The trade deadline has passed. The Phillies walked away with a couple of meager acquisitions. Meager in that they didn’t provide the answers that most fans and “experts” expected to their questions regarding the Phillies’ roster.
Now, RHP Michael Lorenzen looks like a good addition. A starting pitcher was not necessarily high on the list of needs. But, you can never have enough pitching. Lorenzen is a rental, a free agent at the end of the season. He is on a one-year contract for $8.5M of which the Phillies are responsible for the remaining $2,787,639. Perhaps, he will be targeted during the offseason. Or maybe, they will focus on pitchers they had hoped would be available at the deadline like Snell or Storman.
A right-handed bench bat that could play the outfield was probably what most figured would be high on the Phillies’ wish list. The Phillies did show interest in the Mets’ Tommy Pham and the Red Sox’ Adam Duvall. They weren’t able to come to a deal with either team.
When their efforts to obtain a right-handed bat who could play outfield failed, the Phillies rotated to acquire 2B Rodolfo Castro from Pittsburgh. The switch-hitting Castro started the season with a .286 average and 3 HR in April. Over the next three months, his production decreased drastically – .231/2 HR in May, .172/1 HR in June, and .100/0 HR in July. Not exactly the offense they were looking for at first look. Castro had limited success against LHP. All 6 of his HRs this season came off lefties. He posted a .287 average against same in 107 PA. If he ever bats against a RHP in Philadelphia, somebody screwed up. Castro came over on a salary slightly above minimum at $725K. He is under team control for another two seasons before becoming arbitration eligible in 2026. He has one option remaining. During his career, Castro has logged time at 2B, 3B, and SS. Never in the outfield.
I probably need to review the comments more often. Approaching 600 is awfully unwieldy for you guys to navigate.
I do eventually check them all. Some are diverting to spam. I don’t know why. I’ll try better.
Random Thoughts
Aaron Nola’s last two starts have been far from okay. After a decent outing against Cleveland on July 23rd, Nola has tossed a couple of clunkers. The Phillies lost both games. Nola lasted 4.2 and 5.1 innings in the contests. He allowed a combined 17 hits, 3 HRs, and 10 earned runs. He averaged 63 strikes on 99 pitches (64%), a reasonable ratio although a little high pitch count for so few innings. While he did post a respectable combined 4 walks and 14 strikeouts, he also had a 9.00 ERA, .370 BAA, .420 OBP, .717 SLG, a whopping 1.137 OPS, and a .483 BAbip. His groundball rate was only 23% putting his FB% at 77% with 34% being line drives. If you’re into it, even with all his strikeouts, he managed game scores of only 25 and 39. If he keeps putting up “okay” outings like these, the Phillies and their fans are going to have a rough remainder of the season. Remember, historically, September is not a good statistical month for Nola.
Rhys Hoskins’ injury has plagued the Phillies most of the season. His absence from the lineup has greatly hampered their offense and precipitated their search for a right-handed bat. The uninformed will complain about his streakiness and defense. Yes, his glove leaves a lot to be desired. But, his offense has been greatly missed. His 120 HRs during the last four full seasons (30/yr), would have looked mighty good in the power-deficient lineup the Phillies are fielding each night. Plus, missing his average OPS+ of 122 over the same four seasons really puts a dent in the offense.
Going forward, the Phillies have 4 choices – trade him, extend him, offer a QO, and non-tender him and let him walk. A trade is most unlikely since Hoskins would become a free agent after the world series. An extension is also unlikely, especially one for multiple years. More on that later. A QO is not cost-beneficial since a QO this year might surpass $20M. A bit high for a first baseman. A non-tender might be the best option. However, how about one of those pillow contracts. Give the popular Hoskins an opportunity to prove himself before entering the free agent market next year. I suggest that the same $12M he received for this season might do.
For those of you who have roster questions, I still maintain all the spreadsheets under the Offseason Files menu tab above. Maybe I’ll change the title to Roster Files. I try to keep them current, but they are always up to date on Mondays when the minor leagues are off.
The Roster and Payroll spreadsheet is a little bit off. I have started gathering salary information from 3 different sites. The individual information is correct, but the totals are close but not entirely accurate.
Former Prospects
Bailey Falter made his first start for Pittsburgh against Milwaukee last weekend. He was on a pitch count and went 4.0 innings (63 pitches, 41 strikes). He allowed 6 hits, 1 run 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.
Logan O’Hoppe starts his rehab today (Tuesday).
Ben Brown has settled in a Triple-A after tearing thru Double-A (0.45 ERA). He has allowed just 3 runs in his last 3 starts and is looking at a possible promotion to the big club when rosters expand in September.
Last week, I included a gag line in the Key Dates, the opening of Eagles camp. It’s still there. Apparently, nobody noticed. Makes me wonder if anyone reads or if they just come here to comment.
Oh, well, doubleheader starting, see ya.
Key Dates
- July 25, 2023: Start of Eagles camp for rookies and veterans
- August 22, 2023: Conclusion of the regular season for the FCL and DSL
- August 23, 2023: Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA – Phillies v. Nationals
- August 24-27, 2023: FCL playoffs
- August 24-31, 2023: DSL playoffs
- September 10, 2023: Conclusion of the regular season for High-A and Class-A
- September 12-14, 2023: Best of three Division Series for High-A and Class-A
- September 16-18, 2023: Best of three Championship Series for High-A and Class-A
- September 17, 2023: Conclusion of the regular season for Double-A
- September 19-21, 2023: Best of three Division Series for Double-A
- September 23-25, 2023: Best of three Championship Series for Double-A
- September 24, 2023: Conclusion of the regular season for Triple-A
- September 26, 2023: First-half winners host best of three LCS for Triple-A
- September 30, 2023: Triple-A National Championship Game between the winners of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues (a single-game format) in Las Vegas
- October 1, 2023: Last day of the regular season
- October 3, 2023: Start of the playoffs
- October TBA: Start of the Arizona Fall League
- November 4, 2023: Game 7 of the World Series (if needed)
- November TBA: Last day for a club to make a qualifying offer to an eligible former player who became a free agent, the 5th day after World Series, 5 p.m. EST
- November TBA: Last day for a player to accept a qualifying offer, 10th day after World Series, 5 p.m. EST
- November 7-9, 2023: General Managers’ meetings, Scottsdale, AZ
- November 17, 2023: Last day for teams to offer 2024 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters
- December 4-7, 2023: Winter meetings, Nashville, TN
- December 15, 2023: Close of the 2022-2023 international signing period, 5 p.m. EST
- January 15, 2024: Opening of the 2023-2024 international signing period
Transactions (7/25 thru 8/6)
August 2023
8/06/2023 – Phillies placed OF Brandon Marsh on the 10-day IL, left knee contusion
8/06/2023 – Phillies selected the contract of 3B Weston Wilson from Lehigh Valley
8/06/2023 – OF Cade Fergus assigned to Jersey Shore from Clearwater
8/06/2023 – 3B Bryson Ware assigned to Clearwater from FCL Phillies
8/05/2023 – LHP Matt Osterberg assigned to Reading from Jersey Shore
8/05/2023 – Jersey Shore activated C Caleb Ricketts from the 7-day IL
8/05/2023 – RHP Christian McGowan assigned to Clearwater from Jersey Shore
8/05/2023 – Clearwater activated RHP Christian McGowan from the 60-day IL
8/05/2023 – Clearwater activated RHP Jaydenn Estanista from the 60-day IL
8/05/2023 – Clearwater sent RHP Eduar Segovia on a rehab assignment to FCL Phillies
8/05/2023 – C Lou Albrecht assigned to FCL Phillies
8/04/2023 – Detroit claimed LHP Andrew Vasquez off waivers from Phillies
8/04/2023 – RHP Noah Song returned to Boston from Phillies
8/04/2023 – RHP Griff McGarry assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
8/04/2023 – Reading activated RHP Mick Abel from the Development List
8/04/2023 – Reading placed RHP McKinley Moore on the 7-day IL retroactive to 8/3
8/04/2023 – LHP Tristan Garnett assigned to Reading from Jersey Shore
8/04/2023 – RHP Carlos Betancourt assigned to Jersey Shore from Lehigh Valley
8/04/2023 – Clearwater activated RHP Alex McFarlane from the Development List
8/04/2023 – Clearwater released RHP Seth Nightingale
8/04/2023 – SS Zach Arnold assigned to Clearwater from FCL Phillies
8/04/2023 – FCL Phillies released LHP Christopher Soriano
8/04/2023 – FCL Phillies released SS Randy Vasquez
8/04/2023 – FCL Phillies transferred OF Junior Marin from the 7- to the 60-day IL
8/03/2023 – RHP Carlos Betancourt assigned to Lehigh Valley from Jersey Shore
8/03/2023 – LHP Samuel Aldegheri assigned to Jersey Shore from Clearwater
8/03/2023 – FCL Phillies transferred LHP Christopher Soriano from the 7- to the 60-day IL
8/03/2023 – RHP Chase Hopewell assigned to FCL Phillies
8/03/2023 – RHP Braydon Tucker assigned to FCL Phillies
8/02/2023 – Phillies activated SS Rodolfo Castro
8/02/2023 – Phillies designated LHP Andrew Vasquez for assignment
8/02/2023 – Phillies released 2B Josh Harrison
8/02/2023 – Phillies activated RHP Michael Lorenzen
8/02/2023 – Lehigh Valley placed RHP T.J. Zeuch on the 7-day IL retroactive to 8/1
8/02/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated C Vito Friscia from the Development List
8/02/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Jeremy Walker from the Development List
8/02/2023 – Reading activated RHP Andrew Schultz from the Development List
8/02/2023 – Reading released RHP Matt Seelinger
8/02/2023 – 3B Otto Kemp assigned to Jersey Shore from Clearwater
8/02/2023 – OF Tayshaun Walton assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – Phillies reassigned SS Rodolfo Castro to the minor leagues
8/01/2023 – Phillies reassigned RHP Michael Lorenzen to the minor leagues
8/01/2023 – Phillies designated 2B Josh Harrison for assignment
8/01/2023 – Phillies traded LHP Bailey Falter to Pittsburgh for SS Rodolfo Castro
8/01/2023 – Detroit traded RHP Michael Lorenzen to Phillies for 2B Lee Hao-Yu
8/01/2023 – Lehigh Valley transferred RHP Connor Brogdon to the Development List
8/01/2023 – RHP Blake Brown roster status changed by Reading to FS-IL
8/01/2023 – RHP Andrew Painter roster status changed by Reading to FS-IL
8/01/2023 – Jersey Shore placed SS Kendall Simmons on the 7-day IL
8/01/2023 – Jersey Shore activated SS Freylin Minyety from the Development List
8/01/2023 – Jersey Shore sent C Caleb Ricketts on a rehab assignment to Clearwater
8/01/2023 – 1B Ty Penner assigned to Clearwater from FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – SS Uziel Viloria retired
8/01/2023 – Clearwater sent RHP Jaydenn Estanista on a rehab assignment to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – RHP Cam Brown assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Cam Brown
8/01/2023 – RHP Ethan Chenault assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Ethan Chenault
8/01/2023 – RHP Jake Eddington assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Jake Eddington
8/01/2023 – RHP Marty Gair assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Marty Gair
8/01/2023 – RHP George Klassen assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP George Klassen
8/01/2023 – RHP Hunter Loyd assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Hunter Loyd
8/01/2023 – RHP Luke Russo assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Luke Russo
8/01/2023 – RHP Casey Steward assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated RHP Casey Steward
8/01/2023 – C Kehden Hettiger assigned to FCL Phillies
8/01/2023 – FCL Phillies activated C Kehden Hettiger
8/01/2023 – RHP Orlando Gonzalez assigned to DSL Phillies Red
July 2023
7/31/2023 – Phillies signed RHP Brandon Beckel
7/31/2023 – Phillies signed 2B Pierce Bennett
7/31/2023 – SS Devin Saltiban assigned to FCL Phillies
7/31/2023 – 2B Pierce Bennett assigned to FCL Phillies
7/31/2023 – FCL Phillies activated SS Devin Saltiban
7/31/2023 – FCL Phillies activated 2B Pierce Bennett
7/30/2023 – Clearwater released 3B Matt Alifano
7/29/2023 – Phillies signed FA RHP Orlando Gonzalez to a minor league contract
7/29/2023 – Phillies designated RHP Noah Song for assignment
7/29/2023 – Lehigh Valley placed 3B Nick Podkul on the 7-day IL
7/29/2023 – Reading activated RHP McKinley Moore from the 7-day IL
7/29/2023 – Jersey Shore activated LHP Rafael Marcano from the Development List
7/28/2023 – Reading transferred RHP Mick Abel to the Development List
7/28/2023 – FCL Phillies activated C Jose Colmenarez from the 7-day IL
7/27/2023 – Jersey Shore sent C Caleb Ricketts on a rehab assignment to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – FCL Phillies placed RHP Rainy Mota roster on the Full Season IL
7/27/2023 – SS Aidan Miller assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – 3B Bryson Ware assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – SS Zach Arnold assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – C Jared Thomas assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – OF A.J. Shaver assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – OF Keaton Anthony assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – 2B Trent Farquhar assigned to FCL Phillies
7/27/2023 – LHP Raymon Rosario assigned to DSL Phillies Red
7/26/2023 – Lehigh Valley transferred RHP Jeremy Walker to the Development List
7/26/2023 – RHP Brett Schulze assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
7/26/2023 – RHP Braden Zarbnisky assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
7/26/2023 – RHP Tyler Phillips assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
7/26/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Braden Zarbnisky
7/26/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Tyler Phillips
7/26/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Brett Schulze
7/26/2023 – RHP Tommy McCollum assigned to Reading from Jersey Shore
7/26/2023 – RHP Max Kuhns assigned to Reading from Jersey Shore
7/26/2023 – Reading activated LHP Josh Hendrickson from the Development List
7/26/2023 – Reading activated RHP Tommy McCollum
7/26/2023 – Reading activated RHP Max Kuhns
7/26/2023 – LHP Andrew Walling assigned to Jersey Shore from Clearwater
7/26/2023 – RHP Yoniel Ramirez assigned to Clearwater from FCL Phillies
7/25/2023 – Phillies signed FA RHP Trey Dillard to a minor league contract
7/25/2023 – RHP Trey Dillard assigned to FCL Phillies
7/25/2023 – Phillies activated RHP Seranthony Domínguez from the 15-day IL
7/25/2023 – Phillies optioned RHP Andrew Bellatti to Lehigh Valley
7/25/2023 – Lehigh Valley activated RHP Andrew Bellatti
7/25/2023 – Lehigh Valley transferred RHP Erich Uelmen from the 7-day to the 60-day IL
7/25/2023 – Lehigh Valley placed LHP Michael Plassmeyer on the 60- from the 7-day IL
7/25/2023 – Lehigh Valley released RHP Jesus Cruz
7/25/2023 – Lehigh Valley released RHP Trey Cobb
7/25/2023 – Clearwater transferred RHP Jaydenn Estanista from the 7-day to the 60-day IL
7/25/2023 – Clearwater transferred RHP Eduar Segovia from the 7-day to the 60-day IL
7/25/2023 – DSL Phillies White released LHP Joalbert Angulo
Phuture Phillies 
DD’s patience the past few deadlines kinda kills his reputation as a guy who guts the farm to win now. He has been very reasonable with his prospect trades. O’Hoppe is the best prospect he traded and he went for a young, controllable CF. Not a prospect dump at all. Interesting.
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V1…..agree, I don’t see any of this river boat gambler, throwing all caution to the wind, let’s deplete the farm system in his tenure as GM at all. Certainly not the person his reputation said he was.
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Skeet…situations are different for him at the different spots along the way.
Marlins…in the late 90s ….he got plenty of vets, won, then had to let them go…so he was forced to make moves after the Blockbuster king Wayne Huizenga got a little cheap.
Detroit ..the team was not quite as loaded as the current Phillies team….they were in a rebuild, and money was not flowing as much from the owner…so he went out and traded for Miggy from the Marlins
Boston….similar to the Phillies in that they had some established stars already in place….but wanted to upgrade their pitching…and went out and got Sale for 2017 from Hahn and the Sox.
So it came down to whatever situation he was thrust into.
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Romus……I can see that, the state of the franchise and the owner dictates the course of action to be embarked upon.
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I think Jerry Dipoto of the Mariners has taken the mantle, and has inherited the ‘ trader crown’ now from Dombrowski.
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Little disappointed to see Joalbert Angulo released. I always thought he was interesting: long, lean, projectable southpaw who was into the 90s as a 16 YO. PEDs probably spelled the end for him here. I don’t think he’ll have any trouble finding a second chance with another club.
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Hinkie……they did invest over $400K in his signing 5 years ago, and he favorable projections for him, but you roll the dice with 16-year olds.
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Hah, I did actually catch the Eagles camp date, Jim. I just didn’t say anything because I’m not a Birds fan so I keep my head down about football haha.
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So very happy to see this site up and running again! First I checked daily, then weekly, and finally sort of gave up (I did keep it on my favorites!). Just read through the last several weeks – Great news about your wife, Jim! Make sure you pace yourself, Jim. My wife and I, both fully vaxed, had COVID for almost the entire month of March and are still much more tired than normal.
It’s so much fun to see players we’ve followed through the minors come up and shine. Loving every minute of Rojas so far – speed kills……
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I have been in disbelief about how well Rojas has played. His defense has been full of web gem plays in center field – I expected him to be good but not THIS good.
His bat has been a total surprise though. The approach is what has really impressed. It seems so advanced for a kid that was just playing in AA. He understands the strike zone, doesn’t chase bad pitches and has impressive patience. Very quick hands.
A long way to go still and probably some struggles ahead but the early indications are outstanding. I’m very thankful that he wasn’t traded.
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I just assumed we’re all also Eagles fans!! I loved it Jim.
Jim – what are your thoughts on Simmons?
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“If [Castro] ever bats against a RHP in Philadelphia, somebody screwed up.”
Yeah…
And as someone who was at the game(s), may I just say…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
That is all.
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Where is Michael Martinez?
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He was just in the ABL last winter with Adelaide and the Phillies contingent.
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He is currently playing with my grandson’s baseball coach with the High Point NC Independent baseball team. He is ready!
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i Cant stand when a relief pitcher with a two or more run lead Walks a weak hitter or any hitter, I could never be a manager, cause i would pull him right there, even if it means i must walk the next, There is no reason to walk a weak hitter with a two run lead, I never trust this bullpen with a lead
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rocco…..agree.
That is so so frustrating when relief pitchers comes in and walks the batter. An old stat has it that when the lead off hitter gets on with a walk or single…he comes around to score almost 40% of the time.
At least send out the PC after he walks the batter, just to delay the game a little and let the pitcher regroup.
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That 3-batter rule would really cramp your style :). Agree it’s very annoying.
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You are so right about the LO BB Rocco.
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they probably could have gotten better production (small chance in playing) from minor leaguer they have. Castro was a wasted trade
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Agree…..
Especially when you have Sosa who can play all the IF spots but hits only right handed.
You give us another utility guy that also only hits right handed. Just bring Clemons back up to balance things out. I mean you can’t call yourself a Switch if your LH split is sub 200.
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I caught the Eagles reference I guess I just didn’t get it LOL. When you post I read every single word. I like the idea of a pillow deal for Rhys even a QO wouldn’t bother me but if BH is the 1B going forward you’ll have a log jam at DH.
This org is still so puzzling to me. Amongst the very good moves (I’ll use others phrase) there are still many head scratchers.
For instance Cave is not a 1B. He hasn’t been horrible there but he missed a couple of picks I thought he should have made.
It seems to me when we lose its usually because of a few defensive miscues to positions where Thompson is placing guys just to get a bat in the LU.
Pitching too which was a quasi strength to this point appears to be leaking some oil. Even Wheeler though he managed the win seemed to be laboring really hard to throw 95.
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DMAR…..bringing Hoskins back only makes things more complicated for Thomson…..lineup construction becomes difficult.
Harper will defer and go back to RF…ugh on defense at that point.
Assume MArsh and it looks like Rojas are here to stay in the OF….throw in Pache somewhere and then there Schwarber and Castellanos
Further, why would he accept anything less than $20M…which is what the QO will be around. He is a free agent, he will want a QO just to stay.
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Free Agency can be very uncertain for a player like Rhys coming off that type of injury and multi-year offers may not come from places where he really wants to be.
Generally I agree Romus but you asked why would he…
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Rhys will not get approx. $20M on the open market ….a QO is more lucrative for him….for that pillow year contract.
Phillies could offer less than the QO value and I am sure he will sign it for a year.
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He will not beat 20 m on open market per year. Not after a year off. I think 1/10m to stay in Philly he would do. At that number I’d be ok with it.
Jim did I read it wrong. You said we will trade him? Isn’t he a free agent after this season? What am I missing here? Thanks.
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Boyd went 3-6 Last night
Pache 0-5 3 Ks (Yikes)
Crawford DHd and went 3-5 with a BB and 2 RBI
Rincon 0-3 2 BBs
Threshers won 10-4 taking their record to 68-34
One thing I notice about CLW is they seem to BB at a good clip. Not sure how to find it but they have to either lead their league in BBs or be at the top.
Taking pitches and swinging at strikes is both a skill and a philosophy that players need to buy into. When a team as a whole does it leads to more wins.
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DMAR:
Here are the stats.
https://www.milb.com/stats/team/florida-state/walks
..looks like they are 8th
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Wow I’m surprised. Good hitting team then as we are # 1 Ranked in Runs…
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How is their pitching?
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https://www.milb.com/stats/team/pitching/florida-state?sortState=asc
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Wow, #1 in ERA . Thank you.
When I look at them alone not too impressed but in comparison, great.
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#1 in ERA, Ks and Batting Average against…
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I do not remember any Threshers team being this overall good.
They are so deep in talent…hope it translates at the higher levels.
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Have to make some serious decisions on personnel up the chain in order to not block any of the talent.
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This is interesting Jonh Henriquez leads CLW with 13 wins but hasn’t started a game. He is 23…
Pan by a wide margin is our best pitching prospect in CLW. He has a .89 WHIP; 76 K in 53.2 IP he is 20 and has only started 1 game.
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The other thing that stands out about CLW is they never give up. In last night’s game, like so many others, they were down 8-3 going into the 7th inning. Most teams pack it in but not CLW. They score 3 in the 7th. 3 in the eight and 1 in the 1 in 9th. Won thegame 10 -8.
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On the futures of Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins with the Phillies:
IMO, the team will tag each of them.
Nola will decline. Kiley McDaniel predicts a 5/110M contract for Aaron. I think he could get 5/125M, despite this season’s regression.
HINKIE RANKING OF NOLA’S MOST LIKELY 2024 TEAM
1️⃣ Cardinals
2️⃣ Phillies (could trade for a SP)
3️⃣ Padres
4️⃣ Yankees
5️⃣ Red Sox
.
The Hoskins/Borass decision (on the QO) is more of a toss up. I believe it’s possible Rhys can get 3/51M on the open market.
HINKIE RANKING OF HOSKINS’ MOST LIKELY 2024 TEAM
1️⃣ Phillies (he accepts QO)
2️⃣ Giants
3️⃣ Cubs
4️⃣ Brewers
5️⃣ Rangers
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3/$51 for Rhys is what I would expect him to get on the open market easy and for a team in need of a power DH he may get even more. He may even find a deal that gives him an opt out after the 1st year.
I think I would roll the dice and give him the QO. He and Jamie have been great for the city but I think its likely he would not accept it. thus we save face and accrue a pick.
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He will not get QO is my guess. Doesn’t make sense. A year of baseball. Phillies will not waste 20 m a year on him. Doesn’t make sense. If he played this year and had decent year then yes, QO possible. Not now.
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McGarry starting tonight for LHV. As we know, great stuff with control issues. However, people here wanted guys like this drafted compared to the “command” guys drafted by Almarez. I have no problem with it. Just a lot of times nobody can fix control issues. So this is to be played out over the next few years. Glad they didn’t trade him. You don’t trade arms like this (and Ben Brown) unless the deal is really superior. Maybe something eventually clicks. And if that happens I want it to be for the Phillies and not somebody else.
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Braves’ ace Spencer Strider might be going thru some dead arm…last 28 innings pitched…18 earned runs allowed.
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He’s passed his innings total from last season so it’s possible he’s getting a little tired. Will be interesting to see if Atlanta tries to give him some extra rest down the stretch since they have a comfortable lead in the division.
I also expect to see SF start to slip over the next few weeks as well. They have a very difficult schedule and they are running a lot of bullpen games due to starter injuries. Only have 2 pitchers who have over 70 innings on the season.
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Yeah….Giants have a brutal schedule coming up. Have to see how Gabe handles their staff.
Braves seem to be challenged with health issues for their young starting pitchers of late…Soroka, Wright, Anderson to name a few biggies.
Would not surprise me if Strider ends up on the shelf at some point.
Like you said…he is at his career max now in IP, so they may do just that and take it easy on him for awhile.
…. also he is relatively short in height, barely reaching 6’…that could work against him in the long run.
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But I hear their manager is a genius ?
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DMAR – Henriquez has so many Ws because the starters rarely go 5 innings so the relievers pick up a lot of “garbage” wins especially when the team is playing at a .667 clip.
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🙂 I get why it is I just found it peculiar that he was getting the lions share of the Ws
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I think the Phils will offer QO on both Nola and Hoskins. I think there’s a 50% chance Hoskins accepts his. Nola certainly won’t. If Nola gets paid like a #1/#2, I don’t think he stays here. I think he’s a solid 3 who throws 200 innings which is valuable but he’s not more than that. I still think there’s a chance he stays but I think the Phils will talk to others and see what the money demands are. There’s only one more year of Wheeler also so that will play a part too. I don’t think we can count on Abel or McGarry at this point.
Rojas has looked great but I still think he’s ticketed for LHV when Pache comes back in a week. Castro looks like a zero to me, I’m sure we can do better with Clemons, Kingery, or Wilson if he shows anything these next two games.
On the farm, lots of promotions happening which is great. More are still to come at CWater.
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I assume everyone saw what Bellatti did last night. Not good.
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I didn’t see Murray. I read a hit 3 BBs and an ER…
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Weston Wilson HomeRun first MLB AB!
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He couldn’t have asked for a better pitch to hit. Gore threw a lazy curveball and it went out fast. Congrats to Wilson!
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The new guys in the organization didn’t do to bad tonight, huh?
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Excellent night. Still, get rid of Castro.
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Lesson learned, I shouldn’t watch the games live. I took my dog to a concert in the park and followed the game on my phone.
Congratulations to Lorenzen. Now pull a reverse-Halladay and throw a Perfecto in the playoffs, haha.
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Gutsy performance by Lorenzen, threw 124 pitches and his name is in the record books! JT’s name is also in the books for catching his first no-hitter.
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My bad, this is JT’s second no hitter caught. He caught one when he was with the Marlins.
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Fabulous game.
Maybe with the 6-man rotation, management will allow the other starting pitchers more leeway with pitch counts.
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They are off Mon and Thur so he won’t pitch for 8 days. Topper said after 7 innings(100 pitches) he had 20 left, and Smith may have been his final batter. He said if not for 6 man rotation + two off days then no way ML goes 9.
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Cole Moore, a 1B in CLW, has a Snidely Whiplash thing going on. He was a FA signing out of Dallas Baptist in ’22. https://www.milb.com/player/cole-moore-681326
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I have never seen an MLB team that has the type of positive culture and camaraderie that the Phillies teams have had since Thomson took over last year. The ’93 Phillies were great. With Dutch leading the way. But they had a clique of the top players. This team embraces every man on the roster like a brother. It is rare and exceptional. And imo, the single guy who deserves the credit is Rob Thomson. He is the leader and he sets the tone. He took over a moribund clubhouse mid-last year and turned around the culture.
I think too much time is spent griping over in-game moves that don’t pan out. It happens. But imo what makes this team special is how positive of a culture they have.
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Thomson isn’t perfect (no manager is), but I think he’s just outstanding on the whole. He has the people skills of a Charlie Manuel, but is more sophisticated on metrics and in-game planning and he gives young players the chance to go out, fail, and still get back on the field – he’s so good at developing these guys. I’ve been watching the Phillies since 1992. Thomson is their best manager, hands down. To me, it’s not particularly close.
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Very much agree V1! Last year and this years team is like family! The culture is phenomenal and credit goes to Rob Thomson and to the players (Schwarber, etc)
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McGarry rocked hard in AAA start. Not good.
What’s the upside for Kroon? All he’s done this year is hit. Homered in his first AAA at bat.
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Remember, they use an MLB model ball at AAA, but a different model at the other levels. For a pitcher, I would surmise that it is a huge difference in feel. So, I would not sweat his first outing at AAA- let him get used to the ball, his stuff is too good to get hit around by AAA batters.
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Also, as for Kroon, Matt Winkelman had him listed as his 50th best Phillies prospect with a good writeup about him and his prospects back in March.
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R O M u S. T H A N k. Y O U
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i Would love to have someone talk about Kroom, Did he at 26 just get it, i cant believe how much better his numbers look, But can he run ? is he a good fielder, love to know about him if anyone has seen him. If the phillies bring back Hopkins , when Bryce goes to right, Castellanos to left, rojas in center, where does that leave Marsh or does he platoon? and still have Pache on rehab, not to mention schwarber.
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rocco…you are all over the place this morning!
Did you have a super turbo java this morning?
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Rocco he’s another Luke Williams type 🙂
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ty
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Glad Dombowski picked-up Lorenzen from the Tigers…Lee could eventually be a stud MLB player, but Phillies have to win now.
Also important….since Griff McGarry may have to wait a little further before he makes his MLB debut, he still needs to come around with his control and also adapting to the more experinced AAA hitters.
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You can’t just assume McGarry will figure it out and become a major league starter. He and Abel still have to improve before they can be considered for possible major league roles. With Painter already out for next year, the Phils have zero starters coming next year and will need to resign or replace Nola plus decide if Sanchez is good enough to hold the #5 spot. Lorenzen just upped his price for next year for whoever signs him, including the Phils.
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Lorenzan is a free agent I believe? Got to see if they can sign him.
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rocco……signing him has to be at the right price.
The plus side…he is only pitched less than 700 inings in his career….so his arm is not over-used, also mostly in relief…269 games as a releiver and 64 starts and many of those starts these last two seasons.
The down side….his age32 season will be next season…..so if he is looking for 4 or more years some teams will shy away from that…Phillies may make an offer of three years but at a higher than normal AAV, which he mat accept.
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Agree with Murray. I’ve liked Griff McGarry’s “stuff” since his days at UVA, but … to date, he has not shown the ability to throw enough strikes to start in MLB. Pan Wen-Hui is in the process of passing McGarry as Phillies’ #3 pitching prospect IMO.
I’m not completely ruling out a new contract for Nola, but we’ve reached the point now where Aaron is just one of the options for Dave Dombrowski this winter. Blake Snell, Julio Urias, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito, and Sonny Gray are free agents. And any of Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Tyler Glasnow, and/or Shane Bieber could be on the trade market.
One last thing … Michael Lorenzen has been fun, but he isn’t/cannot be a Nola replacement in 2024.
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If I understand you .He can’t be a 500 pitcher like Nola?
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I think I agree with all of this. McGarry has some issues, but his upside is so great, it’s worth keeping him around and letting it play out. If he develops even average control, he’s a 3/4. If he’s a late inning reliever, that’s fine too.
I’ve said on Nola, they should offer him arbitration and then let it all play out. I’d rather have a couple of other guys than him, but who knows? He really should have taken the contract I expect they offered him – I doubt he’ll get the same money now.
Lorenzen will be interesting. Great start of course, but let’s see how the rest of the year plays out. My sense is that he’s probably going to want to be back, so that’s good.
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Rocco … I have no problem with Dombrowski signing Lorenzen as rotation depth/BOR. I’m just saying he is not a SP2 in 2024 (and thereafter). Can’t judge/value him on a month-and-a-half worth of work.
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At every level the strike zone shrinks in a couple of ways. One the umpires generally speaking are better, two the hitters generally speaking don’t expand the zone as much.
In between innings last night I was turning to the Mets/Cubs and Kyle Hendricks was on the mound. He’s flipping an 86-88 MPH FB but its his myriad of change-ups that dart all over the place that somehow keep him a very effective MLB pitcher.
If I were a pitching coordinator all of my pitchers in the system would learn to master a CU. Lorenzen’s outing last night is a perfect example of why.
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I mowed the lawn last night, doing it twice a week, mainly for the exercise and I’m a lawn nut,,, I wrestled the remote from the grip of my 3 year old (that’s no joke). Turned the game on in the bottom of the 8th, 2
Outs, and I saw every one sitting away, not talking to him … knew immediately.
What I think is even more amazing … is someone how I watched the bottom of the 9th, and I didn’t even jinx it! The less I watch the more they win… seems that way at least!
Good for him, he seems to have solidified his place in baseball as a SP, that was his goal. Pretty cool to watch anyone achieve their goals
On Nola, I know he’s better that’s he’s pitched, he usually wears down in September but … 6 man rotation, contract year, and in a playoff hunt – I think he bucks his career trends – like he did last year. That’s Astro’s game was huge, I basically count that in his 22 post season stats
He s not going to make the resigning/contract $$$ being an easy decision
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Did you notice that Bryce was the first person who left the dugout to warmly congratulate Wilson on his home run? That’s a good illustration of how Bryce interacts with and supports all of his teammates. Those who claim otherwise are simply mistaken.
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There is crying in baseball…cries of joy. Weston Wilson’s father and Mike Lorenzen’s mom!
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I’ve been clamoring for Wilson to be called up for weeks. I’m under no illusion that he will all of a sudden be an MLB All Star but what he can be is a useful more impactful extra man you can use all over. Or maybe he can fill some of the RH power we’ll miss from Hoskins.
What impressed me most was not the HR but the BBs. He was so in control of his nerves, his ABs and the strike zone. If he maintains that he might carve out a career in the MLB.
Interesting decisions ahead. Great chemistry going on right now but only so many seats in the clubhouse.
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Have you ever watched one of those rain delay features where they have a player narrate and recap a season? One where the season had a miserable ending? In roughly an hours time they can string together a bunch of feel good moments out of 162 games to almost make you forget how miserable or disappointing that season actually was.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching every pitch last night. I thoroughly enjoyed staying to the last out of that 2nd home game against the Reds to start the season. My second time being in attendance for a walk off.
Moments of extreme joy and extreme anguish are what it means to be a vested Phillies fan. Whichever type of fan you are never apologize. You’ve earned the right to feel how you feel about your team, its players, its manager and even the GM.
The 93 season was magical for me but some still lament going to Mitch and that’s actually pretty cool…
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DMAR – I too, called for the Phillies to add Wilson to the forty and bring him up. He plays all the infield positions, but mostly at first base. I’ve got to believe he is a better fit for this team than is Castro. I hope they let him hang around a little bit.
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2 Thumbs up Ciada
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At its core this is a place for prospects. Crawford again with a HR and a 2-4 night with 3 rbi including a SAC fly
Boyd 2-5 and
Pache on rehab 2-3 with 2 BBs. He’s coming back and he’s out of options. Both Rojas and Pache need/should play every night. What to do…
Pan a 2 inning save 0 Runs 4 Ks
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I agree with whatever Romus says.He is my idol
I have low standards as y can see
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rocco…time for another java it appears.
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I think there’s room for both guys. Rojas in CF and Pache in LF would be very fun to watch. Once Marsh is healthy he and Pache can go back to platooning. Let Rojas play CF almost every day.
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I think both guys are going to play and Pache definitely needs to play. These guys are both outstanding outfielders – like 1.5-2 WAR fielders which makes the hitter bar a lot lower I am not sure I’ve ever seen a centerfielder quite as smooth as Rojas – he’s truly beautiful to watch as he magically glides to balls – it’s a bit like Doug Glanville, but Rojas has a much better arm and more upside as a hitter. Rojas, however, needs more minor league time. Maybe it won’t be this year, but I’d prefer he start in AAA next year unless he dominates in ST.
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Catch – one commentator mentioned he looks like the SEC’Y OF DEFENSE – Mr. Garry Maddox…..to me he does sort of look like him except Garry had a very angular physique whereas Rojas appears a little more muscular. However — they both gliiiiiiiiddddde to the ball. Beautiful to watch.
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Pache needs to play. He’s still only 24 and the Phillies need to see what they have. As good as Rojas as, he doesn’t have Pache’s size and power. Pache has a very high ceiling as a former top prospect.
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The Phillies have said they view Rojas as a future star (or maybe they even said superstar). I don’t quite see that (I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see him hitting for a lot of power, his walk rate is on the low side and his contact skills are fine, but not outstanding), but I could see him as a first division regular, which is really good. Pache’s ceiling may be another notch higher (potential impact player), but I think his floor is lower too. It’s hard to see a Phillies team with Marsh, Rojas and Pache all starting, but they don’t need to make long term decisions about any of those guys now. My sense, however, and others have said this too, is that, at some point in the next year or two, either Pache or Rojas is going to be moved.
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Rojas’s defense is spectacular but he still needs some work on his offense and could use some time in AAA. He’s very susceptible to chasing breaking balls. See that Pache is now playing rehab games and when he’s ready, I would probably play him in CF and send Rojas to AAA. They are basically the same player and as noted, eventually the Phillies need to decide which one they plan to keep.
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It’s a numbers game. Pache and then Marsh will come back. Two guys will need to be sent down and I suspect that will be Wilson and Rojas. Rojas will be back when rosters expand. So he’ll maybe be back in the minors for 2 weeks or less.
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For me Marsh has to play everyday in LF with the occasional day off against lefties. He’s a glue guy and I didn’t trade O’Hoppe for a platoon player.
Pache or Rojas everyday in CF to get the best out of them.
I like Wilson to replace Castro. He can play any of the IF positions, any of the corner OF positions and he brings RH Power and OBP skills.
Sosa is a really good SS but not very good at 3B and the bat is just so so lately.
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The future, 2024, Pitching lineup is a lot less settled than what I believed entering this season. Not sure if we will or should re-sign Nola, Painter out with TJ surgery, Abel hasn’t exactly earned a promotion, or even to any longer being thought of as our #2 prospect, assuming Painter is still #1, and McGarry has failed to harness his command, despite his promotion. He has had some good outings at AA this season, but a long way from consistent.
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One thing they can and should do is sign Ranger now, while he’s still cheap. Give him a 4 or 5 year low cost deal. The worst he’s going to be is a 3/4, but his upside is considerable and, if you want to move on, his contract would be attractive to another team.
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They should absolutely look to sign Ranger right now, and I’d also start approaching Stott about a deal that buys out his arb years and a couple FA years. Pitching is always expensive, and Ranger has had enough sustained success that his is a no-brainer. And for Stott, you can wait a year or two because he’s still a little bit off arb, but on his current trajectory he’ll get expensive quickly, too. Gold Glove defense up the middle, with the ability to play SS, and hitting .300 with a good mix of power and speed.
I won’t go so far as to say he’s a future MVP, but he’s on the cusp of being an All-Star level player right now and he’s only 25. Marsh is a year closer to arb, and he’s another one they could approach, but Sott has better peripherals and would probably earn more in arb.
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Stott’s agent is Scott Boras, so I doubt that they take a team friendly deal.
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Dan K – to Stott – for me he often looks like the best player on the field. There isn’t anything he can’t do – he does all the small ball things and he plays the modern game too. Few people have commented on how fantastic a pick he was in that draft. For me – he may have been the best prospect to graduate since Hamels.
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Stott is an example of how valuable a player can be if he’s just above average in nearly every area, which Stott is. Stott’s only standout skill (where he’s elite) is his hit tool (he’s like 65 or 70 on the 80 scale). Stott is already like a 4+ WAR player. If he develops a little more power, he’s a borderline all-star. I’m not sure how much better he’s going to get, but even if he never becomes a minor star, he’s still a championship level player. Great draft pick.
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Especially their first 6 years
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Ranger has 2 more years of arbitration left. He’s making close to $3M this year. I’m guessing his 2 arbitration years will be $4.5M and $7M. Assuming that he’ll get maybe $15M per year on the open market, perhaps a 4/35 or 5/45 and see if he’ll bite.
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Ranger is entering his age28 season in 2024…..buying out his 2 arb years and then tacking on three more (total of 5/$45M) puts him at 33 years old as a free agent. Which is a few years older than most coming off their entry MLB contract.
But if he is willing to do that, then that sounds like a good friendly club deal.
I think he may want to bump up the AAV a few million more.
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August 20 is Little L3ague Classic not 23rd
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I have been following baseball since I was 8 years old in 1945. Last night’s game is one of the most memorable. In addition to Lorenzen’s no-hitter, Wilson’s first-time home run, and Castellanos’ two homers, were the families and the quality of the men on the field and in the dugout. They were not celebrating themselves, but each other — old school sportsmanship. The game harkened back the years after WWII when guys returned from the war, asked for no glory and made no fuss about themselves. I think of Gene Bearden, badly wounded in the war with metal plates in his head and knee, leading the Cleveland Indians to a World Series victory in ’49; and Mickey Grasso, a POW who escaped from a German prison camp having suffered brutal beatings, going on to play catcher for several MLB team. The list goes on. I saw men on the field last night who showed glimmers of that kind of character. Baseball’ story goes far beyond the field.
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Rob … love that post. Aside from feeling the same way about last night’s game, I appreciate the memories of post WW II baseball. That’s well before my time, but I still have love for the history of the game. 😃👍
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Thank you, Hinkie
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And those good attitudes show in results. This team plays hard every game and is rarely out of any game. Everyone – regardless of race, country of origin, position, seniority, salary – seems to be treated with a great deal of respect. They are genuinely good guys and they are well policed by guys like Harper and Schwarber.
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Favorite post of the day Rob. I am a sucker for nostalgia. My father was born in 1935 sadly I lost him in 2012 but I can’t imagine him being engaged with a site like this.
You are a treasure to be celebrated with all you have seen and experienced.
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Thank you so much. What a nice thing to say
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DMAR…Yankees just DFA RHP Deivi Garcia…one time top MLB prospect
I remember many years ago you saw him pitch at Arm and Hammer in Trenton vs the Reading team…..and you raved about the short little guy whiffing virtually the entire Reading lineup. Just did not translate to the big leagues.
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LOL you have a great memory and you are correct I loved that kid when I saw him. That might have been the first night I saw Bohm for the first time live…
It’s strange his career never materialized because he had all the pitches.
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living in richmond, the phillies tv broadcast is blacked out on mlb tv for nats games. i had to watch the nats tv announcers who treated the game in a sort of oh hum just another loss fashion. they never showed the wilson or lorenzen families, so i missed the phillies tv call of probably one of the most exciting games of the year. arrg!
on the other hand i love that this site is back in operation even if it’s just for my kvetching.
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I live 3 hours south of Richmond and games are blacked out. No one down here cares about the Nats. Here more about the other gnats!
Stupid black out rules.
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Orion Kekering article.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/phillies-flamethrower-pitcher-biggest-riser-in-prospect-rankings/ar-AA1f6GxT?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c7fce96f35c24bbb8c2fff5f4134abad&ei=77
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I can see him up at CBP next season at some point..probably late in the season. .
Both him and McGarry have great stuff…..except Orion K. has superb control.
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Cannot wait til new rankings come out, gonna puke if I still see the Dutchman ranked along with Morales who has been out of the system for a month.
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Great stuff, he is had a rapid ascent through the system, and would not be surprised to see him at CBP next season. Why did he fall to the 5th Rd? Anyone remeber? Control issues that are now seemingly fixed? Injury?
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Cape Cod League in 2021 he struggled…..final year at South Florida he started off and on, and just was not lights out but once Phillies got him. he has turned over a new basbeall leaf.
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Kerkering’s strikeout numbers drop at every level as he moves up.
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Small sample size and also expected. Better hitters strike out less, and usually players take some time to adjust.
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I’ve never seen a pitcher whose K numbers increase as he goes up the ladder. The hitters are better and he’s throwing the same stuff. Give him an off-season and let him improve more . Guys swing at out of the zone pitches less, that’s a big deal as you move up.
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Bases loaded no outs and nada. The boys are really flat tonight. Lots of pitches for Nola. Five plus innings and he’s outta here.
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Thankfully Trea has decided that he is done slumping.
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Pipeline rankings are out. Miller slots in at 4.
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Major changes in the list as compared to pre-season- and the changes are well justified. Half the list is 20 or younger.
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Aidan Miller makes it into the top 100 at 97, giving the Phils 4 in the top 100- 7 if you count Mead, O’Hoppe and Brown. Painter down to 29- not sure that I agree with penalizing a prospect due to injury as opposed to poor performance, but I can understand the uncertainty about how he will recover.
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Well as much as I’d like all 7, it’s nice to see that the Phillies drafting is measurably better. That is a nice sign. I feel like we should still have a Brown, that was a heist by CHI. Mead hurts too but he would’ve Been trade bait … possibly could’ve kept O’hoppe if they still had him to deal. i still really hate losing O’hoppe … but Marsh is a good compromise.
Factor in the success of Stott, Bohm, Ranger, Sir A, and a few others like Rojas & Pache … I have a million times more faith in the Phillies Development staff then I did back in the Dominic Brown/Jesse Biddle days. Feels like a big jump just happened
Overall – the pipeline has 2 SR, 2 high leverage arms, and 3 positions players tated for regulars in the top 8 positions, with Rojas already up … I’ll take this over 10 years ago
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Would love to see the Phils pull a page out of the Braves playbook and lock up Stott for the next 8-10 years. Most consistent phillie this year and probably the MVP of this team. Don’t know if Kingery contract has them scared but he will be a stud for a while.
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I agree Chris. Kingery was signed before he played any MLB games. Stott is a different story. I think Albies’ contract is a good comp.
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Buying out his next four years of control….the last three are his arb years….then if doing that, you have to tack on 2 maybe 3 years for further control and incentive. So the contract’s end date is 2030 or 2031….he turns 26 in a few months, he will be exiting that contract at age 32 or 33.
Not sure who his agent is….more than likely Boras if his best friend Harp recommends Boras to him……will Boras agree to that?
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There is no chance that Boras would allow Stott to sign a contract anywhere close to what Albies signed for (7 years – $35million). That contract is an embarrassment. I would see Stott closer to Acuna’s deal which was 8 years – $100 million.
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You’re not getting any discount with Boras. As a result, I expect Stott to be signed year-to-year or maybe have a deal that takes him through a few pre-free agent years.
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I’d do 8/$100 for Stott in a NY Minute but as Catch says Boras clients are tough. in 2028 he’ll be a 30 y/o FA if nothing changes…
And we’ll still owe Turner 6/$163 million
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DMAR……is Boras actually Stott’s agent?
I only mentioned that because Harper and Hoskins may have suggested that to him since they may be tight.
Pre-arb years he may not have the need for an agent.
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Boras represented him for his draft negotiations, but I don’t know if he’s retained Boras since then.
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DanK…ok. Thanks for that info.
He probably will be retained going forward.
In the off-season when Harper/Stott/Gallo/Bryant all workout in Vegas….and Boras will drop in to see his clients….Stotts must be there with them
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Crawford with 2 HR in the past 6 days- are they beginning to correct his launch angle?
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Crawford has really taken the ball and run with it. I can’t wait to head out to Jersey Shore next season to see him…
Rincon doesn’t quite have the BA but his OBP is 370 and his BB rate is 17.5%
Bergolla for an 18 year old is carrying some great numbers as well. I don’t want to attempt to scout from a box score I learned my lesson on that before but in the absence of actually seeing him its hard to ignore.
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It was an aggressive promotion for Bergolla from DSL to Clearwater (bypassing the FCL) at age 18. If he went to the FCL, he would be one of the youngest guys on that team. After a slow start, he’s starting to hit in the last month or so. Stateside, he’s only played 2B/SS which is obviously positions that the Phillies are set at. He’s not ranked, he’s not killing it at Clearwater (no power), so I guess the Phillies don’t have to push him as fast anymore.
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I never view a prospect as blocked but from the lens if they are that good they can be moved for another good player in an area of need or they allow you to trade a Veteran that might be getting expensive for their production.
Lee for Lorenzen is a great example albeit it would have been nice to land a player with a year or two more control rather than a rental. So when you are thinking about Lee in those terms I’m sure they were looking at Rincon and Bergolla thinking they had MIF depth to trade from.
Like you always say it takes good players to land good players in trades. Hopefully the system continues to grow in depth with solid MLB type prospects.
And who knows how long Turner will hold at SS I shudder to think about it.
And its sacrilegious now to imagine having to trade Stott at some point but it could always happen with a Boras client.
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I’m ok with what Bergolla is doing, especially at age 18. If he continues to improve, great! I’m just saying as of now, the Phillies don’t have a need to promote him quickly.
The only positions that I could see to be fast tracked are pitching (you can never have enough) and maybe 3B in the near future. There’s really no reason why Crawford is still at Clearwater, unless you really don’t have a pressing need for OFs.
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“There’s really no reason why Crawford is still at Clearwater..”….I was told they want him to be involved with the play-offs next month, it is a best of three-game series.
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Connor Brogdon, off the development list, and pitched last nite to finish the game
for LHV….one clean inning…2 Ks, 11 pitches -8 strikes….no walks.
Four, maybe five games more like that, and he should be back up with the club for the Sept run.
He could be an alternative option to Marte in the set-up role.
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Marte doesn’t instill much confidence does he….
I was pretty excited about him in ST he seemed to have electric stuff which seems to have evaporated quicker than a puddle in the AZ desert.
Oh and I have to add Rojas is not a good bunter so I’d stop making him try in games. Not sure if Topper was worried about him hitting into a double play with 1st and 2nd and Kyle on deck there. But if they do view him as a future star I have him swing away in that situation.
Kyle is either going to hit a HR K or BB so getting those runners to 2nd and 3rd wasn’t a priority for me.
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There’s no doubt that Marte has the arm, but with his (not smooth) delivery, he can get wild at times and leave some balls to be hit hard. He’s the prototypical middle reliever: look good one outing, look terrible the next.
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Agree Rojas bunting with Kyle up was a head scratcher. It’s not like he was likely to ground into a double play with his speed.
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A hitting coach posted a side by side video of Trea’s swing from 2022 and this year. They were nearly identical except one thing. In 2022, Trea’s knee stopped just below his hip height on his leg lift. In 2023, Trea’s knee lifted higher. Above his hip. Changing your leg lift will changing your timing. If your timing is slightly off, you can’t hit. Hitting is all timing and tempo. Why would an elite MLB vet change his leg lift timing? One theory is he subconsciously was trying to hard to impress with his big contract. Not sure the actual reason, but recently his leg lift looked like it did in 2022 and he looks like the Trea of old. With a prime Trea in this lineup, and a healthy Harper (hopefully) this team is going to make a deep run. May even have enough to win it all.
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I truly believe that. A truly good person would want to prove they are worth what they are being paid.
Not to mention one of the best players in the game goes national with his desire to have you on his team.
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Marte seems to have lost the mojo he had earlier, and he is exhausting to watch pitch. I was also aggravated with the bases loaded, no outs, no runs inning. But, our long ball is back, and it was a very nice W. Wish I knew what ails Nola. If the Playoffs started today, I could not Pitch him in the 2d spot at all. Despite his history and tenure with the Club.
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It’s tough with a 6- man rotation with Marte & Covey in the bullpen.
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I got to see last night’s game on MLB for free. I truly believe that the pitch clock has added more to Nola’s woes than anything else. He looks so uncomfortable because he seems to be rushing it up there in the last few seconds. I’m sure he must be looking over his shoulder at Lorenzen.
I also tend to agree with the three or four guys on this site who think that Rojas should be sent down when Pache and Marsh return. I know he is a great CF but I think he could use some more seasoning at AAA when it comes to his hitting. He doesn’t have a whole lot of hard contact with the bat.
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yeah Ciada the pitch clock for the last three yrs has hurt him he is only 25 wins 27 losses,
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rocco…I detect a bit of sarcasm!
But the numbers are:
’21…9-9
’22….11-13
’23…..
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and ’23 so far….9-8
Basically he hovers arond .500 win/loss %
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Agree on Rojas, and I like him a lot! At Reading he hit more line drives and to all fields. In the bigs he seems to be trying to pull everything (3rd to ss) and hitting a lot of “snake beaters”. Besides, it would be nice to teach him to put the bottom half of the bat on top of the ball when he bunts. Possibility exists that he might not go back with the way people are getting dinged up!
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For the Top 100 rerank – Phils came in with a 142 point Total from 4 prospects,
You could argue the strength of the farm was 283, if you included Mead, O’hoppe, and Brown… and drumroll … that would’ve positioned the Phillies as the 3rd best farm in the league …
Not whining just food
For thought since many of us had trashed the organization for its drafting capabilities over the years. We might be able to start acting confident for a change.
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Really nice story about ex-Phillies prospect Jon Singleton
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38176392/astros-jon-singleton-hits-first-hrs-majors-2015
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It truly fascinates me how some people are obsessed with pitcher W-L records.
So just for fun, here’s a stat for you guys:
Aaron Nola has a better win percentage (87-70, 55.4%) than Nolan Ryan (324-292, 52.6%). So I guess Nola is better than Nolan.
Other notable pitchers that Nola is better than:
Bert Byleven (287-250, 53.4%)
Gaylord Perry (314-265, 54.2%)
Phil Niekro (318-274, 53.7%)
ROBIN ROBERTS (286-245, 53.8%)
Have I made my point, or do I need to list more Hall of Famers? Because there ARE more.
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Also, even though my question at the end was rhetorical, I just thought it’s too funny not to mention:
Robin Roberts isn’t even the only all-timer Phillies pitcher that Nola beats in win percentage. Jim Bunning (224-184) is sitting at 54.9% for his career himself. And his stats for just the Phillies are remarkably close (but still slightly worse) than Nola: 89-73.
Just while playing for the Phillies, some of our notable pitchers have gone;
Cole Hamels: 114-90
Curt Simmons: 115-110
Chris Short: 132-127
Eppa Rixey: 87-103 (notable because he had a 2.83 ERA to go with that W-L)
Rick Wise: 75-76
But hey, at least we all got to witness noted winner Jamie Moyer pitch here. He of the career 56.3% (269-209) win percentage and 4.25 ERA.
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DanK….different era pitchers.
Tough to compare athletes in a sport from one era to another.
For example….Nola age 30 has a accumated bWAR of 31
Robin Roberts at age 30…had over 50bWAR….with over 170 wins with almost the same complete games.
.
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I’m not comparing the players, and there’s literally no reason to. Roberts is a way better pitcher, relative to their eras.
What I’m comparing is the win stat. The game has changed, but Wins have not. And it’s a bad stat.
If you want a perfect example:
May 29, 2010
Josh Johnson pitches for the Marlins against the Phillies.
7 IP, 7 hits, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 ER
Loss
Why did he get a loss? His team committed an error, allowing 1 run to score. And Halladay threw a perfect game for the Phillies.
His team literally caused him to get a loss.
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Ok..understand win-loss stats are not the best way of measuring a pitchers ‘effectiveness or efficiency.
There are others people use…ERA, FIP, WAR and all the peripherall …seem to be ones that are used.
So what measuring tool do you use to determine a pitcher’s effeiciency?
Now getting back to what rocco was alluding to.
The pitch clock has been used as the reason for Nola’s adverse performances this season, he is finding it difficult to adjust…..my guess is rocco thinks that is not legit…the pitch clock is just an excuse.
Pitch clock or no pitch clock….the same results will still be the same.
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Longer post lost to the void, simple post:
I don’t use just one stat. We have so many because they all help paint the full picture.
But to claim Nola is the same this year as he’s always been is absurd. He’s not even the same as he was in his other two “bad” years. This year’s Nola is clearly different. I don’t know if it’s because of the pitch clock or not, but claiming that Nola has always been this pitcher because of his W-L record is unbelievably silly.
P.S.
Nola has 6 years of sub-4 ERA and 3 years (including this one) of 4+ ERA. And this is his worst year in a lot of metrics, whereas the other two 4+ years were largely the result of bad luck.
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I am not sure if you are supporting Nola or not, Dan, so I apologize for missing the point. I don’t care about his W-L %. I care about how he has been pitching. And that is like a #3 SP, not an Ace or a co-Ace, which is how he wants to be paid. I have always been a Nola fan. But, there is clearly something off with his game. Not just the amount of HRs but his overall command is not what it once was.
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I’m not supporting Nola’s year at all. (I still support him as a player and will defend his overall performance for us, but this year he has been bad.)
Just saying Wins and Losses are bad stats.
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Understood, and I agree. I don’t know if it is the Pitch Clock, but one would think he has had time to adjust. His command has just been too streaky, and I hope he fixes it by the Playoffs. I would not start him in the 2d slot if the Playoffs started today, but I bet the team does.
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I’m very tempted to quote Jim’s comment about Castro playing against eighties again…
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Righties*
Although at this point I don’t trust him against people from the eighties, either. Or people in their eighties…
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Hasn’t exactly impressed against lefties either.
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Like I said before, rebirth of Michael Martinez.
Cut bait.
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That’s not fair to MM. He was a positive defensive contributor for his career.
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Looks like Pache might be back for the Blue Jays series starting on Tuesday. As for Alvarado, he’s looking to be back for the Nats series starting on Friday.
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Wonder with six man rotation , if they skip Walkers next turn, I think he has tired arm, buy just guessing,
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I just checked the Phillies upcoming pitchers, and looks like it’s going back to a 5 man rotation. Sanchez is not projected to start anymore:
today: Suarez
Tuesday: Wheeler
Wednesday: Nola
Friday: Lorenzen
Saturday: Walker
Sunday: Suarez
Walker is going to get 6 days between starts. Lorenzen is getting 8 days between starts. If the Phillies wanted to switch Walker and Suarez next weekend or even skip Walker’s start, the schedule will allow for that.
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Nola will have 5 days off between starts…Aug 10th vs Nats and Wed, Aug 16th vs Jays up there. He is my concern. He has done better with the extra day off, let’s see how it works out for him at the Rogers Center.
BTW…..does Canada still require visiting players to be vaccinated?
Is Nola vaccinated?
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Maybe better anyways to start Lorenzen on Wed and save Nola for the Nats in DC for Thursday
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Canada does not require players to be vaccinated.
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Ok …thanks for that info.
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But if it did, Realmuto would not be allowed to play- if I recall correctly
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Looks like Sanchez will be starting after all, he’s slated to start Saturday’s game. Suarez will be pitching Sunday, and the earliest Walker will pitch is Aug. 21 vs the Giants, if he doesn’t get skipped.
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Amazing how a team can score 13 runs one game and then the next two games struggle to get just a few runs. Understand Lopez last nite…he is a tough pitcher,
But Sonny Gray is hittable if one can show some patience
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Agree Romus! He is a good Pitcher, not a great one! That is why he is a perpetual trade rumor! But our top 3 lefties, Schwarber, Harper and Stott treated him like he’s Bob Gibson.
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yes matt;
The Phillies Fab Five of Harper, Turner, JTR, Castellanos and Schwarber…all considered outstanding players in their own right,
they have a combine total of 51 years MLB experience.
Then I look at five stars on the Braves….Acuna, Albies, Olson, Riley and Murphy…total MLB experience 31 years.
And yet the game-to-game results could not be so different.
The five Braves players seem to be genulne better hitters.
I cannot figure it out.
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Over the years, Lopez and Gray have always given the Phillies fits. This team has a lot of problems versus quality pitching. They beat up on average pitchers but struggle with the tough ones. They are going to face good pitching in Toronto. I hope they could win at least one.
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I’m more worried about the pitching. The Blue Jays can hit, especially in the Rogers Centre. However, Bo Bichette and Kevin Keirmeier are hurt and they are the 2nd and 3rd WAR leaders on the Jays.
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I get that but I’m still worried about the offense. We lost 3-0 yesterday. This LU should be able to score 3-4 on a bas night.
Schwarber twice with bases loaded couldn’t push a run in
And Bohm (I’m a big fan) can’t leave that pitch to the ump. As Michael Jack (my ATF Phillie) said during the broadcast even though it was a ball it was too close to take.
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I don’t agree with the, “too close to take” sentiment.
If he swung and missed on that pitch, the fans would (rightfully) be livid because of how far out of the zone it was. That wasn’t a pitch that was barely off the plate. It was so far inside that it was STILL a ball AFTER THE CATCHER FRAMED THE PITCH.
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And yet I hear many do not want ABS. Heard some say…..let the umps keep making the calls.
MLB can make all kinds of wierd rule changes over these last two years….but something as important as balls vs strike accuracy…..nah lets just live with six doxen different umpire callings on balls and strikes .
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Yeah, I’m pretty traditionalist when it comes to a lot of rules (can we please remove the ghost runner now that games have been shortened?). But I am all for robo umps. We at least need a challenge system, because calls like last night simply cannot be allowed to happen.
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Enjoyed the lively discussion surrounding Nola. He’s always been a product of expectation IMO. He wasn’t drafted with a 1 expectation more of a 2 or 3 expectation or high floor low ceiling guy who could come quick to to the MLB if you pay attention to RAJ.
He’s kind of surpassed that but is still who he is. My favorite pitching stat the one I generally gaze at first is WHIP then K/9.
Nola 2022 .961/10.3
Nola 2023 1.139/9.3
No doubt in my mind the pitch clock has had a big effect on him you can see it when he’s on the mound. Let’s add in the HR/9
2022 .8 which was 3 ticks below his career norms
2023 1.6 which is 5 ticks above his career norms
He’s not the type of pitcher with stuff that he can make mistakes over the plate and get away with it. This season he seems rushed and therefore seems to be leaving more balls over the plate.
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Surprised that Thomson wants Pache to play more games at Lehigh before he gets activated. The Phillies are facing Kikuchi tomorrow, and Pache has raked LH pitching this year.
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Crawford promoted, according to Alex Coffey.
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It’s about time. He’s 19 and he’s slashing .344/.399/.478 at low A. In his draft class, Termarr Johnson (#4 overall) and Jett Williams (#14) are already at A+, and Crawford has a better OPS than those 2 guys. You can argue that Crawford has been the second best HS player picked in the first round, behind Jackson Holliday who’s looking like he’s going to be making his MLB debut NEXT season.
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Completely agree with you DMAR, on Nola. Now the question is “what do we do with him?” He isn’t taking #3 SP $, and he isn’t worth #1. Do we QO him knowing he declines it, and move on? Who replaces him?
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If you don’t want to give him the money he wants, just QO him. If you’re paying him to be a 4 WAR pitcher but you know he’s a 2 WAR pitcher, what’s the point of doing that?
The Phillies can easily give short term deals to Lorenzen or Marcus Stroman. I think Blake Snell is going to get paid so not sure the Phillies want to go that route.
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Matt I say don’t do anything but QO him. I say that assuming they made him an extension offer that he didn’t feel comfortable with.
These things have a way or working themselves out and if we don’t retain him it won’t be the end of the world.
The Braves didn’t crash and burn allowing Freddie to walk…
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Looks like the Phillies get Kikuchi (as The Guru wrote) and most likely Gausman in the Blue Jays mini series. Kikuchi has been pitching lights out of late and Gausman almost always dominates our boys. It’ll be tough to get even a split with them.
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Still very early in his career, but Rojas has perennial gold glove potential. 6 DRS in only 171 innings is Kiermaier level good.
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If the players around him do what they should offensively you can be a very good team with a light hitting CF that good at taking hits and runs off the board.
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What’s amazing is as well as Rojas has played the outfield, Pache was equally impressive. Both guys have a chance of being 2-3 WAR outfielders, which is exceedingly rare and makes their upside very high (especially in relation to how poorly Schwarber plays the field). But Rojas is one of the most graceful outfielders I have ever seen – he is beautiful to watch out there.
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Now up to 7 DRS. He got an extra DRS last night based on that great diving catch. He really is a weapon in the OF.
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🙂 Jimmy is going to slap me down for org discourse in the wrong thread…
I thought last season was spectacular for the fans and the city. 14 years before that there was 2008-09 and a string of NL East Pennants… that was better. Way better.
I love being at CBP. I believe the staff there and the experience is second to none.
I love rooting for and seeing our home grown players come up through the minors and make it to the MLB and do well.
When I shell out my hard earned money for a Jersey or T its always of a player that came up through the system. One of my prized possessions is my Schmidt Jersey but I have Utley, Rollins, Hamels, Hoskins and most recent Bohm.
Its not to say I don’t like the FA guys that come in. I do but I take a little more pride in the guys we draft.
I think that can all be separate from being critical or pointing out others are doing it better and wanting to be better and wanting us to catch up.
If your reaction to that is go root for another team then I don’t ever want to see you post anything but diamonds and roses about the franchise or any of its players.
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Can’t wait for Alvarado to return. Seranthony not throwing enough strikes right now to pitch in big spots.
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I don’t think I’d personally trust the guy who walked two to continue pitching with the bases loaded, but what do I know…
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In close games against good teams it’s the little things. Schwarber playing LF late can’t make a play and Seranthony throwing too many non-competitive pitches is the difference.
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1-2-3-4 had 0 Hits; 0 BBs and 9 Ks Kikuchi had been throwing really well coming into last night but that is a little disheartening.
The incessant need to keep Kyle batting LO is baffling
We currently have only 1 player OPSing over 800 and that’s Marsh.
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DMAR……why cna’t Thomson juggle the lineup more…..other than Turner and Bohm switcheroo, which seem to work so far….he basically keeps it going the same up top.
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Don’t know and I’m all about a consistent LU til I’m not. Generally speaking I want a guy with a high OBP a good eye in the 1 hole. Then I want my best OPS hitter 2 or 3.
Granted you can’t have stiffs every where else in the LU and expect to win.
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Rays season which started ablaze came crumbling yesterday….Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan out until 2025….will be his second TJ in last 8 years. Not many pitchers come back at peak performances the second time around.
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It’s tough because he was already 26 and about to enter into arbitration. He would have gotten a nice bump in salary. Now he won’t be back until he’s 28 and nobody knows how well he will recover.
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Yeah….less than 50 have had it twice.
“On average, the typical TJ revision isn’t as successful as the typical primary TJ,” Dr. Andrew Cosgarea, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said Tuesday. “… The first time you drill a hole in the bone it is fresh and clean, but if it happens again you already have a hole there and that hole is filled with scar tissue. … Scar tissue isn’t as healthy as original tissue. It doesn’t have the same blood supply; (it is) not as durable. We can get closer and closer to normalcy but never reach it. … All of those things incrementally help improve the outcome, but in the end we’ll never reach perfection. It’s just not ever going to be quite as successful.”
Of the 42 major league pitchers who have had two Tommy John surgeries, the majority did not pitch in the majors again after their second or fared poorly over a short period. But many of those pitchers were well into their 30s at the time of the second surgery.
But some have had return success….Jacob deGrom, Stephen Strasburg, Adam Wainwright and David Wells are among several well-known pitchers to have thrived after the surgery..but Strasburg looks done now.
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Not sure they can salvage their season without him. The Orioles are blasting through what many thought was their ceiling from last year.
Mike Elias has done a fantastic job putting that club on a good footing. I’ll be interested to see how he augments it when more spend becomes necessary and he will have to trade from his surplus of prospects and young players at some point.
They are second only to the Braves in record with 74 wins. With virtually 0 payroll.
Elias appears to have learned a thing or two coming out of the Astros system.
I know Luhnow became a pariah of sorts but whatever process it was that he implemented appears to be plug and play.
Luhnow was fired by Jim Crane in 2020. I wonder how long before he finds his way back into a FO.
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“Luhnow was fired by Jim Crane in 2020. I wonder how long before he finds his way back into a FO”…because of the nature of the firing, MLB and probably the commissioner, may not think it is a good idea for him to be back. Luhnow sued the Astros claiming owner Jim Crane had struck a deal with commissioner Manfred to make Luhnow a scagegoat for the sign-stealing scandal.
All about perception and public relations.
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How can Schwarber be out in LF in that situation? He not only dropped the ball, he started by backing up on a ball hit in front if him. Brutal! SerA can’t throw strikes and should not be the 8th inning guy. And our only 2 hitters were Sosa and Rojas, the top of the lineup not only ofer’d, the ABs were terrible!
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Weak point in the offense overall and why they are so inconsistent is because they have too much swing/miss throughout the entire lineup. They don’t put big innings together because their offense in dependent on stringing together a bunch of base hits which is hard to do.
They have only 2 regular players below league average in K-Rate (Stott, Bohm) and only 3 above league average in walk rate (Schwarber, Harper, Marsh). Against good pitching, they swing and miss a lot which leads to a bunch of 0-4 nights and 1-2-3 innings.
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Or, in Schwarber’s case last night, too much looking at called srikes!
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Everybody in this town loves Kyle and he’s an incredible human being but this has to be a performance based business.
Its all well and good to be a players manager but there comes a time when you have to put personal feelings aside and do what is best for the team.
And what is best for the team right now if for Kyle not to be out in LF and be further down the LU.
And not sure what Bryce’s issue is with being out at 1B every night but it throws a monkey wrench into this club. I’m guessing there is good reason for it but it doesn’t make it productive.
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Guessing that Harper’s back is still an issue they are trying to protect by limiting his time at 1b. Also helps explain how his swing has suddenly gone awry after it appeared he was starting to drive the ball with more authority.
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So I think this is where they run into trouble. Is a hurt BH better than a 10 day DL stint with Hall at 1B and Schwarber exclusively at DH?
I know how tough Bryce is he’ll demand to play through anything he can but at what cost.
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Hall is raking right now at LHV
Last 99 PAs….296/.374/.546…7 HRs….19 RBIs
He could be an adrenaline surge for the big club.
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Well his back/swing looked better yesterday :). Here’s hoping that the few off days sprinkled in this week is enough to clean-up the spasm issues and he becomes more full-time 1b so Schwarber can get out of LF.
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LOl yea it did and that I suppose is the frustration. When he’s out at 1B everything seems to click…
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Another 2 K’s looking for Schwarber and another HR given by Nola! Just not good enough
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Aaron Nola did them a big favor in not signing the contract they offered him. I’d tender Nola a qualified offer, but otherwise, if I’m the Phillies, he’s just another option out there when it comes to free agency.
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i just watched replay of game on utube. Nola stuff didn’t look bad, That Homerun was on a 4 seam fastball and he was at 94, the guy who hit it move his hands forwards early and still crushed it, never saw that before, I think from the replay it was his location not his stuff,
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His velocity wasn’t bad. Ironically, his biggest issue is that he curveball which was always his best pitch is not sharp. He’s rolling it up to the plate which leaves a lot of them hanging.
Other issue is that his command is off. Took him almost 100 pitches to get through 5 innings yesterday which is unusual for a guy who led the league recently in k/walk rate.
Between the good pitches, he’s making too many mistakes and those mistakes are getting hit hard.
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I think you guys are looking at the glass half-full. Yeah … Nola came out firing 94 early. It didn’t last long. In fact, by the 4th inning (pitch count was at 64), Aaron threw just one more pitch to hit 92. He was 89-91. And that was on 5 days rest. Yikes!
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Nola’s velocity:
– 4 seem average:
Career: 92.8 mph
2022: 92.9
2023: 92.8
– 2 seem average:
Career: 91.7mph
2022: 92.3
2023: 91.9
His velocity is not the issue.
That said, his Ks are down and his walks are up. And his Homers/9 is highest in career.
I have no idea why that is.
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/aaron-nola/16149/stats?position=P
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Nola hasn’t “lost it”. He’s just pressing. He’ll sign a 5-6 contract with some team this off season and he will be very successful for a few years. My opinion, of course. I’ll be happy for him and miss him a lot. He has given plenty to this organization and to us fans and most of all, he’s home grown.
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His command is off…and below 94velo, it just will not play with MLB hitters.
Like to see him induce more GBs, like earlier in his career with a 2SMr or his version of a sinker.
And at this point of his career, he should work to learn a split-finger FB as out-pitch. Guys foul off too many of his two-strike pitches….then there are those HRs, ouch.
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Romus- rocco told me to agree with you that Nola does throw way too many pitches that are fouled off – that’s what runs up his pitch count. In last night’s game there was a whole different feel when Hinkie’s guy Stramm came in – it was very apparent they were not going to get much going with him. The contrast between his 95+ fastball, slider/location and what Nola was throwing was stark.
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RU….so now you are listening to rocco’s advice!
If that doesn’t beat all. LOL
If Kevin Cash was managing the team…Nola would not start another game…he’d have an opener like Stramm come in for the first 2 innings, then bring Nola in to maybe face the bottom of the order, to start the third.
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I think Aaron will not have to worry about giving up the most HRs this season…that ‘honor’ may go to Lance Lynn.
1 Lance Lynn P 1 ….32
2 Aaron Nola P 2…. 26
3 Lucas Giolito P 3 ..25
3 Joe Ryan P 3 …..25
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Zach Gallen is the new Aaron Nola. They pitch alike, they are the same height and build and even look alike. My theory is that, when Gallen pitches, he robs Nola of his “life essence.”
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Good article on our young core of Stott, Bohm and Marsh and the massive impact that Kevin Long has had. A few highlights:
“That 82-win season (2021) was jarring. The Phillies devoted 886 plate appearances to hitters age 26 or younger. Only two teams had fewer. Those young hitters produced a .646 OPS that ranked 29th in baseball…The Phillies have committed 1,435 plate appearances to hitters 26 and younger in 2023. Those players have a .783 OPS, the highest mark for a collection of 26-and-under Phillies hitters since a two-year span from 2005 to 2006.”
On KL’s impact:
“Stott going from a toe-tap to the no-stride swing. Bohm learning how to catch fastballs now. He’s a really good fastball hitter. Marsh, when he came in, everything was late, late, late. And he’s a different hitter.”
https://theathletic.com/4785544/2023/08/18/phillies-young-hitters-stott-bohm-marsh/?source=user_shared_article
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I can only hope that Castro gets sent down (on Pache’s return) That leaves Sosa and Wilson as bench IF with Wilson being able to play some corner OF.
I love Wilson’s discipline at the plate. He has 5 BBs in 10 of his PAs. Sosa has 5 BBs in 225. (if they keep Castro and send out Wilson I’ll be livid)
Cave has been solid as a LHH OF and some 1B but he or Rojas likely on the cut when Marsh returns.
Rojas feels like a big part of the team chemistry right now. It stinks that we’re in this situation.
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Marsh batted lead off last night for the Pigs; went 2-for-3 with two RBI, two walks and a strikeout.
I wish Thomson had the nuts to make that move on the big club.
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DMAR ..agree.
Schwarber needs to be moved down the lineup for now. Leads league in Ks…OPS+ is 101
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The Angels are calling up the #11 pick of THIS year’s draft Nolan Schanuel. Apparently 21 minor league games is enough to promote him to the bigs at age 21!
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Moreno must call many of the personnel moves.
And it seems to backfire on him.
He could have solidified his pitching for years if he just sucked it up and traded Ohtani to the Dodgers for the last two months of the season.
Dodgers would probably willing to give up Bobby Miller, Payton Martin, Gavin Stone and right no injured Dustin May for Ohtani,
Then Moreno could have tried to resign Ohtani in December.
The Angel fans are probably beyond destraught as they sink in the West……their only hope is that the Angels make more deals with the Phillies to stock up their system with talent.
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Romus – I think the only reason they didn’t trade Ohtani was if he continued to hit HR’s and had gone on the chase to 62 it would have meant larger ++gates. I think Moreno figured it was better to get the extra half a $million per home game for 25 games than trade Ohtani for prospects and not get the gate monies. I think reasoning was all economic – but a clearly a terrible baseball trading error to not move him at the deadline for 4 prospects. They could write it off to “hoping” for a playoff spot – but really ???? Know your team ? They don’t.
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RU….you are probably correct.
$$$ was probably the biggest motivator for Moreno, along with some loyalty to Ohtani, though Ohtani may want to get into the play-offs at some point of his career as he watches Trout in a play-off drought, and does not want that for himself.
As for the fans…….they come up short once again.
Good thing they are laid back SoCal fans….not like Philly fans.
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If Rojas continues to play throughout the remainder of the year, he will win a Gold Glove.
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And I’m telling you, if he was the one playing centerfield, Pache would be right up there with where Rojas has landed. But how about big old chunky Max Muncy saving runs at third base like Brooks Robinson? That’s crazy!!!
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Also crazy…Gary Sanchez now of the Padres…career 66 pass balls in 601 games…but now only one in his last 50 games.
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Rojas certainly would deserve it……but sentimentally they probably will give it to Cody Bellinger with his rebouind season.
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Rojas has played in 25 games so he doesn’t deserve it and he also has no national reputation so he won’t get it anyway. Maybe he’ll play enough games next year to be considered.
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I think vi’s premise was that he plays the remaining 40 some games of the season…giving him approx 65 games total.
However, that still may not be enough under Rawling’s selection criteria:
“All infielders and outfielders must have played in the field for at least 698 total innings through his team’s 138th game: this equates to playing in the field for approximately 7.5 innings per game in approximately 67% of his team’s games by his team’s 138th game; this ensures that only full-time players are considered”
SDI accounts for approx. 25% of the vote (30) votes
And as of Aug 13 the CFers in the NL at the top of the leaderboard >1 follow:
Brenton Doyle..COL…11.7
Alex Call…WSN…5.1
Alek Thomas…ARI…5.1
Joey Wiemer….MIL…4.9
Michael Harris II…ATL….3.3
Cody Bellinger CHC…3.0
Brandon Marsh…PHI… 1.6
Mike Yastrzemski…SFG…1.5
Lars Nootbaar…Stl…1.3
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I tried googling this, but google failed me… I think we could witness something never before done in MLB history tonight
Most amount on consecutive outs vs 1 team from the same pitcher …
With the new scheduling, I wonder if any pitcher who has thrown a no hitter has faced the same team in their next start … this may have never happened as well. Something to thing about as you are watching the outs being recorded
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So, v1 had to go and jinx Rojas, and he drops a fly ball. Not his fault Lorenzen didn’t have it last night, but a pretty bad error. And, I love the kid!
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Concur, V1 hexed him and wilted his mojo!
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Do you remember years ago when Oldsmobile (or some other American car company) was trying to change the mindset of the public? Their ad read something like: This is not your father’s (or grandfather’s) Oldsmobile. Well, these aren’t your father’s Washington Nationals.
This is a really scrappy young team that gets the most out of their talent. Because of the Nationals, the Phillies were able to make the playoffs last year and eventually run into the World Series. If the Phillies stumble and don’t make the playoffs, it might be because of the Nats.
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And they have three mega monsters coming up, OFers James Wood and Dylan Crews and 3b Brady House……their seemingly only weakness…..pitching
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And, I was joking about v1. It usually works the opposite when I vent here about some bad play or poor AB with RISP, and then we win the game right after I vented.
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Would you be interested over the next six weeks, in venting 40 more times!
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Happy to do my part, Romus! Castellanos had some truly awful ABs. One K was on a pitch that seemed 10 feet outside.
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Then earlier in the game he stares at a third strike dead red pitch.
I shake my head when players with some much experience, ie Schwarber, Castellanos et al freeze on thrid strike pitches….then am amazed with yuoungins’ like Stott, Bohm and sometimes Marsh get defensive after two strikes, and just meet the ball and something good happens at tiems
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ROMUS stop getting Jim mad, i will get banned again,
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rocco….I believe you still hold the record for banishments.
Not sure if anyone is close to you at this point.
Hey roc…wants one more!
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Does anyone know if we get thrown out on the bases, trying to take an extra base, more than any team in the league? It sure seems like we do! And of course in the bottom of the inning where we ran ourselves out of a run, they score 2.
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I was positive we weren’t leading the league, if only because I know how the Reds run with reckless abandon this year. So I checked the numbers for you.
Phils are 7th in base running outs (not including POs and CS). They’re at 40, league average is 35, and I was right about the Reds who lead the league at 55.
Also worth mentioning: Phils are 8th in percentage of extra bases taken (44%, league average of 43%. Braves are first at 52%, Angels last at 38%). And we’re 6th in SB% (83%, league average 80%. Mets somehow first at 90%, Rockies last at 72%).
So we’re a relatively balanced running team, all things considered. But on the other hand, not really. We’re sort of being carried by Turner and Stott. They’re our only starters that are above league average in those, and they are WELL above average (Rojas also, but his numbers are still SSS).
Castellanos (7), Harper (5), and Realmuto (5) account for 42.5% of our team base running outs.
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Dan K…good get on the data mining.
I’d had hope Marsh and Pache would help along those lines with SBs….but they need to stay on the field more.
Rojas will help those nubers if he stays with the club until the end.
Mets @ 90% EB taken, …assume that is mostly the workings of Lindor, Nimmo and McNeil
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Mets @ 90% SB%…..,
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Funnily it’s almost entirely Lindor (21 steals, 91%) and Starling Marte (24 steals, 86%). That’s over 51% of their team’s steals right there (88).
But interestingly… of every player on their team to steal a base, only ONE is below average is success rate: Nimmo at 50% (3 for 6). Which gives them ten players above the average, and one exactly on it (Alonso).
Compare that to the Phils who have EIGHT players below average. And five of those eight are starters (Castellanos and Harper at 78%, Marsh and JT at 75%, and Schwarber at 0% lol). Obviously most of those players on both teams are one success/failure away from hopping that line. But it’s still interesting.
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Thanks Dan! Reds have quite a lead on us. Bats sure came alive!
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When Marsh and Pache return, who’s gone? I have to believe that Rojas needs much more seasoning as a hitter. I imagine he, Cave and Wilson will be in LHV.
With Suarez out for who knows how long, I think it makes sense to bring up Nelson if they need another starter. He’s stretched out and has done well recently.
Looks like only Soto and Stram are the only lefties in the bullpen. Not too hard to fathom that if Falter was still in the organization, he may have been called up.
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Brandon Marsh is expected to be activated for tonight’s game. Alvarado is expected to be activated for Monday night’s game.
With Suarez hitting the IL, the Phillies are expected to go back to a 5 man rotation. Walker is expected to start this week vs the Giants. If he has a setback and has to go to the IL, I’m expecting Nick Nelson (who’s getting stretched out at Lehigh) to be the next starter up.
Cristopher Sanchez is saving the Phillies rotation. He wasn’t performing that well at Lehigh when he replaced Falter but his walk rate has plummeted to 1.7 which is the best on the staff. He’s had 12 starts already (more than a 3rd of the season worth) and at age 26, has now become the starter that I never thought he could be. Can he keep this up? I really don’t know but you figure that he has a lock on a rotation spot next season.
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Maybe the reason Nola is having such a tough year is because Sanchez is siphoning his talent… Did Nola touch a glowing baseball recently?
Yeah, at this point Sanchez has to have the inside track on the #5 spot in the rotation going forward. I’m very skeptical that he can keep it up, but he’s earned the right to keep pitching until he fails now.
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I too, was impressed by Sanchez yesterday. Without the sloppy defense he was firmly in control for 6 innings and 2 of the 3 runs were tainted. Moreover he didn’t walk anybody and held his pitches to a controllable amount. Is it ever possible that there will be a positive return from the infamous Mead to Tampa trade ?
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BR/Fangraphs list Sanchez as 6’1″, Ben Davis post game yesterday said he was 6″6″…I think if he pulled his pants down to his ankles when he pitches he would be back to 6’1″.
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Romus you made a funny?
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Romus … that’s funny you mentioned Ben Davis’ comments. I heard the same thing (he actually mention Sanchez could be as tall as 6’7″). I’ve noticed Sanchez looks taller too. But when I researched, nearly every source (Baseball Ref, Fangraphs, MLB.com, etc) still has the Phillies SP5/6 @ 6’1″/165. The only outlier is MLB The Show (for all you gamers). They have Sanchez listed @ 6’5″/165. https://mlb22.theshow.com/items/9cd140e02215cbdb699bbeb53e57ac96
I also found a pic of Sanchez next to JT Realmuto. Sanchez has got a few inches on Realmuto. IMO, Sanchez is most likely 6’5″/205.
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Hinkie…thanks for that info.
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Wheeler is making a funny tonight. WTF?
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In 13 games vs the Nationals, Wheeler has started 4 games:
21.2 innings, 18 runs, 7.48 ERA = Nats have had Wheeler’s number this season
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And the Phillies lost 6 games to the Nats this season ( overall 7-6)…all by one run.
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And, Romus, I think we won the 7 games by a total of 49 runs! The game Wheeler pitched vs the Nats, and we won, we scored 8 runs. Against the same guy who we made look like Bob Gibson last night. Now come the Giants who we owe for sweeping us in SF earlier in May. As we are getting towards the end of August, a little consistency would be nice. But, we are the opposite. Amazing how bad we can make ourselves look!
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matt13….you said the magic word….consistency.
For whatever reason, this team just does not have it.
And its the veteran high dollar five that are the more inconsistent.
I look at the large market teams that spend $$$ on free agents…Yankees, Mets, Angels, now the Padres and even the Phillies…and the teams are all inconsistent and frustrating to their fanbases
There must be a moral to that story..
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Yeah, I have come to the same conclusion. The rookies are the ones that are pumped and displaying the fire. The big money players seem to be nonchalant and too laid-back IMO. Need a Pete Rose type on this team, someone who can kick some A.. Frank Robinson, etc. The guys who get things rolling are guys like Stott who I am really impressed with this year. Hope he doesn’t regress on the fire starter initiative. Who is going down or out when Pache comes up? When do the rosters expand?
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Skeet….I see Pache is nicked again over the weekend.
So Rojas stays for a lttle bit longer.
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Rosters expand to 28 players on Sep 1. The limit is 14 pitchers (instead of 13 pitchers).
Weston Wilson has already been optioned after the Little League Classic in response to Marsh getting activated.
Pache was supposed to be activated for the Giants series but he has some hip tightness that the Phillies don’t think is serious. He might be activated for the next series (vs St. Louis) if it’s minor. Rojas is likely the odd man out when Pache comes back. Rojas is likely the player coming back when rosters expand.
Looks like Suarez won’t be back until early September (hopefully).
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Thanks.
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Romus it happens look at your and me i bought a cheap wig, You did transplant for 30000 and my wig looks better, for 8.00 at walmart
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rocco….I also thought about the $8 ‘rug’ from Walmart…but when I looked inside the label said, Made in China from panda hair…so I passed.
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There has never been a team in any major North American professional sport that could consistently buy a championship or even consistently buy its way deep into the playoffs. The Yankees were, however, close. But during the years they were their best (1998-2003) – their home grown players and below-the-radar acquisitions were what made them so great. Steven Cohen has now experienced this failure, but, to his credit, he pivoted very quickly. Now let’s see if he can stay the course (here’s to hoping he cannot).
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Then again, knowing of the hedge fund manager, Cohen may be setting up for the upcoming Ohtani sweepstakes event this off-season..
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I’d be surprised if the bidding among interested teams started at less than $50 million a year and it makes sense. You’re getting an MVP with the bat and a potential Cy Young on the mound. But beware – it’s not nearly enough. Even when Trout was healthy, the Angels weren’t a clear playoff team.
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Yeah…agree.
But owners also see the lucrative financial return with the number one guy in baseball.
IMO, in the line to get his singtaur are five West Coast team…Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Padres and Angels…..then the East Coast biggies like the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox.
The bidding could be astronomical, along with the length of the contract. Maybe ‘Bobby Bonilla’ contract long in scope.
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catch, I expect Steve Cohen to get right back into the FA market, especially with Ohtani oin the market. I don’t think he has any patience for a build through the farm system approach. He, more likely, thinks they paid the wrong guys, and will go try that all over again.
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I get the argument for paying him as if he were two players but the reality is he is just one player and any type of injury puts a large percentage of your payroll in jeopardy and thus takes out 2 players at once….possibly.
It be too much of a gamble for me personally.
I know some team is going to do it though. I’m just glad we have balanced schedules now so I can see him when he comes to town on some other team.
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The two positions being injured at once is the risk factor. But with big time pitchers getting paid like $43 million, add to that an MVP bat and, still, the bidding has to begin over $50 million per year. I think he ends up signing for like 9 years and $475-500 million. I’m not kidding. Don’t be surprised if the Red Sox get involved. They have been saving money for a rainy day. But winning bidder will almost certainly be among NYM, NYY, LAA, LAD, Bos, and maybe even SD. I don’t see the Phillies in this bidding war at all.
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Yes, agree.
I do not think the Phillies will be a big player in the Ohtani event.
I still think West and East Coast large market will be teams making the big push….with the Mariners and Padres also there.
Giants missed out on local favorite guy Judge last off-season, but that could be a blessing in disguise, since they have the money now for the Ohtani push.
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Agreed. Ohtani is not coming here. I think he gets 11/500M.
Top 3 likliest Ohtani destinations:
1 Dodgers
2 Angels
3 Mariners
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I did not catch that Sam Aldegheri was promoted. He had a nice debut throwing 5 scoreless IP.
The highs and lows for the big club may be a bit too much for me LOL.
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That wasn’t Aldegheri’s debut, that was his second start for JS. He got rocked in his debut, but he bounced back nicely.
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Oh maybe they meant it was his first start at home because this is how they lead the article:
August 18, 2023
JERSEY SHORE, NJ – Samuel Aldegheri threw five scoreless innings and struck out six in his BlueClaws debut as the BlueClaws on their third straight game, and 20th in their last 25 in a 6-0 win over Asheville on Friday at sold out ShoreTown Ballpark
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I think we are overlooking Rincones perhaps a little too much. He’s in his first year of minor league ball, has already been promoted once and is now settling in really well at high A ball. He’s a huge breakout candidate for next year. I will definitely have to find a place for him in my top 10. As a hitter, I feel about him the way I felt about O’Hoppe before he had his breakout. We may have a legitimate slugger on our hands with Rincones and we need this. He could easily be one of our corner outfielders in a few years when the team desperately needs more salary relief.
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I’m not overlooking Rincones. He has time to develop.
The Phillies have $38M coming off the books from Nola, Hoskins, Kimbrel. I seriously doubt that these 3 guys are re-signing with the Phillies. I would let Hoskins walk, give the QO to Nola and I’m 50/50 on Kimbrel.
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I bet the Phillies re-sign Kimbrel, give a QO to Nola (but probably don’t give him the contract he wants – at least I hope not), but I have no idea what will happen with Hoskins. If the team didn’t have 3 bad fielders already who are out of position (Schwarber, Castellanos and Harper), it might be different, but I honestly can’t figure out where you put him if you keep both Schwarbs and Castellanos.
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When it comes to Rhys’ future…..the loyolaty factor concerns me with John Middleton.
Dombrowski is business and probably will see it that way,
….but Middleton could push for the other avenue.
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Romus – I love how you dubbed the boys with the bucks “The High Dollar Five”. Add Moffo in there and it will be the high dollar six.
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1 more and we have the “Magnificent Seven”!
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Congratulations to Aaron Nola on setting a new career high in Home Runs! And there’s still over a month left in the season!
It’s just a shame that he’s a pitcher and not a hitter…
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All kids 14 and under get a free baseball. Courtesy of Aaron Nola.
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Covey why is he on this team Thompson you waited too long
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I want tow win, and have not understood why we kept him on the team, but I actually feel bad for him!
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Don’t feel too bad. He’s making a lot of money and has locked up a pension just by being a bad pitcher.
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Covey is the long man, he’s usually pitching in blowouts. He has actually pitched better of late, before tonight’s meltdown.
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Coming in during blowouts is fine. But Thomson really needs to yank him when he hits a guy with the bases loaded. Especially when they’re loaded because he walked the two guys before that.
For one, it’s dangerous for the opposing hitters. He throws mid-90s. He can easily break bones, or even give someone a concussion. But also, bases loaded, no outs, with a run already scored is a good way to turn a blowout into a close game real fast.
Also also, he hasn’t really pitched better of late. He’s been lucky enough to not give up so many runs, but before tonight he had 5 K’s to 4 BB’s in his last 5 appearances. 4 of those K’s came in one game… And that’s not accounting for hits and hard hit outs. He’s… adequate… as the last man out of the ‘pen and mop up. But we still need to be careful of his usage.
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Are we really arguing about being a long man? There’s a reason why he’s a long man. If he was any better, he wouldn’t be a long man. And if he was any worse, he would be in the minors. His job is to eat innings and not give up a crazy amount of runs. Covey’s ERA is 5.00 (FIP 4.68) and his WAR is -0.1, and that’s after last night. That’s perfectly acceptable for a long man. And if he got replaced by say Luis Ortiz, that would be fine too. If you look at his game log, the last time he gave up 2 earned runs in an outing was July 14, and he pitched 2 innings.
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But out of 100+ pitchers in the organization that is the best you can put out there and then quickly need to replace to secure an 8- run lead. Yikes!
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Denny….what Covey did for the Giants last night…..was give them a little life for tonight’s game. When a team is down…keep them down.
Tonight the prospect kid may come out a shut down the Phillies hitters while the SF offense comes back to life.
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That is a perfect storm that has happened to the Phillies too often. I have frequently questioned the Phillies’ advanced scouting after getting shut down by a rookie.
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As I said, he’s adequate for that role. But just because the end result was better doesn’t mean he was PITCHING better. Sometimes bad pitchers don’t give up runs. Last night they (statistically) should have scored MORE than two runs off of him. But Bohm made that nice grab on a line drive, and we got out of it. Luck comes into play in these things, too.
It’s dangerous to leave a guy out there who can’t control where the ball is going. Both in terms of winning the game, and in terms of player safety.
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Part of my second paragraph accidentally got deleted before posting:
Wanted to start by saying my issue wasn’t Covey coming in or even that he’s on the roster, really. I just wanted him to get yanked immediately after the HBP. For the reasons I listed.
Thomson is the type of manager who wants to let his pitchers work through their wildness. But you can’t really do that in close games (Seranthony against the Jays last week…) or when the guy is literally a danger to the well-being of the batters.
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I think everyone should calm down a little. Covey is the 13th man on the staff. That guy typically is not a good pitcher. They will experiment and rotate guys through until they find the right pitcher – and that guy could end up being Orion Kerkering. As for putting him in the game, I might not have, but it wasn’t a crazy thing at all with an 8 run lead. Unlike Girardi, Thomson doesn’t let these things get too far out of hand (to this day, I cannot remember a manager who had a worse sense of timing as to when to take a pitcher out of a game than Joe Girardi – it was so bad it was almost comical). You can quibble with when he took him out, but it was fine. I would suspect Covey will be sent down either now or if his next outing is bad.
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His sense of timing wasn’t necessarily bad, but Cholly had some equally bewildering bullpen decisions in his day. On the whole, I’m not sure who I think was the worse bullpen manager between the two.
Luckily, Manuel was a hitting guru on a team with some of the best Phillies hitters ever. So that worked out pretty well for us, and he was definitely the better manager overall.
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I DONT care if he is long man or short, 34 hits in his last 27 innings with 11 walks , Not a stat man but thats 45 runners in 27 innings thats a lot , his job is to throw strikes, i am waiting for Thompson to show some ???? And pull these guys who come in with the lead and start walking guys, send a message, There is no reason Covey should not be sent down today, and that long man junk is just that, you need to be able to use all your pitchers in games, not have someone sit in bullpen until, we have a big lead, then used him.
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rocco…..I happen to agree with you.
Maybe time to give Bellatti another crack at it…or even Brogdon.
They have both been hot and cold at LHV, but sometimes the extra adrenaline kicks in on a MLB return.
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Well Bellatti is back on the roster, so if he doesn’t get lit up maybe he stays and Covey goes when Ranger comes back.
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I agree with rocco, also, Romus. I am not dumping on Covey. To me, this is a FO and Manager issue. First, I question the choice of the “long/mop up guy” and don’t know why we couldn’t have made another choice, especially at the deadline. But that is a different story. My issue with Topper is Covey is not a guy who can correct himself during the outing. He has it or he doesn’t. You can’t go out there with a huge lead and not throw strikes. He should have been pulled after walk #2.
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Is it frustrating to see Covey walk guys with a huge lead? Yes. But if he got out of the inning giving up 2 runs, he did his job. And everybody would calm down and be happy with the win.
You’re not going to have 8 lights out relievers. That means you’re going to use your high leverage guys sparingly. That’s what a long man is for, to eat innings so that you don’t have to use your high leverage guys. It just so happened that Covey had a meltdown. It happens. He won’t be replaced until he starts giving up more runs or he can’t finish innings.
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But he didn’t get out of the inning. In fact, he got zero outs. HOFFMAN got us out of the inning. So your second condition for replacing him was met.
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Yes, he didn’t finish that inning. And yes, he deserved to be taken out. But 1 bad outing lately does not mean that he should be immediately be kicked to the curb.
ERA by month
May 7.45
June 5.68
July 2.25
August 3.86 (including yesterday)
If Thomson waited too long to take out Covey, that’s on Thomson. As a long man, Covey is acceptable.
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Wow I can’t even answer that comment..it’s so over top.
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What does it say about me if I can’t thoroughly enjoy last night because I feel like we can easily lose tonight and tomorrow scoring just 4 runs?
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So true
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Well, DMAR, it says that you have been watching the team. I try to just enjoy night’s like last night and don’t assume that it means anything going into the next game. We have a history of making Pitchers we see for the first time look like Sandy Koufax. I just have to hope we get soemthing going. Hit the ball the opposite way, and not swing at down and away breaking pitches that don’t come close to the plate would be a start!
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All I ask for after last season Matt is that we take 2 of 3 off the teams we should beat…
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Hi guys. Indiana State Fair finally over. 24 days. I got to see game last night. Last two Monday they had off. Fair closed on Monday. Covey looked last night like the kids on the travel team this past Summer. They put a graphic up at one point and it was like way under 50% strikes. Just have to throw strikes.
I only get to see scores in the paper lately but seems the Phillies have at least held serve. I know someone wanted a 7-3 homestand recently and think it was 6-4. Up 3 now but just cannot get that nice cushion on the others yet. Team looked good overall last night.
Just wanted to say Hi. Go Phillies.
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Don…welcome back.
The discussion on Covey has its pros and cons….and with the nature of the site, quite a few cons after his outing last night.
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Hi Don! Hope the Fair was successful! Grandson getting ready for school to start? Wishing him well. Glad to hear from you. At one point I think Covey threw 21 pitches, with 7 strikes.
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Hi Romus and Matt13. Really great to hear from you both.
Covey was bad but the guys said he had been good lately. Clunker last night.
I have a week off and then 3 more festivals in September.
Fair was good. Really long. Really hot at times. Really hot here right now.
Thursday is to be around 100 so probably your way for the weekend.
Grandkids back in school. I am really upset with him at the moment.
He has decided not to play basketball. He is a much better baseball player, but he would have been a starter and maybe even their leading scorer. Small schools need all of their best kids competing. I knew this was a possibility after the Spring. He hit 460 and had a 600 on base. Someone got in his ear. Not pleased with him at the moment.
But I am pleased with the Phillies and hope they can stretch that lead out a few games further.
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Don……do not be too upset with him.
It is a shame that he is given up on basketball….maybe tell him about another Indiana kid who thirty years ago decided to play both sports and worked out for him………Scott Rolen.
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Not my kid or grandkid (and none of my damned business), but maybe just let him pursue what he enjoys. If he wants to play and train for baseball all year, more power to him.
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Hey a lot of kids do that don. I spent a lot of time and money with my kid. To play baseball. The day he went high school he quit baseball to play football. It turned out to be his passion. He still loves it more than any other sport.
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How about Larry bird?
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Matt13 – To comment on your “hit the ball the other way” just go to Youtube and type in “Nick Castellanos 2021 highlights” when he hit so many home runs for the Reds. He hit almost 50% of them to right center and right. When he tries to pull that outside slider, he almost always strikes out and I mutter obscenities.
When it comes to Covey, he and Ortiz are almost interchangeable. They both can pitch multiple innings. Not so much with Marte who seems to be a one inning guy. I think I read that Covey has no more options left and that is why the Phillies don’t send him down. Are they really afraid of losing him on waivers?
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Waivers are how they acquired him, and we’re his 6th organization. So teams see SOMETHING there. But he’s 32, below average, and has not been retained by any of the Dodgers, Rays, or A’s (all of whom have a lot of success “fixing” pitchers, historically).
So as much credit as the Phillies deserve for getting value out of relievers in recent years (big shout outs to Bellatti last year, Hoffman, Kimbrel, and Alvarado), gotta say this experiment looks like a bust. And if I had to make the choice between Covey and Ortiz, I’d definitely go with Ortiz. He’s younger, has had a better year, and has better peripherals.
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Exactly, ciada! He has that opposite field power for sure. We have seen it here! When he is doing that he’s so much better.
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If Schwarber wore a number “3” on his back,
and with his HR swings and body-type,
he could play the part of Babe Ruth in any of the next Bambino movies.
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He even runs taking the same little choppy steps that Ruth took as a runner. Schwarbs is a bit smaller than the Bambino and doesn’t have nearly the talent the Babe had, but the comparison is fun.
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We are playing defense tonight the way SF played it last night!
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When I played golf I used an interlocking grip, but I never used it in baseball. Bailey of SF looked like he interlocks his fingers. Anyone aware of guys doing that? Unreal how we can leave guys in scoring position. Would like Rojas to start squaring the ball up, getting tired of the pull happy bit.
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Rojas if you ever saw him in the minors would scald balls to all fields. I witnessed it so I know he can do it.
Scouting in the MLB is Elite and the book on you gets written quick. What’s happening here is teams are pounding him in with hard FBs and away with off speed.
He’s starting too early to get to that inside heat thus he’s fallen into the bad habit of getting out in front and casting the barrel. It’s a typical knee jerk reaction for a hitter when they feel like they can’t catch up to the FB.
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Never in doubt, had them all the way!
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There is no doubt in my mind that earlier in the year that hit by Turner gets caught and turns into a double play.
Super happy he’s getting some of the breaks now.
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Worried a bit about Tajwan Walker. Didn’t look right tonight. I think he struggled through the start.
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Weird to me how ,The left-handers were hitting better against that kid for San Fran. The right-handers were really struggling. They took fast balls right down the middle.
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Noticed that also. At one point all of our lefties had been on base including BH;’s HR. and all of our righties had K’d.
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Someone above asked why he is concerned about losing tonight’s game even after winning last night in an exciting walk off. The reason is a human characteristic called negativity bias. humans tend to harp on negative outcomes and take for granted positive outcomes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias
This is a really good team. A really fun team. They have an extremely positive, never say die culture. They are very talented offensively and have a very good pitching staff. My family thoroughly enjoys watching them play.
But baseball is a game of failure. They will always make bad plays or strike out or have bad pitching performances. It happens. It’s baseball.
But I haven’t enjoyed a Phillies team this much since the ‘93 cast of characters with Macho row. I might like this team more tbh. Just such a fun group. I am really grateful for DD for assembling this team.
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really good post v1. I know I vent alot about the defensive mistakes and fundamental mistakes, especially ABs with RISP, but I watch all the games, and don’t give up on them. Although yelling at the TV I believe helps! I loved that 2011 team. I was a huge Doc fan, and believed that was the best team we’ve had. Thought they would win the WS that year. But last year’s run was the most fun I can remember having. I, of cours, loved the WS wins, but there isn’t a singular moment that stands out. Last year it was the Rhys HR off of Strider, and the Harper opposite field HR that were simply thrilling to me.
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matt…get the new AI TVs…..when you yell out the TV while watching live events….your voice audio goes straight to the site!
But if you cuss….you get cancelled.
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There wasn’t a singular moment that stood out from 2008? I’m actually kinda shocked by that. I figured everyone remembered Victorino’s grand slam off CC, or Matt Stair’s moon shot the same way as the two you mentioned. Not to mention Lidge falling to his knees. Or Utley’s juke to get the play at home.
Which is not to take away from anything that happened last year. Both were absolutely electric plays. Just feels like a bit of recency bias.
Oh, and since I’m reveling in memories of past glory; with the universal DH it feels like this can be said now. JOE BLANTON likely hit the last home run by a pitcher in the World Series. Ever. (Ohtani seems like the only realistic threat to this, but I wouldn’t count it unless he hits it on the same day he pitches)
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And the two inning rain delayed finale. And the bullpen being lights out every game after the 5th inning or so. Or Cole Hamels being virtually unhittable the whole postseason. Or the game that ended with the swinging bunt early the in morning. The list goes on and on. It was a WS and postseason filled with iconic and unforgettable moments and performances.
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Yeah yeah yeah I get positive vs. negative. I’m not a cranky negative person in real life LOL.
And yes there are differences between likeable teams and good teams and talented teams that play bad baseball and gritty teams with less talent that play good baseball etc.. etc..
This Phillies team is over the top likeable for sure. Plenty of talent for sure.
And the fact is every season ends in degrees of disappointment for all but 1 team. That level of disappointment begins with expectation. Mine are high even when adjusted for the loss of Hoskins and the number of games missed by BH.
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It’s also relevant to point out he messed up his context. You didn’t make that comment after the walkoff. You made it after the Phillies scored 10 runs and were up against a rookie making his debut the next day. It’s decently rare for the Phils to have two offensive outbursts in a row (it’s rare for most teams, the Phils just aren’t an exception). And they actually DO struggle against pitchers they see for the first time. So it was genuinely a worrying match-up.
You even called the number of runs they’d score EXACTLY. Fortunately, those 4 were just enough to win.
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DMAR…your buddies from the Southside have left the building…Williams and Hahn.
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Haha that place has been a train wreck for sometime….
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LOL, Romus! I think I would get cancelled really quick!
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Hopefully no video.
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Denny…’hopefully no video’,
…..so you are still watching the games in your underwear with a beer in one hand sitting back on your barcalounger!
That’s called the ‘roccomoffo’ position.
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No underwear just beer and cigar and the blinds up
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Got it now roc.
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