a row this early in the season?

          1. I did, and I don’t mind that rule. But it definitely calls into question why he used him in a 4 run game the night prior knowing it would prevent him from being available last night.

             I also haven’t seen a reason why Seranthony was unavailable. He hasn’t pitched since the 22nd so it wasn’t because of usage. If we’re going to continue to be without him we need a roster move.

51. Just like croquet the catcher sends the ball through 3 wickets, 2b, ss, & cf. This team is ugly and they play ugly. By the way FWIW, IMO Stott belongs in AAA, and he belongs there for the entire year.

52. We need some big changes everywhere! Right now.

53. BP throwing gas on the fire.

54. Moniak had 2 hits, 1 a HR. Kingery had 2 hits, 1 a HR.

    1. Wouldn’t it be nice…

       If Moniak returns, perhaps as soon as tomorrow in NY, and shows flashes of what we hoped would be his ceiling and take the CF position which Girardi had never any intention of assigning the lad.

       If Kingery shows signs of a resurgence and returns to the major leagues in the position he was pegged by most knowledgeable baseball people to be a first division 2b, perhaps when and if Segura is traded at the deadline for significant upgrades in the bullpen.

       If Stott, despite his currently early growing pains, keeps on keeping on until he finds his big league legs and by season’s end, we’re confident in his 2023 and beyond as a SS.

       If Bohm continues to plug away, despite his inadequacies as a 3b, and settles into a solid 2-hole hitter…which he may already be.

       The fortunes of these 4 players would go far to compliment the bigger bucks invested in the likes of Harper, Castellanos, Schwarber and Realmuto…my positive baseball thought of the day.

       1. I’m a big Mickey Moniak fan and am rooting like he’ll for him. That said … I think we (as a fan base) need to tone down our expectations. It’s probably unrealistic/unfair to expect spring training Mickey Moniak. Instead of judging him on his production from March, it would be better to measure his performance (once he gets called up) with the production the team has gotten from the other guys who have played CF this season: Vierling/Odubel/Roman.

          BTW …mark … I’m not saying your expectations are too grand. You seem to have more muted expectations ( “shows flashes” is more reasonable). I’m posting this to numerous other posts from many different people. Like you and v1 point out, the fortunes of this team are riding on the bats of Harper, Hoskins, Realmuto, Schwarber, and Castellanos.

    2. wow Kingery had two hits, i Bet the team release that pitcher giving up hits to kingery

55. Here is where I think that we are at the Qtr mark…The blue print for this team was to outhit its poor defense. Specifically, we have 4 position players that are paid to be stars and only one of them has performed accordingly. Harper has been otherworldly. But Catellanos, Schwarber and JT have all under performed. There are no trades that can fix that. When your stars under perform, all of the team’s warts get exposed.

    Hopefully, they will revert to the mean and turn it around at some point soon. If so, we will make a run. I expect us to go on a 10 win run at some point this season. The bats should catch fire at some point. But that has not happened yet and so we find ourselves below .500. But it is a long season. Many games to be played. Our pitching has been good. Better than expected IMO. Our defense has been bad, but that was expected. So it all comes down to the star hitters…when they get hot, we will win.

    1. I think our starters have been decent. The struggles of Ranger has been offset by the play of Gibson. The bullpen has been a little worse than I had imagined. The walks are killer.

       The players making the big money need to start hitting. Castellanos needs to get out of his slump fast considering he’s batting 4th.

       1. Our starters are 3rd in WAR and our relievers are 15th in WAR, which is a major improvement over last year.

          1. I think the bullpen would be more effective and ranked higher if the relievers were actually used correctly. Not that I’m blaming Joe Girardi or anything, you know…I’m just sayin’.

56. A few things. You have hit on most already.
    Each outfielder directly added a run for Braves. Throw to wrong base. Overthrow cutoff. Simply Odubel. Lose by 4.

    Concern when team broadcasters are questioning manager moves on air during game.
    T Mac-why did they take Ranger out at 88 pitches.
    T Mac-why is no one warming up when Alvarado was basically throwing ball after ball.

    Finally, maybe just me. Does it seem to anyone else that rarely do the Phillies score on opposing BPs? T Mac was telling Rueben let’s get to the BP. That seems bad most nights. Does it seem that opponents almost always score on the Phillies BP kind of Irregardless of who we put out there. Maybe I am all wrong on that. Maybe just watching too many games. I am learning to turn the game off early as someone else said.

    One last thing. Mets gave up 22 runs last 2 games. Phillies gained NO ground. Again, seemed to me both of the last two games were very winnable. Totally agree on the 3 big salaried hitters.

    Sectional Baseball here in Indiana. Weather permitting.

57. Games like last night is the reason, i believe the bullpen is bad, They are 26 in era, now it doesnt count as blow save, but the inability to hold the other teams is a killer, imo walks are crazy, but i see people still think the bullpen is okay, amazes me

    1. If you just look at the box score on one night, any bullpen can look bad.

       But realistically last night, Bellatti was good. He made one bad pitch which resulted in a homerun (and in my opinion, the second ball should have been called strike three before he even got there). It happens. Sometimes a good pitcher gives up a run or two. Doesn’t mean they’re bad now; just that they had a bad night.

       Same with Brogdon. He was dealing. Contreras was gifted THREE balls that looked like they were actually strikes to get a walk, and then the next hitter just managed to make contact on a good pitch to put him in scoring position. It happens sometimes.

       No excuses for Alvarado, though. He looked like he didn’t have control of his arsenal.

       But the more pertinent information here is… we used four relievers last night. And yet somehow the first one into the game (before it was out of hand) was one of our only two relievers with a 7+ ERA.

       How is our bullpen as a whole supposed to look good when Girardi quite literally is using our two worst relievers (in terms of results) in high leverage situations CONSISTENTLY?

       And I’m not going to say that we don’t have an issue with walks. That is definitely their biggest flaw. But you can also still be good while giving up walks. Hell, Lidge in 2008 had a 4.54 BB/9.

       So my question to you is: how many good pitchers do you need in the ‘pen for it to be considered a good ‘pen? My personal opinion is you need two excellent guys and two good guys, with bonus points for a guy or two that can eat innings.

       We’ve got THREE excellent guys and four good/okay guys (two of whom can eat innings).

       Seranthony (2.04), Knebel (2.84), and Bellatti (3.27) are all excellent in terms of FIP. Nelson (3.68), Hand (3.82), Norwood (3.85), and Brogdon (3.93) are all good/okay.

       And if you don’t believe in FIP, just go by ERA.

       Hand (1.59), Seranthony (2.16), Bellatti (2.70), and Knebel (3.00) have all been excellent. Nelson (3.38) and Brogdon (3.68) have both been good, with the former being an inning eater as well.

       So depending on which metric you prefer, we either have 7 or 6 guys that you can reliably expect to either keep games close or hold a lead. So why is it we keep using Alvarado and Familia in important spots?

       And please note, I’m also not suggesting that this bullpen is elite or that they won’t give us heart attacks. I’m just saying that, when utilized correctly, we have the pieces to succeed more often than not. They aren’t necessarily a strength, per se, but they also aren’t a weakness. But they have to be utilized correctly, and quite frankly they aren’t even close to that.

       1. I agree. I think Girardi’s inability to feel and adjust to managing a bullpen is his biggest issue.

          Case in point: it took forever to get someone up when Alvarado clearly (after 1 batter) didn’t have it. I get the 3 batter minimum rule but you need to get someone up. He’s very lucky that was only a 2 run inning.

          I think they need more multi-inning guys (like that guy the Braves brought in). The only pitcher i trust to go 2 at this point is Nelson. I know we need SP depth but Cristopher Sanchez should probably be in this pen over Norwood.

          1. Historically, Seranthony has been able to go multiple innings as well. But it seems like Joe isn’t willing to do so for fear of injury.

             So if we assume Falter is going to be the 6th man in the rotation (which may nullify the need for another long man on its own), maybe the solution is Morales. He’s been dominant in his limited sample this season, he’s already on the 40 man (and has had a cup of coffee), and he’s not far removed from being a starter. So in theory, he should be capable of stretching out to 3+ innings when needed.

             I think one of the few things preventing it from happening are that they want to keep the rights to Norwood and he’s out of options.

       2. DanK:
          Decided to look up Joe’s last month as the Yankee manager, Oct 2017, and what was said.
          Joel Sherman describes this from a source that “He wears his tension on his face after all these years of managing, and it is too long a season for that style all the time.” In the end his “full furnace blast” of an attitude, as Sherman describes it, enveloped him entirely.
          The bullpen was the essence of both his praise and his criticism. Some credit the fact that the Yankees outplayed their Pythagorean record by 12 games over the course of his career. That includes a critical five or so games in each of 2013 and 2014, an over-performance so crucial that it kept an otherwise sputtering rebuilding team in the playoff hunt until the last month of each year. Some thought this was because of his ability to manage the bullpen, and based on limited analytics on this, it’s probably true. Baseall Prsp.created the wRM+ metric, scaled to 100, to determine expected runs based on deserved run average and leverage index. It essentially quantified whether a manager used the best pitcher in the best spot. Coming into this season, Girardi scored a 105.3, about 5% higher than the average manager…..this year (2017) I would say it blew back in his face, and was part of his downfall. The Yankees lost critical games throughout the season because of an over-utilization of Tyler Clippard, an under-utilization of Chad Green, and constantly finagling with his circle of trust until it settled just in time for the postseason. The Yankees under-performed their Pythagorean record this year by nine games, and you can see where the concern came in. Girardi slipped as bullpen roles evolved.

          https://www.pinstripealley.com/2017/10/27/16555590/yankees-joe-girardi-manager-hal-steinbrenner-brian-cashman

          1. That’s certainly an interesting perspective.

             I can definitely believe that he’s an “old-timer” that was able to get the best out of a bullpen that suited his style, but wasn’t able to adapt when it changed.

             What could lend credence to that is the Yankee bullpen numbers in 2017 versus 2018. The baseline numbers between the two seasons are remarkably similar (notably 3.34 ERA and 3.37 FIP in 2017 versus 3.38 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 2018). And yet, the end results are extremely distinct:

             29-24 record, 36 saves and 23 blown saves in 2017
             35-20 record, 49 saves and 17 blown saves in 2018

             It could just be a coincidence, but it adds to the growing pile of evidence that Girardi just isn’t a viable bullpen manager in the modern era.

             1. Exactly……Mariano retired in 2013…however, as it may be, between 2014 and 2017…those four years, Joe had his issues with bullpen management.
                That may be Joe’s biggest weakness.

                1. His lineup construction leaves much to be desired as well, Romus. Hoskins leading off? I get that Joe can spread the pop throughout the lineup, but I would prefer whoever is playing CF under the current circumstances.

                2. mark…yes the lead-off position is an issue….i suppose Jean Segura is next in line. Not surer Roman is ideal for it..too much swing and miss and not enough of hit ability. Doobie perhaps…but he can be hot and cold.
                   I tell you who I wish the Phillies could get..Brewers number one draft choice..CFer Sal Frelick…..kind of a Dykstra type player.

       3. Pls he made one bad pitch, then he didnt do his job, excuses are not acceptable

          1. What? There is literally not a single pitcher on the planet who can be perfect all the time. Same goes for batters. Or anyone in any profession.

             Name me one pitcher who you think has never thrown one bad pitch. Hell, give me your list of the top 5 pitchers EVER (relievers or starters) and I’ll give you 10 times EACH that they “didn’t do their job”.

             It’s unfortunate when our pitchers get tagged for runs. But let’s not re-write history here. Josh Hader had a 1.23 ERA last year. And even he had two losses and a blown save. And just to be clear, I am not comparing Bellatti to Hader. Just showing you the flaw in your argument.

58. Rocco… I agree for the most part. Maybe not bad but room for major improvement. Last two years were BAD, BAD. Bullpen is improved. Agree walks are a killer for almost any team. How many times does a guy who walks end up scoring? Lots.

    I mentioned above letting teams add on after BP guys enter. Conversely not adding on when other teams BP enters. Those are big issues to me. Again, maybe I am all wrong. Someone just said BP improved. I hope so. Either last year or 20 was worst one in history. Only one way to go.

59. Luke Williams traded to Miami from Giants.

    1. He will be a stae in miami

       1. star

60. With the implementation of the designated hitter in the NL, I thought for sure it would be of great benefit to the way Girardi manages the BP. I figured now he wouldn’t have to worry about pinch hitting for the SP and for relief pitchers as the game went on. He’d be used to it because he’d been an AL manager for so long. Sorry to say/write that it hasn’t worked out that way for him.

    Any time a manager gets canned, it’s sad for him, his family, and for his staff. They all have to uproot their families and move on to new destinations. You know the star players are going to say that they didn’t live up to their contracts and they should have done better. They’ll all say that they let him down and they hate to see him go. You know, the usual cliches. But when it’s time, it’s time.

    1. No better time. It’s reasonable to assume that Dombrowski will hire an internal interim, maybe Thomson or Bowa, to finish the season. Thomson has been through 2 managers here already, so maybe he wouldn’t pose as a step in the right direction. I often wonder if assistants let the captain go down alone without offering a lifeline in hopes they’re next in line. Or would DD go outside – and has he even quietly reached out already? – and gauged interest from names like Mike Scioscia or 77 year old Jim Leyland. These players, whether they’re busting it or not, need to have someone in charge who commands their respect. It doesn’t seem like anyone even talks to Girardi, let alone respect him, including his coaching staff.

       1. Mark……..did you read/listen to DD’s interview this week on replacing managers in season?

61. Dang! Ray Liotta gone at 67. Loved him in Field of Dreams. My only beef with the producers was that Shoeless Joe was a lefty bat. They had Liotta hitting from the right side. Total violation. D.B. Sweeney actually played the part more realistically in Eight Men Out, maybe the greatest baseball movie of all time. Nonetheless, wow…the passage of time!

    1. Sad. Great actor. So many amazing baseball roles.

       1. Died and gone to Iowa.

          1. You think he is playing with shoeless joe in That field in Iowa??

             1. Most definitely! Maybe euthanasia Dallas Green yelling at them to play to their potential with Tug laughing behind him.

62. So Marchan has started his 20 day rehab window. He’ll likely get optioned down to Lehigh when his rehab is complete. However, the Phillies will have to DFA somebody off the 40 because they are at the max. I’m assuming it’s Damon Jones or James McArthur that will be DFAd when it’s time.

    1. Barring a trade, the Phillies will have 5 catchers who needs spots on the 40 heading into 2023: Realmuto, Sands, Marchan, O’Hoppe, Stubbs. Obviously, this is not ideal. If O’Hoppe is the future (and he looks like he is), the Phillies have to trade Sands or Marchan, preferably both during the offseason (or during the trade deadline).

       1. i hate to lose Marchan he is excellent defensive catcher, i dont know if he will ever hit enough

          1. rocco…the way O’Hoppe is hitting, and also the poise he possesses and defensive abilities, other GMs will probably want him ilo of Marchan.
             If that ever materializes, hope the Phillies can get quality in return.

63. I was 12 when that came out and had seen Eight Men Out prior year, and it drove me crazy he batted RH. Loved Liotta in Goodfellas and he also played Sinatra in an HBO movie called the Rat Pack where he was excellent.

64. Btw just read tonight Costner saying the scene where he says “try and hit this” Liotta really smashed his curve right up the middle. Btw Costner was as good an athlete as any actor post Burt Reynolds.

65. Noticed that the half wall behind home plate at Atlanta carried an ad for Louisiana Hot Sauce. Perfect for Nola.

66. See MLB just announced that the 14 pitcher limit will be extended to 20 June.

67. The Phillies are planning to start Bailey Falter for Friday’s game vs the Mets. Since the Phillies are already at the 14 pitcher limit, a reliever needs to be optioned (likely Brogdon) or DFAd (likely Norwood).

68. Looking at the 40 man roster next season, it looks like it will be tight as usual. If we keep it
    simple:

    26 Man roster
    Schwarber, Moniak, Harper, Bohm, Stott, Segura (team option), Hoskins, Realmuto, Castellanos
    Stubbs, Camargo, Vierling, Quinn
    Wheeler, Nola, Eflin (mutual option), Suarez, Falter
    Dominguez, Morales, Romero, Nelson, Brogdon, Bellatti, Alvarado, FA reliever

    Other 14
    Marchan, Sands, O’Hoppe, Maton, Garcia, Muzziotti, Ortiz, Crouse, Coonrod, Rojas, Miller, McArthur, Jones, Sanchez

    It’ll be interesting to see how this will shake out.

    1. As much as I love Jean Segura, I don’t think his body type is sustainable. I would look into Trae Turner to replace Segura/Didi salary/roster spot.

       1. Trea Turner is a FA and he’s going to get seriously paid. There’s no way we’ll sign him when we have Stott.

    2. I will be mildly surprised if Segura is kept around for next year, if he’s not traded at the upcoming deadline. The Mets, being the Mets, will likely fall back to the pack. Otherwise I would write the Phillies season off completely.

       1. Not sure why you think it would be surprisingly if Jean was brought back. He’s #3 in WAR for the Phillies. He’s on track for 4 WAR. Whatever the ills are with the Phillies, it’s not with Jean.

          1. Happy with present Jean, concerned with future Jean.

69. Guru, I feel like there will definitely be a trade, or trades, this season that will impact more than a couple of those players you just named.

    1. There will be, that’s why I said that I’m keeping it simple. But looking at the list above, the Phillies are locked into a lot of positions already. And O’Hoppe would be the only one on the 40 man who could potentially bring in a good player.

70. Our starting pitchers have been terrific. Those who wanted to throw away Nola last year are crazy. Every team would kill to have Nola on their staff.

    Among NL pitchers with at least 30 IP this season, Zack Wheeler (2nd), Aaron Nola (8th), Kyle Gibson (16th) and Zach Eflin (20th) all sit top 20 in WAR, per FanGraphs. #phillies pic.twitter.com/sFQtONDKN6

    — Bob Wankel (@BobWankelCB) May 27, 2022

    1. That wasn’t me. I’m hoping we are able to re-sign Nola after next year.

    2. Well it wasn’t actually ‘throwing him away’…implying getting nothing in return.
       My suggestion was, since Freidman was looking for pitching in the off-season, Nola to the Dodgers for Bellinger and Bobby Miller.

       1. Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but I’m extremely glad we didn’t do that, either.

          The only way it makes sense to me to trade Nola or Wheeler is if we’ve given up on masking the playoffs. I don’t think there’s a single team in baseball that can/would give us a package of MLB players capable of impacting our odds of winning as much as they do.

          If we give up on competing with this core, on the other hand…

          1. Let us see where the Phillies are at come Sept 30th.
             Also curious to see how Aaron’s ‘down the stretch’ production is this season.
             His last half dozen starts in each of his 7 seasons, except for 2018, have been less than stellar.
             https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=nolaaa01&year=Career&t=p

             1. Romus i admit this kid Nola is pitching really better than i remember him. ever pitching, Still not great velo, but he is hitting his spots, Shame we have no bullpen or a team that has that drive to win, Plus this manager is really a moron. Romus ty for your service on this weekend we honor brave men like you, Who fought on foreign soil to protect us from harm.

                1. SORRY, HAS NO DRIVE TO WIN.

       2. That would have been a disaster trade.

71. Alvarado down and Falter up.

72. That error to start the game changes the entire complexion of the inning. Falter won’t be around for long tonight.

    1. That was a brutal error.

73. Forget the error, the point here is that Stott is not major league ready with the bat. He needs to be at LHV playing every day because he is not even close to being ready. Someone who makes these decisions needs to wake up!

    1. He will be at LHV when Didi is back.

74. Just like it was 3-4 years ago, the Mets own the Phillies.

75. STUBBS !!

76. Maybe Stubbs and Realmuto should half playing time, huh?😂😅

    1. I wouldn’t diminish JT’s playing time at the moment because it’s looking like he might have broken out of his slump. He’s got a 4 game hit streak with a homer and a triple thrown in.

       But I certainly wouldn’t mind if Stubbs could get some more time to give Rhys and/or Schwarber a breather…

       1. I was only jesting, but Hoskins and Schwarber could use oxygen tanks. I went back and looked at Schwarber’s ML stats and outside of last year I didn’t see anything special about him.

77. I think it’s time for Camargo to take SS until Didi is back. The Phillies are already past the quarter mark, and that error by Stott was a killer. Combine that with his lack of hitting and the Phillies can’t afford to wait for Stott to adjust. I would also consider sending Stott down and bringing up Maton. Stott is the future at SS. I don’t think Maton is the future at 2B.

78. Well, I don’t know. Deciding to go with a 6th starting pitcher, an unproven arm at that (I seriously don’t get the Falter infatuation) for the first game of an important series on the road against the division’s leading rival…exhibit #123…actually I’m losing track of the accumulating evidence that Joe Girardi is not the manager many of us (including me) thought he was. I have to admit, the most attractive thing about him at the time Middleton hired him was that he wasn’t Gabe Kapler. In retrospect, that’s never sufficient grounds to affirm a hire. And I don’t regret Gabe not being here, only that Buck Showalter wasn’t brought in instead. And whatever happened to Buck? Oh……..

    1. mark….speaking of Gabe…he is speaking out….may create some discussion with MLB people…

       ‘Gabe Kapler told reporters in Cincinnati that he doesn’t plan on coming out for the national anthem and that will be his plan going forward “until I feel better about the direction of our country.”
       5:19 PM · May 27, 2022·Twitter Web App

       1. America’s Pasttime will soon be America’s “Past”.

          1. Picks this weekend to say that, when we are honoring those who served and died, So that he could make millions playing a game, the freedom to live his life in this country, what a dope

             1. In his defense, it’s not the veterans specifically that he has an issue with. There are plenty of other things going on that could make people ashamed of the directions of this country. And if they served and died to protect our freedoms, that includes freedom of speech and to protest.

                If you disagree with him, that’s fine. But he’s not disrespecting anyone.

                1. Sorry Dan cant agree with you, You dont disrespect that flag, sure there are a lot of bad things happening, But that flag stands for freedom, which we have, And our military, if you want to stand inside keep it to yourself, too many died so that flag would fly, People are so selfish, they forget how many died for that flag,

                2. rocco……very nicely put. Many Americans are buried in foreign lands, like in Cambridge England,
                   

                   …..never to return home or to theuir birthplace on American soil, giving the ultimate sacrifice for their country, the flag and for what it stands for…freedom..
                   Gabe has that freedom, and can do what he wishes, because of sacrifices of others.

79. Still early, but I have seen enough to know that the 3-7 record vs. the Mets is not the result of bad luck or bad bounces, but a reflection of how much better they are than us. And, without DeGrom.

    1. and now also without Scherzer and a fragile Megill.

    2. Just think, it wasn’t a long time ago that the Mets had deGrom, Syndegaard. Wheeler, Harvey and Matz as their starting 5. They retooled other fly snd are #1.

80. Exactly, Romus. We don’t need to see more to know we are not good enough. Can we hit better? Probably. But, we will need another SP, for sure. We always do. And, despite Girardi’s plans, we will need another BP arm. We always do. And, that is if we are even close to a Wild Card spot, which is a big IF!

    1. Do we need another SP? We’re third in MLB in SP fWAR, 7th in FIP, and 9th in IP.

       Depth is nice to have, for sure. But it’d be hard (and very costly) to upgrade our current rotation. Gotta imagine it’d be way easier to get another ‘pen arm and a 3B or SS for much more noticeable improvements.

       1. Dan, I was speaking about a trade deadline where we were in a spot to compete for a WC. We always need another SP, and Ranger does not look very good. 2 months from now and you can almost bet on a SP being a need.

          1. I understand. A good SP is pretty much always a welcome addition for a team in the hunt. My point is that it’s unlikely to find an upgrade on the market for a reasonable price. We’re much more likely to be able to find RPs and a 3B/SS (since there’s quite of a few of those that are on expiring contracts on teams not doing well).

             1. Trevor Bauer could be available if circumstances warrant it..
                https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2022/05/fate-of-former-indians-pitcher-trevor-bauer-rests-with-arbitrator-the-week-in-baseball.html

81. Almost a quarter of a billion dollar payroll and Matt13 writes, “….if we are even close to a Wild Card spot”. Schwarber has close to 60 Ks in a little over a quarter of the season. Castellanos is way down on his power numbers. These guys plus Realmuto are going to be around for a lot of years. If they want to keep Hoskins, they will need to pony up for even more money. What we have learned from this, I believe, is you can’t buy your way to the playoffs. At least the Phillies can’t.

    Nimmo, McNeil, and Alonzo (and even Smith) are such pesky competitors when they play the Phillies. They are always fouling off pitches and rising to the occasion. And the biggest thing is they are all home grown and (for now) low salaried. I know the Mets are paying big bucks to the rest of the team but these guys are the catalysts. The Mets play with emotion and determination. They aren’t saying “we are a better team than this” or “we know that we need to play better”.

82. Or, how about “look at the back of their baseball card!” My particular favorite. We have so few homegrown contributors. Let’s look at Stott. It was pretty much universal that he is a legit prospect. Does he look so bad because he hasn’t played every day? Or, not ready to be here? Or not as good as we believed? It is ok that I have no clue, I am just a fan. But, I think the organization has no clue about its own players. I would have already had him at LHV playing every day, until he dominated AAA, regardless of Didi’s injury. That is why Camargo is here.

83. I think the guys on Friday’s post-game radio show had some good points about the use of pitchers. One of them suggested that with two open dates coming up, Girardi could have found a way to pitch his best pitchers agains a division rival and still give them a rest later rather than call up a guy from AAA. The Mets have the luxury of resting their staff. The Phillies, 8.5 games behind, don’t, he said.

    I also question going to a six-man rotation. That diminishes the value of good starters. They pitch in just 16 percent of games in a six-man rotation. I understand the need to protect pitchers but, given all of the injuries today, I don’t know that throwing infrequently is the answer. (There’s a reason God created the four-man rotation. Or was it the three?)

    Finally, Girardi made the comment the other night that in resting relievers he is managing for October. Well, Joe, that’s fine but you’ve got to get to October first.

    1. Unless it comes out that Seranthony is injured or otherwise unable to pitch recently, Girardi’s usage of him alone is grounds for firing. He’s been absolutely dominant, and yet he hasn’t pitched since the 22nd.

       For those not keeping track at home, that’s 5 games he hasn’t pitched in; 3 of which saw the bullpen give up the game winning run(s).

       That is not okay.

84. There are 10 teams in MLB with a negative Defensive Runs Saved metric. Here they are with their winning percentage:

    1 Phillies -27 / .457
    2 Giants -20 / .545
    3 White Sox -18 / .500
    4 Athletics -17 / .396
    5 Nationals -13 / .348
    6 Reds -11 / .333
    7 Cubs -10 / .409
    8 Rockies -7 / .455
    9 Rangers -6 / .477
    10 Royals -4 / .341

    The one outlier is the SF Giants, who have a winning record because they have scored the 3rd most runs in MLB. Said differently, they have outhit their poor defense.

    The problem that the Phillies have is that they have the worst defense in baseball and have had poor offensive performance from Castellanos, Schwarber, Rhys, JT and Bohm.

    There is no trade that will fix that. The Phillies went all in on offensive stars. Simply put, those guys have to outhit their terrible defense for the Phillies to win.

    Our Starting staff has been great. We could add a 6th starter, but that’s not our problem.
    Our bullpen has been ok. We could add another reliever or two, but that’s not our problem.

    Our star hitters have to hit. End of story. I think that they will, but until they do, we won’t look like a good team.

    1. You should add a third column of payroll and really drive the stake into our hearts

85. v1, I wouldn’t include Bohm in the list of poor offensive performances. I have been fairly pleased with his offense, and the others are in a different category headed by Schwarber.

    1. With Bohm, it depends on what you value. His batting average, obviously, is very good. But he doesn’t walk or hit for power, so that’s pretty much all his value. He’s ahead of only Didi and Herrera in BB% for Phils players with 50+ PA, and by the same standard he’s ahead of only Didi, Vierling, and Stott in ISO. Meanwhile he’s very much middle-of-the pack when it comes to strikeouts.

       All told, he’s been very-slightly above-average offensively. We should definitely hope for more from him, but you’re right that he’s not struggling as much as Rhys and JT (the former of which has started to show signs of life, fortunately).

       1. After last year I guess we ought to be pleased with what Bohm has done this year but like you said we also have to hope that there’s more to come. The offensive bar for him is higher. His BA has fallen to the low .280s so now his wRC+ is slightly below league average and he’s at 0.0 fWAR for the season.

86. Bohm is so bad defensively it is hard to describe. All the balls that go right by him that even an average fielder gets with ease. And I’ve noticed that there is a concerted effort by the announcing team, including Schmidt last Sunday, to shield him from criticism by pretending routine plays are good plays and decent plays are great plays. Anybody with two eyes can see otherwise.

    1. I’m also tired of seeing balls fall in near Castellanos and Schwarber that other outfielders would get to.

       1. Castellanos has a -9 defensive runs saved (2nd worst on team) and Schwarber has a -4.

    2. Last nights 5th inning is a classic example of how poor defense, even without an official error, kills a team. 4-2 ball game, 1 out. Bunt up the 3rd base line. Don’t even make a throw. Next batter, hard ground ball to Bohm’s back hand. Such poor range. Goes for a double. Now 2nd and 3rd, Lindor hits a fly ball to left center that should have been caught. Goes for a triple. Sac fly gets Lindor in. Now down 7-2. Game over.

87. Mark 8:29, I wrote my post on the 6th starter on the fly this morning and hadn’t read earlier posts, including yours making the same point.

    It’s become obvious to we fans that Girardi’s handling of pitchers is weak, kind of amazing considering he was a catcher.

    But when broadcasters, and former players at that, all Phillies employees, begin to question his pitcher decisions, it suggests a real problem.

    Dombrowski isn’t a dummy. He surely sees the same Things. Now, Joe might do other things well that we don’t give him credit for. And Dombrowski doesn’t want to fire a manger mid-season, and perhaps especially one with as high a profile and as respected a baseball man as Girardi, but it makes you wonder if he’ll be around for a July 4 barbecue.

88. Joe said Didi is about ready for rehab stint.

89. Stott sitting vs RHP tonight. That didn’t take long.

90. Lead off walks are killers. Then comes Alonzo and McNeil and goodbye lead. In another week or so, they might be ten games under .500. You really gotta start feeling bad for this team.

91. Bottom six and it looks like the boys have packed it in for tonight. No comeback in sight this evening.

92. I would say give it until July 4th and if we’re 10+ games back blow it up. The problem is how do you blow up a $220 million dollar payroll? Unless the Phillies agree to pay a ton of salary we have a lot players outside of Harper no one wants. This has to get better now. DD needs to light a fire under some coaches and players asses.

    1. You can’t. It’s not happening. The farm is barren. You have to go with what is there and hope for the best. It could happen if the team still stinks but not until the end of 2023. Too much money and resources will prevent it from happening until then, and that is at the earliest.

       1. I agree with NL. There is no “blow it up” option. Our high priced players are all under performing. DD will give them at least 2 years before trying to flip them. If nothing else, to save his own reputation. But there isn’t a market for two DHs who aren’t hitting well. We just have to hope that Schwarber and Castellanos come around and make a big impact with the bat.

          1. There is definitely not a blow it up option, but at some point you just have to consider changing managers just to see if it can inject something into the squad.

             1. Agreed. I think that we have reached that point. Girardi has to go.

          2. The blow it up option is trading our SPs. Nola and Wheeler would both bring back hauls. Gibson and Eflin would get us legitimate prospects back, but not of the same caliber as the former two. We could also get something for Knebel, Bellatti, and probably Hand (and DEFINITELY for Seranthony, if we’re going full tear-down).

             But doing that is admitting that we’re rebuilding again, and only holding onto our veteran hitters in hopes that they bounce back and we can trade them for a better return in the offseason/next year.

93. I put game on in time to see the 3-run homer. I turned it off. I really have no more thoughts.
    Team is just so disappointing in so many areas.

    A few have stated you like my mention of grandson team once in a while. They are playing in the Sectional final on Monday vs the #3 ranked team. Grandson team beat them 3-2 a few weeks back so should be a good game. No matter outcome this has been good season. Start 4 freshman and after a 1-4 start are now 18-9 for season. Freshman kids have learned to go the other way with these hard throwing upper class pitchers. One would reason guys making Millions could possibly learn to do the same. At least the kids are pretty enjoyable to watch.

    1. That’s awesome about your grandson. It is such a pleasure to watch our kids play. Win or lose doesn’t really matter to us. Just to see our kids out there competing and being happy. It’s where the true love of the game comes out.

94. Good luck, Don, to your grandson and his team! Our Major League team plays with such a lack of energy, it comes through the screen. I am most disappointed by that. Where is the edge and energy from Schwarber and Castellanos? That extra day’s rest really helped Eflin. And the D is laughable. Wheeler needs to throw a shutout tonight to salvage a game, and I won’t bet on that. Thoroughly disappointed and no idea how to fix it.

95. Time to wave goodbye to James Norwood. Seems like a nice guy but he isn’t producing. Maybe give Mark Appel a shot. He can’t be much worse and other than Morales (who’s not quite ready yet) there is not much else in LHV so why not?

96. Brown, Painter and Abel last night!!! Wow!!!!

    1. Ethan Wilson also had another good day. He’s hit .282/.346/.465 in May.

       Hao Yu Lee went yard again. His May slash of .315/.421/.596 looks pretty good, with 15 BBs and 15 Ks.

97. Abel. 5 IP, 2 we, 7 k

    Brown 5 IP, 1 hit, 11 k

    Painter. 1 run, 6 IP, 7 k

    1. Reading Noah Skirrow
       5 IP 1 ER 6Ks.

    2. Saw where Brown’s velo was 94-97T98…faced 17 batters and struck out 11 of them.

       1. Brown is going to need a 40 man spot.

          With Brown’s continued emergence, he should easily be in the Phillies top 15.

          1. Can count double digits of players he could replace.

          2. Guru…agree, he will probably have to be added if he continues at this torrid pace of pitching. He could be in Reading come August.
             Nice to see someone break out like he is doing.

             1. The Phillies system really haven’t had that many break outs in a while. Having Lee (age 19, international signing), Brown (age 22, 33rd round pick), O’Hoppe (age 22, 23rd round pick) doing it this year is obviously great to see.

                1. I am even getting a little excited about last year’s second round pick Ehtan Wilson…last 20 games he is slashing 282/.346/.465…..he has great size and apparently some wheels with a strong arm since they have him in RF most games.

98. It’s funny I think there is some kind of culture issue with the Phillies. They do this every year they are always like a 500 team. Don’t get me wrong I want them to win too. But they are a tease. I would rather have gotten Joc Peterson in the off season then one of the two we had gotten. It looked like we made a splash in off season but we this team is like cursed they seem to make progress then go backwards. People blame manager and player but when they leave here they tend to do better. Don’t know how to fix this type of thing. When you all were doing your preseason predictions most predicting Phil’s in playoffs first or second in NL East. All said Mets were at best third. Hey I hate the Mets but they look much better then the Phils and they have some major injuries. Hopefully they can turn it around. Seems like same thing every year. Ok now bash me

99. Oh yes and Happy Memorial Day weekend to all and thank you all who served in the military for your service.

100. Thank you Rocky.

101. I agree that for now the Phillies have to go with what they’ve got. The starting pitching isn’t the problem. The bullpen isn’t nearly as bad as it’s been, but unfortunately they are no better than the guy pushing the buttons from the dugout. The defense will be what it is. The bats HAVE TO come around eventually, and if they don’t, nothing else will matter. So, all that can be done in the near term is change the manager and look for strategic additions – internally or externally – to tweak the late inning D and bullpen depth. Wait until the deadline to see about the CF situation. If Moniak doesn’t make a positive impact, consider a trade possibility then. Otherwise, we can only ride out the season and hope the division comes back to us…it certainly doesn’t seem like the Phillies will go after the division.

     Happy Memorial Day and thanks to all who have given their lives for the freedoms in the crosshairs of tyranny today, and to those who died in fighting for what is right. Baseball isn’t life and death, thankfully.

102. Rocky – On the contrary, what you wrote was good. No bashing from me. I liked the Castellanos signing but I felt they went way overboard with Schwarber. The guy is a strike out machine (one in every three at bats) and he’s batting on the interstate. I hope he can kick it into gear because I really like him but if not, it may be a long four years.

103. Painter, so elite

     Andrew Painter’s night is done for Clearwater: 6 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks … 77 pitches, 56 strikes

     Strikeout 1: FB, 97.3
     Strikeout 2: Fb, 97.0
     Strikeout 3: CB, 79.7
     Strikeout 4: FB, 96.1
     Strikeout 5: FB, 96.7
     Strikeout 6: CB, 79.9
     Strikeout 7: FB, 96.7 pic.twitter.com/56elpcIYgQ

     — Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) May 29, 2022

     1. Wow, that curveball is big time. It reminds me of Doc Gooden’s “Uncle Charlie”.

104. Yeah not sure but I think they may have given Schwarber Too much money. I really wanted Joc Peterson. I wanted him for a while.
     I love all Philly teams I hate the state of Philly sports.
     The worst about it is the dam Mets look good. That’s another thing the Phils have such a hard time with the Marlins and Mets why????

     1. No disrespect intended to your point, but once they are over the lux tax, why do you care how much money he is getting? Its not a hard cap like NFL, so who cares if some billionaire is paying more than he should? Having said that, Schwarber really does need to start playing better…he tends to get hot around now so we shall see.

        1. Guess it’s just that they should have signed someone else???

        2. Dan…you are correct on Schwarber….he really is not a high BA guy, but for his career his ISO does tend to climb starting in June. And ISO for guys like him are pretty much just HRs and doubles.
           Career ISO splits
           Apr-.208
           May-.220
           June-.332
           July-.247
           Aug-.284
           Sep-.237

105. Gabe takes heed to rocco moffo’s comments…rethinks decision for tomorrow. 🙂

     https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10037180-giants-manager-gabe-kapler-may-suspend-protest-during-anthem-for-memorial-day

106. Anyone…………….if you are playing 3b, how many baby steps are ideal before you take 2 or 3 big steps and finally unload the ball?

107. Phillies batters must lead league in K’s.

     1. 6th behind Atlanta, Arizona, Angels, Baltimore, and Oakland.

        Even lower in K% (10th).

        Strikeouts are much more common these days.

108. Hoskins can not throw, he just tries to not make a bad throw and your not going to make a good throw that way.

109. Wayne – It seems like Hoskins cannot hit either. Speaking of hitting, I think Camargo has hit the wall. He’s showing that he is not a regular. Stott needs to go to AAA and finish out the year and try to get his confidence.

110. Was that Brandon Workman who threw that pitch?

     1. People think it’s easy being a closer, and it’s definitely not.

        1. Wow lets make more excuses for our closer, The lights were bad, the pitch was great but he hit it, my hat fell off before the pitch i couldn’t see it, No it isnt easy but good closers get the job done, they are paid to pitch ONE STINKING INNING AND THROW THERE BEST STUFF, just cant believe the excuses for bad plays by some, Thank for those paid the greatest sacrifice, there lives to defend this country

           1. I’m not making excuses. There’s only a limited number of good closers out there. And even then, they can still have bad years. Is Will Smith a good closer? He had 37 saves last season and the Braves still brought in Kenley Jansen. Is Jansen a good closer? Before last season, Jansen didn’t have a WAR over 1 since 2017. Is Craig Kimbrel still a good closer? He hasn’t blown any saves but his ERA is 4.50, his WHIP is 1.357, and his WAR is 0!

              1. Your kidding right?> He has 10 saves, no blown saves, a era could be one bad inning when you one pitch one inning at a time. So era is useless on closer, if he comes in to a game and gives up 9 runs in one inning , you know how many innings it would take to get that era down under say 3?? if he pitch 9 straight inning in 9 straight appearance and didnt give up run, his era would still be 9 if my math is correct

                 1. I checked out Kimbrel’s game logs. He has saved 10 games and all of them have been 1 inning or less. Out of the 10 saves, he has given up runs in 4 of them. Not only that, out of his 10 saves, he has come in to protect a lead of at least 2 runs. He has NEVER had to protect a 1 run lead. Kimbrel has pitched only 14 innings. He has gotten his saves with the least amount of pressure by far.

                    Knebel has had 11 save opportunities, blowing 3. He’s given up earned runs in only those 3 blown save opportunities (2 to the Mets, 1 to the Dodgers). Knebel has 2 4 out saves. He’s pitched already 20 innings.

                    If you look at it like this, Kimbrel has given up earned runs in 5/15 appearances. Knebel has given up earned runs in 4/20 appearances.

                    Who’s the better closer?

111. Harper being the DH while hurt has been great, allowing Castellanos to play RF has been an outright disaster. There’s a reason why Castellanos was signed to be the DH. It’s crazy to think how bad Castellanos had to be at 3B when he’s pretty bad in the OF. His range is not great, his arm and accuracy are not great. He’s missing the cut off guy. Teams are running on Castellanos at will. His dWar is -1.1. He’s on track for -3 dWar which means he would be just as bad as when Hoskins played LF back in 2018. Harper’s range is not great either but at least he still has a strong and accurate arm.

     The Phillies signed Schwarber to be the LF. We knew his defense wasn’t great, but we had hoped that his offense would pick up by now. Unfortunately, it hasn’t and he’s also on his way to -1.5 dWAR which would be his worst defensive year ever.

     The biggest defensive issues are RF, LF, 3B, 1B. What can be done? Unfortunately, not much. RF and LF are locked in with contracts. Bohm should have moved off 3B during the offseason. Hoskins won’t be getting a FA contract from the Phillies. We will have to live this poor defense for a while.

     1. Bohm (-10 DRS) worst defender in the game….. and actually could be worse if he was given the errors not credited him by official scorers. Castellanos (-8) 2 slots below Bohm …….and the Phillies (-24).

        1. I’m just glad I stopped watching. If this continues trade Bohm & Hoskins in July. Next year Schwarber & Castellanos can be 1B/DH. Schwarber just a terrible signing.

           1. Just to let you know, trading Bohm and Hoskins in July is going to get you pennies on the dollar.

              1. Wait a minute….you talking about a mint 1914 D Wheat penny?

     2. DD needs to get a lot of heat. He built a very flawed team. The Mets made a much much wiser decision with Canha and Marte over Schwarber and Castellanos. Not only are those guys better all around but they signed for much less. We are stuck w Schwarber and Castellanos for a while. Both should be DHs. But at least one of them has to play a corner OF. That’s on DD

        1. v1, correct, very flawed. I have had a lot of faith in Dombrowski, but the decision to forgo Defense wasn’t a real smart move, and the reliance on outhitting bad D has fallen far short. I don’t see a fix. I don’t see being able to fit Hoskins and Bohm into the same lineup going forward, Stott belongs back at LHV, and there is no close to the Majors help coming. A trade?, to quote Ricky Watters, “for who,for what?” We are back to trading Painter and Abel, and I still refuse to do that. So, the question is, how much worse can we play?

        2. For sure, this is DD’s fault. Harper is locked into RF. He knew that signing Schwarber for LF wasn’t going to improve the defense. Now Castellanos was signed as the DH, but that gives zero flexibility in moving off players like Hoskins or Bohm. Now the Phillies are limited in what they can do.

        3. That’s so funny in the pre season you all were saying Phil’s did better then Mets had better signings and that Mets were no better the third in NL maybe worse and below Phil’s. Wow I hate the Mets but said they would finish ahead of the Phils you all laughed. Now you think MM is going to save the season. Hey I hope I am wrong but we will see

           1. You got me confused with someone else. I never said the Mets will bad.

     3. If we had a healthy Harper we could probably manipulate the OF with MM coming up, but with things as they are it is going to be tough. Better served to put MM in LF and get the “Big Whiff” out of there, but I know we are paying him a kings ransom, so we need to play him because he’ll get hot any day.

        One thing about the stats Romus provided is that we are paying this guy for one month arguably two and that is a huge overpay IMO.

        1. Skeet…his ISO does improve historically as he gets into June and beyond.
           As far as team overall defense…DRS….Phillies are not quite on pace to give the 2019 Tigers’ worse negative 116 a run for the money…Phillies now are at negative 24 in 48 games..

           1. Wow …….. 116, that is hard to envision. Were they playing with the Rawlings “Honus Wagner” model glove? The one with the two strands of leather connecting the thumb and forefinger. 😂

112. Bailey Falter has been sent down to Lehigh. So that experiment was a disaster…

113. Thanks Matt and Vi. We will see in a couple hours how things go.
     Some so called experts are picking the team they play today to win the State title.
     They are really good, but the kids’ team is good as well. Most likely will come down to who plays the best defensively.

     I turned the game off top of 8th. It does seem that guy who come to the Phillies are jinxed in some way. It is amazing. Someone threw out Workman. I think back when Phillies got him, he had saved something like 34 out of 38 chances for Red Sox. Came to the Phillies and the wheels fell off.

     Time to go to the game.

114. Moniak two more hits, OPS over 1,000. Let’s move him up to Lehigh for a week. If he hits, bring him up.

     O’Hoppe two more hits. OPS 953. Hopefully a June promotion to Lehigh Valley.

     1. Let the record show that I don’t have a problem with the Phillies giving CF to Moniak. He was supposed to get it anyways before he got hurt. But CF is the LEAST of the Phillies offensive issues. Here’s the current WAR of the offense:

        Harper 1.6
        Realmuto 1.3
        Segura 1.3
        Stubbs 0.7
        Herrera 0.5
        Camargo 0.4
        Hoskins 0.3

        Quinn -0.1
        Schwarber -0.1
        Castellanos -0.1
        Bohm -0.4
        Stott -0.7

        1. Ronald Torryes 0.3 WAR 2021.

           1. He had too much playing time in 2021. Why? Because Bohm (-1.3 WAR) and Didi (-0.8 WAR) stunk.

115. There has been discussion on this blog for some time that Girardi needs to go. I thought he was a great get in 2020 so what do I know. What’s interesting is the national media like ESPN is now speculating if Girardi is on the hot seat… Whan a manager is asked if he’s essentially managing for his job in the final year of his contract, all the parties (management, coaches, media, players and fans) know it could happen at any time.. If it does happen I will be very interested in the opinions of the players on how they felt Girardi managed the club..

116. Just read SI article that said Moniak was supposed to be activated today.

117. Not to sound nuts … but … you know the old saying, “it’s always darkest before dawn” … that’s what I’m feeling. I’ve got a feeling the team finally heats up this week. Is it too late to catch the Mets? IDK. However, I feel like Dombrowski will still probably be a buyer at the deadline, and this club will look to compete for a WC.

     Meanwhile … earlier this morning, I used Tankathon’s Draft Lottery Simulator. Phillies jumped from 1-11 to the 1-1 spot for the 2023 draft for me. Not a bad consolation prize. #Lose4Crews

     https://www.tankathon.com/mlb

     1. Ehhh, IDK, they would probably take a high school outfielder with great potential that takes 8 years to get to the show, ends up being a 4th outfielder and vanishes like a fart in the wind.

     2. Hinkie…..yes, “it’s always darkest before dawn”
        and then there will hopefully be the ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’.
        The Phillies have too many established veterans to let this fiasco continue.

        1. #Lose4Crews

           The Mike Trout of College baseball. Sophomore sensation Dylan Crews can do it all on the field. But the first thing you always hear is how great a person he is first. Watch players describe what makes @__dc4__ so special. #LSU #LSUBaseball #SEChttps://t.co/VYsHuqxjNd

           — Mik’d Up (@Mikdup_8) May 12, 2022

           In case you don’t know, this is what a 🐐 looks like@__dc4__ | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/G7Dk4gnDW7

           — LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 8, 2022

118. Moniak is back and playing CF, with Falter being optioned down yesterday.

     Phillies are at 13 pitchers, not sure who is the long man (Norwood or Nelson).

     Bohm is now hitting 6th, Segura is 2nd, probably what it should have been from the start.

     Stubbs getting the day game start as expected, especially with him hitting like crazy.

     Camargo playing SS vs a RH pitcher, I think that Stott is now the backup, which doesn’t make sense since he needs reps. Stott should be down at Lehigh instead.

     1. Didi is headed to Lehigh for rehab this week. If all goes well, I’m expecting Didi back with the Phillies (and Stott down to Lehigh) June 7th.

119. See Moniak is starting in CF today and batting 7th.

     1. Go, Mickey Mo

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