326 thoughts on “Phillies Discussion, 9/1/24”

1. That right there is why you trade prospects for a top closer if you want to win a championship. Estevez has been awesome. Shut down reliever.

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   1. Absolutely right.

      Aiden Miller promoted to Reading after his 5-5 game today. Wow!! Very aggressive move.

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      1. I think “part” of the reason for the promotion is so that Rincon and Miller can both play SS every day. This will also give him a few games at Reading. Who would have predicted that he’d end his 1st pro season after high school in AA?

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   2. Agreed. His addition has also settled everyone’s roles in the pen and has made them much better overall.

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2. Great game, 7 games up 3/4.

   Is it true about Aidan Miller to AA?

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   1. Depends on where you read/heard that. Who’s your source?

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      1. https://x.com/_chaseford/status/1830416851941077453?t=yWsR45ePmDRVpok0NTBlMA&s=19

         This dude from Twitter, that why I was checking with u guys first.

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         1. Then it is likely true. This kid, and he is a kid, posts under this account and another named MiLB Central. He is wired in. He talks to players directly and he gets his scoops from them. Players have been told not to talk to him because he beats the teams’ PR departments all the time. Thanks for the info. I should have checked Twitter before asking for your source. Good luck to Miller.

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3. Really don’t understand the attempt to bunt with Marsh. As they noted in the broadcast, he’s had 1 successful sacrifice in 2 years. Almost no one can bunt anymore so it’s a waste to try.

   Also, thanks to Holmes for throwing a 2 strike fastball to Castellanos.

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   1. Agreed. All it accomplished was to put Marsh 0-2 in the hole, with no ability to time either pitch he saw, against one of the best relievers in the game.

      Calling the first bunt was questionable. Calling the second one after seeing the first attempt was just mean.

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      1. Successful teams need to be able to move runners, right? Back “in the day” pitchers practiced bunting all the time so they would be more successful with it. Do batters practice as much? Rojas botched his bunt in this series also. I don’t blame management for calling the bunt…. part of believing in your players is… believing in your players and not readjusting after one pitch. Sure, there may be other ways to move a runner besides bunting, but bunting is a biggie… and I’d rather them practice here than in a true playoff series.

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         1. Then why not bunt with Schwarber the next inning? Why didn’t Olsen bunt for the Braves? One way to move runners is to have the left-handed hitter pull the ball which Marsh was much more likely to do vs. getting a bunt down.

            Back in the day is just that, back in the day.

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            1. True 3up but my point was only that this was back in the day when some pitchers actually batted every fourth or fifth Game and that because occasionally in those at bats there would be a runner on but not in “scoring position “ they would practice bunting

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               1. They practiced bunting because that was the only realistic way they could contribute offensively. Are you suggesting Marsh is no better at hitting than a pitcher?

                  Also, people act like bunting is an easy way to put the ball in play and a guarantee to move the runner. It’s not. Bunting is an EASIER way of putting the ball in play. But it’s still difficult to square up a bunt on pitches moving as much as they do now, and you still have very little control over what happens with it when you make contact.

                  Pitchers used to fail to bunt all the time. And they were the ones that PRACTICED it. But people just chalked it up to pitchers being a free out anyways.

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               2. I generally agree I(Heart)PP it would be great if guys could bunt but very few can do it anymore and they are rarely asked to. So asking a guy to suddenly do something they never do is setting them up to fail. Marsh had a better chance to move the runner by swinging vs. bunting.

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4. Aiden, all five hits

   https://x.com/Mitch_Rupert/status/1830351294281990189?t=Y7Q2CYd0vQU6TTfsQwWG7w&s=19

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5. With Phillips on the hill next & Walker likely piggybacking him here’s my lineup for Tuesday if I’m Thompson. Stott 2B 

   Sosa SS

   Casty DH

   Marsh RF

   Hays LF 

   Clemens 1B

   Wilson 3B 

   Stubbs C

   Rojas CF 

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   1. Leaves a pretty strong bench. If Bohm is green lit medically, I’d use him. He’s rested. But resting Realmuto, Harper, Turner and Schwarber for a day is not a bad idea. But I wouldn’t be afraid to pinch hit with Harper, Schwarber or Turner if game needs dictate.

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6. Few points

   if you need a good baseball movie you can watch with the wifey, give “The Hill” a watch. It’s on Netflix

   I probably jinxed Sosa, looked like that 450 ft hr had his early season swing back. Be nice to have that for the playoffs

   Do you think the Braves make the post season? Do you want them too?

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   1. I don’t know if they do or not, but if they keep playing tough they might. They made us earn every win we got, they didn’t roll over for us and if they had the injured guys on the team results could have been different.

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      1. Their pitching gives them a chance. Thanks for updates. I asked yesterday if you guys prefer Braves or Mets. Cubs are only 3 back now for that 6th spot. So not out. I prefer not to face Braves anymore.

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         1. Don…..the team to watch are the Brewers…..Phillies go out there two weeks from today for three games….that could decide if the Phillies get one of the two byes, Hope Rhys is not a Phillie killer.

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            1. Agree Romus. I mentioned yesterday that it is 3 teams for 2 spots in the top seeds. Phillies do hold tiebreaker with Dodgers. They need 1 win vs Brewers to get it with them. But as I said yesterday 1 win may not be enough. Appears now 1, 2, 3 are set. Just the order. Same with 4 and 5 with Pads and Dbacks. Then now 3 teams for the 6th spot. Braves, Mets and maybe Cubbies. Going to be interesting times these last few weeks. Still unbelievable to me if Braves give up 3 runs, they almost always lose. I still prefer not to face Braves.

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               1. Phillies do play the Cubs at the end of Sept…..that could decide it with them.

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            2. brewers have some prospects coming too. They seem to be in really good position for a nice run. Glad they traded away Burnes!

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               1. And yet….another team that comes up with a Latin American impact positional star…20-year old Jackson Chourio.

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7. I get that there are Marsh fans on here. But the idea that he stabs at two sacrifice bunts, just looks absolutely terrible doing it, and that is the manager’s fault . . . I dunno. And Schwarber (career OPS+ of 122) and Olson (career OPS+ of 133) are much more accomplished MLB hitters than Marsh (career OPS+ of 103).

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   1. WestCoast. I have mentioned many times that bunting is a lost art for the most part. There are those who scold me and say that is not true. I am not a proponent one needs to bunt at all times. But there are a time and place for it. But the ability to do so is what is missing by and large. There are some guys and some teams who are really good at it. Wonder why.
      Smoltz and Davis mentioned that Topper told them Phillies in the playoffs are going to have to win some games with small ball. Every game you are not going to hit a 3-run home run. Teams do tend to play the playoffs differently than the season. But that only helps if the player can execute what is being asked. Just my 2 cents and I know some will disagree which is ok. Like a mentioned the Little League Worls Series was won on a walk off bunt. It does prevail at times.

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   2. Let’s say you work in a warehouse. Your job is to keep track of inventory, so you spend most of your days on the computer, or perhaps walking around with a clipboard to check certain SKUs.

      One day your manager tells you to get the forklift to get a pallet from a higher shelf down. Problem is you’ve never been taught how to operate a forklift. But your manager insists. You should be able to do it, you see other people do it and you operate a vehicle to get to work all the time. That’s close enough, right?

      Whose fault is it when that pallet of goods comes crashing to the ground?

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   3. I am a big Marsh believer. He did have the second best OB% and OPS (.829) on our team last year and plays really good defense. But I will also admit that he has been terrible this year. Last night’s AB was awful. he looks lost at the plate. I am hoping that he figures it out this offseason. but right now, he is a liability at the plate.

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      1. Perhaps that went thru Toppers mind. Maybe he thought, you know, I need to get the runner to 3rd & I got a better chance of Marsh making contact bunting than swinging away because he’s not making good contact lately. Who knows, in the moment thing, could have worked as well as not, just didn’t. Baseball is a great game full of mystery and intrigue to be played and re-played over and over! Have a nice Labor Day everyone!

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         1. If that went through his mind, he’s extremely slow to update his thinking. Marsh has actually been crushing the ball for a little over a week now.

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      2. He hasn’t been terrible this year. He’s had a bad month or so, but he’s been slightly above average offensively for the year on the whole.

         And last night wasn’t good, but he’s hitting .304/.407/.609 with 2 HRs in the past week. So it doesn’t seem like you need to wait for the offseason.

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8. Romus, Cubs need to hope they may have some games with Braves and or Mets. That is how they can make a move. No idea if they do. This final month is going to be interesting. MLB wanted this and they are going to get it this year. Maybe not as many teams as they would like but lots of possible jockeying around for spots. Where is Rocco when you need him.

   LA at 82. Philly at 81. Brewers at 80. That is parity. LA is 1 today but in a couple days they could be in that 3 spot. Lots to play for these last few weeks.

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9. I’m elated that the boys scratched 3 out of 4 from the Bravos but I keep in mind what oldruff wrote. If Acuna and Albies and Riley were in the lineup, you gotta believe that Atlanta would have scored a few more runs.

   I hope the results will be good Tuesday night but I question the Phillies starting Phillips. His last 3 starts with the Phils showed 11 innings and 17 ERs. His next 2 at LHV produced 8.2 IP and 9 runs. That’s pretty scary.

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10. What is going on with Stott?

    I was in strong favor of putting him as the lead off batter because he was very tough to strikeout. Lead the lead in 2 strike hits or close to the lead. Seemed reasonable to swap him him, schwarber at 4. Feels like it would lengthen the lineup

    Not sure how is having the more disappointing season, him or marsh

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    1. Marsh and Stott having tough years. I’ve mentioned before Stott isn’t driving thru the ball. He collapses a lot with both knees buckling and recoils from pitches on the inner 3rd of the plate like he might get hit. Would love him to get it right because we are better with him in the field.

       Interesting stat, we had 6 hits yesterday and they were all by hitters 1 thru 4, hitters 5 – 9 had none.

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    2. This is why defense matters. Both Marsh and Stott are having down offensive years, but because of their added defensive values, they are both still near 3 WAR players. And because of that, they both will be starters next season.

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       1. Either that or WAR gives too much weight to defense.

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          1. A 12-year career 95 OPS+ player, however, a 37WAR value for his career.

             https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kiermke01.shtml

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             1. Kiermaier is an elite defender who somehow only has 4GGs. His dWar is similar to Andruw Jones who has 10 GGs. We all know that even though it shouldn’t be the case, GG awards are influenced by how the player does offensively. Kiermaier has a career OPS of .707. Andruw Jones is at .823.

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             2. Yep, no doubt a team of 9 of him in his prime would be unstoppable. They wouldn’t score many runs but hey, the defense would be spectacular.

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          2. No metric is perfect, but a higher WAR score is a good indicator of how the person is doing offensively (oWAR), defensively (dWAR) and overall (WAR). Marsh’s dWar is 0.9 and Stott’s is 1.2. That is NOT GG level (Dalton Varsho’s dWAR is a crazy 2.9, Andrés Giménez is at 2.5), but they are both above average. And that makes them starters in the league.

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       2. On a team with aging stars on long term deals, LF is the most obvious area for improvement this off-season. They’d benefit from an All Star caliber player in the OF since they don’t have one. They nibbled at the deadline with Austin Hays who was an All Star in 2023 so you know where the Phils’ heads’ are at.. But Marsh, Hays and Wilson areb’t it — an every day player you can slot into the middle of the batting order who can field the position acceptably.

          Stott will regain his stroke or feel the heat of Philly infield prospects moving through the system. May be some musical chairs if the Phils need to find a new position for Turner.

          Barring changes/improvement during the remainder of the season, I’d be disappointed to see Marsh penciled into the 2025 opening day lineup.because it would mean the Phils struck out on an upgrade.

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          1. Like it or not, DD traded for Hays and he’s going to get a shot to be a starter.

             Barring a trade, the 2025 Phillies will look very similar to what the Phillies are right now. The FAs are Hoffman and Estévez and I’m sure the Phillies want both back.

             I think the Phillies will try very hard to trade Walker and Alvarado.

             With Wheeler’s salary jumping from $23.5M to $42M, they will get pretty close to paying more luxury tax if all things stay the same. They will have to shed some salaries if they want to stay under the more punitive levels.

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             1. Certainly, the sky is not the limit in terms of spending just as it wasn’t this past off-season. But when last year’s team didn’t take them to the Promised Land, they went out and added. If they fall short this year I expect the same.

                With adding, you can subtract. If the Phils sign an Anthony Santander, they would move Hays and his lesser contract. That and re-signings might be all they see a need to do.

                The Phils could do some serious shedding of salary following the 2025 season with Schwarber and Realmuto coming off the books. It’s easy to see Castellanos sliding into the DH role for a year with Santander shifting to right field where he plays now.

                Phils can’t survive in luxury tax hell in perpetuity but they wouldn’t have to.

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       3. it’s really not that hard to play corner outfield or 2nd base

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11. Romus and Fly Eagles Fly guys.. CBS has article up predicting Cowboys beating out Eagles for NFC East. Not too big a deal. They have both losing in the Wild Card. Lions over Eagles and Packers coming into Dallas and rolling the Boys again. Some things change. Some things stay the same. There is no way Packers win 2 years in a row at AT&T is there. Probably is. LOL

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12. I would really like if Seth Johnson got a chance to end the year as a fifth starter. The Phillips and Allards of the world are AAAA guys although Allard has been very professional in his appearances. Seth flashes MLB starter stuff to me.

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    1. Seth Johnson’s time will come, likely next season. And who knows, if the Phillies end up dumping Taijuan Walker on somebody during the offseason, Johnson should be in the mix in ST.

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    2. Allard can be recalled in 8 days, Sept 10th, from what I understand. I believe that was the issue when they sent him down….but if there is an injury, that does not apply.

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13. Romus and oldruff. I am seeing that it looks like Disney and Direct TV dispute may last a week. Some are saying the MNF game will put pressure on both. Of course both are blaming the other. Guess last season it was Spectrum that Disney cut off at the beginning of the season. Also just seeing that Xfinity and Big10 are in dispute as well. Guess none of the 4 new west coast teams are being shown on Big10 channel at this time. You would think this stuff would get done before seasons but like politics deadlines seem to be the only thing they respond to as well. At least I do not believe the Phillies are not on ESPN for a few days anyway. Boston College and FSU are tonight.

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    1. Don…..LOL…went to the gym this morning —LA Fitness…..most all TV stations show the Disney/Direct TV contract expiration…no viewing available.

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       1. So, you got to see the screen I get now. How stupid. Always trying to gain leverage in these things. The way it is. So, I have a question. Were you there getting in shape to maybe start practicing your bunting skills. Hearing not seeing thanks to Disney that some Phillies may need that. At least Jim mentioned that in the opening. I was amazed that as soon as Buster Olney kind of finished his bit on the game it went blank. No warning at all. Just black. It was 7 o’clock not at the beginning of the day.

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       2. Romus ………. do you clap between the ups and downs on the push ups? Rocco said to ask, too busy at the track! Also, the high stepper, John Pinnette called it the machine from “hell”! 😅

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14. I said this possibility earlier this year and many thought I was crazy. But I am more convinced now that the plan is to bring up Miller when he is ready (sometime in 2026) and play him at SS and move Trea to CF. Miller might get a cup of coffee next September and go into 2026 ST as our SS. Here is my supporting argument:

    1. Trea played CF for 45 games his rookie year so it is not an unprecedented move.
    2. candidly he has not been a good defender at SS for the past 2 years. -11 and -12 in DRS. With a .960 and .958 fielding %’age.
    3. Our OF continues to be a challenge. They clearly have no confidence in Rojas hitting.
    4. By 2026 Schwarber’s contract is done so they can move Castellanos to DH. Ultimately, Harper will be a DH imo.
    5. If they wanted him to play 3rd, they would have played him there. No reason to keep him at SS if he is your future 3B. I think 3B was the fall back but he has shown that he can stay at SS

    They moved Miller up to get a few weeks at AA which means they will start him at AA next year. A good 2025 there and a cup of coffee with the Phillies in September. Then start off 2026 as our SS. I think that’s their plan.

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    1. If Crawford can stick at CF in 26 does that alter your position or do you just move Turner to LF?

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    2. It’s not an unprecedented move, but the Phillies signed him to be a SS and Trea wants to be a SS. Ego is still part of the equation. Let’s be clear, his defense is not great as a SS, we agree on that. The Phillies will have to convince him to switch and he’ll need time to adjust. So unless he starts playing CF in ST, this is a dream for now.

       As for Miller, I see it a different way. Miller will spend most of 2025 in the minors. Sometime in 2026, Miller gets his shot and pushes Bohm to DH or 1B (and Harper to DH).

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       1. If that was their plan, then why not develop Miller at 3B? On draft day I would have agreed with that plan. But given how they are developing him I don’t see that.

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          1. Stott was a SS and he moved to 2B with no issue. I don’t see any issue with Miller at 3B, or the better move would be Trea to 3B.

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             1. Imo the move from SS to 3B is significantly different than the move from SS to 2B.

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                1. Rollins commented at least once about how different 3B is from SS (footwork, arm, etc)

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          2. Good point, but they could be avoiding 3B just because if a good hitter can stick at short, you keep him at short, and then figure it out later. Could always trade him too, and he has more value then as a SS.

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             1. Currently, Aidan Miller is top 30 in the pipeline. This is the type of player you tend to keep. The only player you would trade Miller for is somebody like Tarik Skubal, and I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

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                1. Agreed. I really don’t see him as trade bait. I think they invision him as a regular for a long time. And the fact that they kept him at SS is telling imo.

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          3. In addition to the fact that keeping him at SS increases his value (assuming he’s capable of sticking there) in the case of a trade, it’s also worth mentioning that they might just prefer to let him keep working on hitting without the added pressure of learning a new position.

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    3. playing an age what 32 TT in CF after not playing it since he was a rookie is not a good idea. Move him to 2nd if anything. He’s on such a long deal we need him to hit as long as he can. That prob means finding a way to provide the least wear and tear on his body not more

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15. Good points v1. Do you see Phillies flipping Stott and Turner or if you think Miller is the heir apparent, they just leave things as is for 25? Another thing you mention is Casty still being here. I know some think he may be the one that is moved if things do not go as hoped but I think he will be back in 2025. I never saw Turner play CF I don’t think but 45 games are more than an adequate sample size. I would think he has the traits to be successful. Rojas is great defensively, but he really needs to take some strides offensively to cement the position for himself.

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    1. Castellanos is a DH playing RF. Everybody knows this. As great as it is seeing Castellanos have 4 GW hits, we would rather have him have an .800+ OPS with no GW hits. Castellanos is declining and the Phillies should try to move him if they can.

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       1. You mean like he’s done since June 1st?

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          1. So you would rather keep him for 2025?

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             1. Depends on what else happens. I don’t support eating massive $$$ to get rid of him so they can give the job to someone like Hays.

                If they can move him and use that money to upgrade, that’s great but they need to replace the 20+ home runs and 80+ RBI with someone who offers more than a good dWAR.

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                1. Should have added that they don’t have his replacement in house.

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    2. I think they would prefer to flip Casty after 2025 and re-sign Schwarber to be DH.

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       1. Interesting thoughts on both guys. No doubt both are best suited for a DH role. I think they will think long and hard resigning but for a very short time. I know they like both but personally and I have said this they like Casty maybe as well as anyone on the team. Like Nola does pitching Casty goes to the post every day. There is something to be said for that. There are lots of young guys who probably are physically more gifted, but they never are healthy to play. It will be interesting. Plus, as many have mentioned they need to continue to bring young guys into the scene. Back to 2011 the team all got old at the. same time.

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    3. Don…not too late to change your KC Royals to the play-offs prediction……about to lose their sixth in a row today to the Guardians of Lake Erie. After Cleve there is Minny and Yankees on their schedule…and they have lost Vinny P for the season and Bobby Witt is slumping hitting .236 in the last 8 games. Not a good time for him to slump.

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16. Phillies should soon announce their AFL candidates. MLB’s Callis and Mayo want to see Painter and Miller (Mayo) there, but no mention of Crawford, hmmm. Seriously doubt the Phillies take a chance on sending a pitcher like Painter right now…..maybe instead, Seth Johnson and Moises Chase.

    https://www.mlb.com/news/players-we-want-to-see-in-the-arizona-fall-league-2024

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    1. Rincones Jr

       Keaton Anthony

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17. Romus. I know KC is struggling after they got to the 2 seed. Their bullpen has cost them a couple games late. They had a 3-2 lead in 8th the other night and lost 4-3. I am going to stay with them. They are 5 up on Boston and Detroit and 6 on Seattle. I do think that the Astros may overtake the Guardians for that 2 spot.

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    1. Yeah…though the Tigers have really come on now winning 14 of their last 19 games. That race is tightening up.

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18. Watching Dodgers pounding Dbacks. Both Pads and Dbacks have cooled off. Tigers and Cubs may make things interesting for the 6th spot, but it will be difficult. They are going to run out of games. Someone here does not have ESPN so just watching the 8-game screen.

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19. Watching the Mets-BoSox. Phillies have 7 games left with the Mets and NY is playing great baseball. This team has good pitching, defense, and lots of hitting. Phillies need to win at least 3 of those games.

    And I’d rather have Castellanos than Schwarber. Somehow Schwarber was better batting under .200 last year than he is this year hitting close to ,250 at one point. He is really slumping.

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    1. Schwarber had a 119 wRC+ last year and has a 127 this year.

       Castellanos owns a 109 and 99, respectively.

       I’ll take the guy who has never posted a below average offensive year in a full season before, thanks.

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20. Merrifield is the counter-factual but I bet Schwarber, Castellanos, Realmuto, Wheeler Nola, Turner and Harper all play out their full contracts in Philly. Unless there is a Ryan Howard type of career-ending injury. Taijuan Walker is the challenge

    I don’t see Schwarber or any of the above being extended. They’ve got Bohm, Suarez, Estevez and Hoffman to think about.

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    1. I could see Schwarber being extended – it will just depend on the terms.

       As for Estevez and Hoffman, I think they probably only extend one of the two. As for Bohm, he’s become a solid player, but he’s not a great player so I’m not eager for them to overpay and overextend him.

       As for Ranger, I try to lock him up this offseason with a 4-5 year deal with some option years.

       I agree with you that most of the players on big contracts will play them out until the end, although that Turner contract is so long that, really, it’s hard to predict. I could also see Casty getting move if they can find a taker, and perhaps they will, although they will need to eat some of the contract.

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       1. Can see them extending JTR for another year or 2 because I don’t see Marchan as a long-term replacement.

          Will give them time to see if Tait is the successor to the job.

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          1. Genuinely wondering why you don’t see Marchan as a potential long term replacement? Dude has done all he can do when healthy and really should probably be a starting catcher in the MLB right now hes just blocked by JT. At the very least, you can give him a year after JT is gone and see how he handles it and if not Tait will be closer to ready.

             I appreciate all that JT has done for the team but I think hes declining and its only going to get worse. Not an insult to him; the dude has caught an obscene amount at a very high level for almost a decade and been great. I would not extend him though and think Marchan can give you a good % of what JT can at this point in his career.

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             1. As Catch noted, biggest issue is that he can’t stay healthy and you can’t trust him to be your primary catcher at this point.

                I’m not advocating signing JTR long-term and I also don’t pay him $24m per year moving forward but he’s the best bridge they have available to get to Tait.

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          2. Marchan is really talented and I believe he is talented enough to be the primary catcher for at least a few years. But he is always injured and that is a huge problem. They can just let the Realmuto thing play itself out. You really don’t want to be putting a lot of resources into a 35 year-old catcher. History tells us that’s a very bad investment, but maybe for a year? We’ll see.

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21. Castellanos after Sunday’s game:

    “There’s a lot of energy because all these Philly fans are really into it. They’re going to give you all their love, they’re going to give you all their hate. They’re going to give you everything they got. Whatever form it comes in depends upon the night.”

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22. Casty’s interview with the ESPN female reporter was classic Casty – its worth watching again. He’s always the philosopher, or not – depending on the question. Question – how did you like that fastball ? ; Answer – right where I wanted it – you saw the game, right ?

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    1. Another one, lol

       https://x.com/nic_marie16/status/1829348728152441177?t=MFZhVt8IthNRgiYQmp0lIw&s=19

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23. Fun time to be a Phils Phan …

    Big club is on the cusp of the playoffs, as the Division winner. Need some players

    On some notes – I can’t see the Phillies getting rid of Alvarado. They have some choices to make in the pen, but I can’t see them getting rid of him. You need 6 arms to make a serious playoff run the way Thomson manages, which is, there is no more tomorrow in the playoffs.

    The Starting rotation should be a major strengthen next year. It already is this year. The Braves should be significantly better there, with Stridor, Sale, Lopez, and Swallbachburger. Same with the Dodgers… if the Phillies could do it this year, I could really calm down … IT WOULD DO MY TICKER WONDERS… Here is to believing!

    Next years lineup… Soto? Could be. I gotta believe they make a serious run at him. They did Yamamoto. I’d believe they’d do the same for Soto. “Special”player

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    1. Just because you need pen arms doesnt mean you need to hold on to Alvarado. The organization got too emotionally attached to their players at the end of the 2007-2011 era and it led to almost 10 years of mediocrity at best. Alvarado has had some electric moments in pinstripes, but if his 100mph fastball is now 97, hes suddenly 10x more hittable. Cant be married to these guys and have to give them objective evaluations of what they offer now and going forward, not harp on what theyve done in the past like RAJ did. I always loved the phrase “id rather move on from a player one year too early than one year too late”

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       1. I hear ya, I just don’t see Alvarado being terrible to the point you move on from him. Sir A was a surprise, but Alvarado is proven. This team is in there window. Let’s see how he does once he is back. I expect him to be “back” … Gut says to keep him, he will bounce back.

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       2. I always loved the phrase “id rather move on from a player one year too early than one year too late”….” Branch Rickey, circa 1949

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          1. And Billy Beane has basically said that he would rather do a bad trade than enter into a bad contract. Obviously, that’s coming from a GM/President of a team with few resources, but it’s worth noting. DD never seems to worry too much about bad contracts, which always concerns me.

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             1. That’s what $$$ can do for you. If you are GM of an organization with a limited budget, then you worry about bad contracts. If you are an organization with a big budget, you can afford the backend of a bad contract.

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    2. I’d be shocked if they got Soto. I cannot imagine the Yankees being so stupid as to let him go. Oh yeah, he’d be great here, but I doubt he wants to play in Philly and I doubt the Phillies, with their terrible luxury tax numbers, could even make him a competitive offer. I view this almost to be in Ohtani territory – I just can’t see it happening.

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       1. I want to “enjoy” 2024’s team… but spitballing here…. The team has a bit of an issue imo since Hoskins was out of the lineup, i don’t want to dampen the spirits, but for arguments sake…

          DD could look at trading Schwarber. He has to have value, to the point you wouldn’t have to eat his salary, get a BP Piece. Sign Soto, move Casty into the DH role. I love Schwarber, but it’s an option DD would have to look at.

          I do agree…now that the Yankees have experienced Soto,i bet they’d open the vault. If that’s the case, Soto would have to prefer Harper & Turner/Phils over the Yankees. I bet he loves playing with Judge, so a few thing

          There really are some powerhouse teams in the MLB that the FO has to think about either keeping up with or fending off. Some tough moves could be on the horizon. Again, spitballing don;t shoot the messenger.

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24. Lots of 2025 predictions above. I expect very little change from this year’s squad. Painter will be in the mix for a spot but will probably start in AAA because he’ll have an innings limit of around 100. I think Walker will be back rather than released because he’s not tradeable. I think they’ll resign Hoffman and maybe Estevez too if he likes it here and has success. And that’s it, no other changes. Expecting other changes (Soto, trades, etc) will leave you disappointed because they’re not coming.

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    1. I do expect they’ll bring Ranger back.

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    2. I saw TheGuru said the same thing and, idk, maybe youre all right, but if the team falls short this year DD should be smarter than to just run it back (especially with Atlanta being much healthier next year). Middleton isnt cheap and I dont think they want to let the Harper/Schwarber era go without a title

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       1. Sure Atlanta will be healthier…position wise in Acuna, Riley and Albies…..however pitching could be unsettling…..Strider had an internal brace ilo of the typical TJ surgery, so there can be an initial drop off for him after his return—especially in velo. Fried could be a 31-year old free agent….will he be back….do not think so, headed home to SoCal from what I have been hearing if the Braves do not ante up for him. Sale has been great…also is going to be 36-just never know at that age what will transpire….and on aging, Charlie Morton going to be 41. So they do have some issues in the pitching area…..pitching can be a conspiracy of ‘ifs’

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          1. The Braves will probably be at least a 95-win team next year, even if Fried goes elsewhere, which is fairly likely. They are deep and when someone goes down, they just pluck another dominating player from their farm system like Spencer Schellenbach. It ain’t fair, but it’s also fairly predictable.

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             1. Yeah…does not seem fair. but for some inexplicable reason most of their young in-house promoted future star pitchers ..flame out…Soroka, Anderson, Wright, Teheran, Newcomb, Touissant Elder, now looks like Strider could actually be on that list…and that is just in the last 5 years. Fried has been an exception. But they just go down to Gwinnet and grab another pitcher in their system.

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          2. you left off Lopez, he will replace an aged Morton or a FA Fried. I hope Fried goes to Angels.

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             1. Left Lopez off purposely…..because he seems to be the only real certainty in that rotation in 2025..

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                1. Reynaldo López is a candidate to regress. He’s having a career year at age 30 and he’s pitched almost twice the amount of innings he had last season.

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    3. I think 100 innings next year for Painter is a bit of a reach. I would expect it to be closer to 60-70.

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25. I’m going on Steve’s recommendation that Aidan has been promoted. I’ll go tonight. But I just called the RPhils office a half hour ago and asked about the promotion. I was told that, yes it was in the works, but they couldn’t confirm that he was in Reading yet. We’ll see.

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    1. Yes, it’s official. I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be there. He is going from Lakewood, NJ to Reading. It’s like, what, a 2 and a half hour drive?

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       1. Might be hungover from celebrating his promotion.

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       2. Holiday shore traffic coming back to PA probably slowed him down.

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26. Romus. Trivia time. How many starters have Brewers used this season? Number 2. Adames hit a 3-run home run yesterday. That was his 13th this season. Only one other player has ever hit that many in a season. Who?

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    1. Well it sure wasn’t Rob Deer. Older fellas will remember him and his affinity for the solo shot.

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       1. Romus. Sorry had to go watch granddaughter volleyball. Yes 17 starters. I was watching a game last night and forget which game. zo get so man. Believe it was the guy who just blasted Walker. Think it is Vlad Jr. I could be wrong there. This may be a double-digit game for the Jays. Kirk reminds me of the kid I played Babe Ruth and Legion. Built almost identical. Kid just worked and worked and worked. He had no physical talent. He ended up getting an opportunity to play at University of Illinois. Then became a successful high school wrestling coach. Saw him last fall and even mentioned him in a speech I gave.

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27. Did 17 pitchers start for the Brewers……..three-run HRs in one season….??????

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28. I’ll find out. leaving in a few.

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    1. He is batting second in tonight’s line-up

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29. Oh boy. Gonna be a long night with this ump. Bryce might be getting tossed if they keep throwing high against him.

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30. Our boys better plate a bunch tonight. Phillips not a major league pitcher. Not sure he’s a AAA pitcher either to be honest.

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    1. Didn’t realize it would be this bad. Jeez!

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       1. And this is against a below average offense. Imagine if he had to pitch against a good team.

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    2. People were going gaga over Phillips after his first two starts since he was a local kid, Phillies fan, showing his family in the stands, etc. But if you watched him pitch closely those games you could see he just wasn’t very good. Hung way too many pitches and didn’t have good location. a good lesson about not getting hung up on local kids. Hate to watch bad pitching. Like watching a bad QB.

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    3. Rich. 10 was just enough.

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31. This is the exact reason why I would’ve went with this lineup tonight.

    Stott 2B 
    Sosa SS
    Casty DH
    Marsh RF
    Hays LF 
    Clemens 1B
    Wilson 3B 
    Stubbs C
    Rojas CF 

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32. Phillips is Not an upgrade over Walker.

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    1. Early to bed tonight.

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       1. haha. Then you missed a great game!!

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       2. Romus. You must ease up on those LA Fitness workouts. I checked out as well after the Philles closed the gap to 8-7. But I was really tired. Two trips and 400 miles to northern Indiana wore me out.

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33. Whatever leash Tyler Phillips had just went out the window. Seth Johnson should be on alert.

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34. Johnny Cueto anyone?

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    1. Are we using a time machine to get him back when he was good?

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35. When we talk about being a starter who’s an elite defender, you still have to hit enough to stick in the lineup. So you would have to have close to 1 oWar, add at least 1 dWar and now you have a minimum starter. If you can’t hit enough, then you’re a defensive backup. And this is the issue with Rojas and why he’s losing playing time to Marsh. Rojas better make some strides in ST because Crawford looks like he’ll be ready for the bigs by next summer.

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36. I was @ The R-Phils game tonight and the star was Crawford….line single, bunt single, swinging bunt single, 2 sb’s, good CF defense. Aiden Miller lined a single in his 1st AB, had an RBI ground out, 1-4. He was not overwhelmed by Erie pitching. Ex- R-Phil Matt Seelinger, who has had a good year with Erie, after a great start with the Long Island Ducks, pitched 1.1 innings, no runs. Hao-Yu Lee, is currently on thee 7day IL with Erie. Fightins win 4-2.

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    1. Hopefully a decade from now you’ll be able to talk about this game as the first time you saw two Philly stars before they made it big.

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37. They ought to outfit Guerrero, Jr. with a muleta, Ole, Ole! Schwarber you are the man!

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    1. Again, it’s no secret that Vlad Jr. is a DH playing 1B. The second the Blue Jays traded Justin Turner, they should have installed Vlad as DH.

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    2. oldruff. Seems your guy Walker Longman was brought in to eat up some innings but after the Phillies closed the gap, he became Walker Shortman as the Phillies prevailed for the first time in a long time that Longman had pitched in. Maybe a sign of things to come. It may not have been pretty, but a win is a win. At least I was always told that. Vlad Jr. looked like one of two things on that grounder. Either a whale washed up on the beach or one trying to roller skate on ice. Take your pick.

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38. well… y’all are welcome .. my post lite a 🔥 in schwarbers bat lol

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    1. I said it before, I’ll say it again.

       I’m convinced they read this site and take negative comments personally, using it as fuel to prove us wrong.

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       1. Come on Harper……start producing,

          …maybe that will do it, and he will now get going.

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          1. I think Harper’s injury/ailment is really curtailing his power. But a 75% Bryce Harper is better than almost any alternative. Hopefully he can heal up, but if not, we’ll take what we can get and wait until next year for the power to return.

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39. Great comeback win last night obviously. Phillips will certainly be sent back down today for a short term arm but who gets the next start? I’m guessing Walker will get the next one with Allard getting the 3 remaining ones after that. I don’t think they’ll use Johnson’s option year for one start, although I guess it could be four starts if he’s good and they skip Allard.

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    1. Seth Johnson is turning 26 in 2 weeks, he’s only about a year younger than Tyler Phillips and Kolby Allard. The Phillies will find out what they have in Seth Johnson way before he runs out of options.

       Anyways, Phillip’s turn in the rotation comes on Sunday. Johnson last pitched Aug. 30th. If Johnson doesn’t pitch this week for Lehigh…

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       1. And Allard cannot start again until Tuesday the 10th. Why not Johnson! Even if he starts his service time for a few games this year, like you mention, at his age, after first year contracts, then all the arb years, he will not be a free agent until he is 34 years old. But I am putting the horse before the cart….he still has to prove himself with the big boys.

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       2. The options matter because his value until he proves more is that he can be that 6th/7th starter they can swing between the majors and AAA the next couple of years.

          Using up a year of that so he can get 2 or 3 starts doesn’t make much sense.

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          1. If you think Johnson is a back end starter and could be useful now to try to help get the first seed in the playoffs, I wouldn’t focus on a 7th year of control especially given how old he would be when he could hit free agency. You really worry about that for very high end players, like Miller or Painter. If you think Johnson’s the best option, I’m all for it.

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40. I’m sure they’re discussing Walker vs Johnson for Sunday’s start. Johnson is at 88 innings already and they want to cap him at 100 following his TJ surgery so it just depends if the Phils want to get an early look at him for 2025 with 1 or 2 starts before they let Allard get the few remaining starts. I say we’ve seen Walker, let’s give Johnson a look.

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    1. They should move heaven and earth not to start Walker. It’s a pre-planned loss. A team that is looking to secure home field advantage should not be giving away games in September. And nothing he did yesterday changes my mind one iota on that.

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    2. Agreed…….Johnson’s advanced age may work in his favor for a few starts this season. His Aug ’22 TJ is now over two years, so that should not be a worry, just the work load in innings pitched may be the issue for him this season, even if TJ was not involved at all.

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       1. So, give him two 6 inning starts and then shut em down for the year. Tell him that …….. we are bringing you up for 2, then your done for the year and we’ll re-assess you for 2025.

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41. Very thankful on this day that we didn’t end up with Luis Robert Jr. at the deadline.

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42. If murrayfein is correct that Johnson has only one (this year) option year, why blow it for a couple of six inning starts? I think they’d like to keep him around to start at LHV next year. Look to Kyle Tyler.

    Dan K and Romus – If the management is really reading comments on this site, they would’ve heeded some of our concerns that Phillips is NOT the MAN. It was a giveaway game without Schwarber.

    Speaking of Schwarber: He hit 3 HRs versus LA and the next night he had a couple of hits against MIA. In the next 22 games he was 9-88 with one HR (a grand slam) with 9 RBIs and 33 Ks.

    I like Schwarber as much as anyone on this site but he really needs to finish the season strong. With Harper ailing, this team needs the other $20+ million guys to come through with runners on base.

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    1. Not management, just the players.

       It’s kind of uncanny how many times someone on this site has talked about a player doing poorly just for them to have a great game the next day/that night.

       As for Johnson, he has two option years remaining.

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       1. Not if they burn one this year to get 2 starts out of him.

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43. I rescind my ask to bring up Kyle Tyler from LHV. He gave up NINE runs in less than 2 innings last night. However, I believe we have seen the last of Tyler Phillps. He can always say he won 4 major league games with one being a complete game.

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44. Correction: Kyle Tyler gave up nine runs in THREE+ innings.

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45. With the failures of Walker, Mercado and Phillips where is the next 5th starter? Allard has been a bit of a surprise after horrible early season numbers. I thought they might give a shot to David Buchanan, but then they traded him to the Reds. He is available again, having been DFA’d. He is no long term solution, but other than a bullpen game, they need to find something.

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    1. Chace is the best pitcher/hottest pitcher in the org right now so give him a shot. He’s not on the 40 but so what. People worrying about options and service time will say the team should be “all in” and the “window is now”, so don’t worry about options and service time otherwise they are talking from both sides of their mouths.

       The other possibility is Robinson Pina. Gives up hits but doesn’t walk many. He’s 25 and been pitching professionally for seven years.

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       1. Agree on Pina…….he has paid his dues in the minors…as for Chace I would have to think about that. And Koby Allard can pitch again in 6 days, so he would be the one to see if he can finish up, maybe he will get 4 more starts before the end of the season.

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       2. Well I’m not one of those who say the Phillies should be “all in” and the “window is now” so can I worry about options and service time?

          It seems to be the people who are “all in” are those like you who want to damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead with bringing guys up to eat a dozen or so innings because that’s somehow going to make/break the season.

          What happens if those guys put on a Phillips level performance? Bring on the next one?

          All the people who complained how DD was screwing the system by trading Klassen for a closer now suddenly don’t care about prospect development?

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          1. Were you happy with Brown for rental reliever Robertson in 2022?

             Were you happy with Lee for rental part-time starter/reliever Lorenzen in 2023?

             Were you happy with Aldegheri/Klassen for rental reliever Estevez in 2024?

             If so you are all in and shouldn’t have a problem with bringing up a Chace now to help secure a bye. If he gets bombed after 3-4 innings I doubt he will go to pieces and the traumatic experience will ruin his career. He may even pitch very well and it will help his confidence.

             I believe in promoting players when they are hot so they hopefully can continue their hot streaks, whether it is to the majors or a level jump in the minors. Chace is hot.

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             1. I guess you can point to Orion Kerkering from last season, he was one of the hot streakers.

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             2. If your definition of going all in is trading any prospect ever then we will never agree. Are the Phillies rebuilding because they traded Soto for prospects?

                My issue has nothing to do with your straw man argument about ruining his career with a bad outing but rather wasting an option year for a potential swing starter in 2025/2026.

                This discussion is going nowhere so have a good day.

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          2. I haven’t seen Seth Johnson so I’m going on the stat sheet. I hope he proves better than Phillips, Mercado and Allard whom I see as stopgaps. The cost of starting the clock on him is de minimis in my view. They’re using him to fill a slot at the back of the rotation. If he exceeds expectations and becomes a middle of the rotation guy and stays healthy, the Phils can extend him as they did with Christopher Sanchez. Between options and arb years, they retain the rights to Johnson through what are considered a pitcher’s prime years. The words “all in” don’t enter into the discussion in such a no risk scenario.

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46. Nick Nelson is not the answer

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    1. I want to see his knuckleball.

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    2. It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, makes very subtle movements, left or right as the Tradewinds dictate, has only 1 revolution per 60′ and you can read the Commissioner’s name as it comes to you. At the very last minute it either dips out of sight or disappears over the left field fence.🤨

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47. I know the plan is to play out enough rope until they have exhausted all doubts that Walker is done …….. but does anyone think his stuff is fixable …. I don’t see it getting better nor will it ……. and Phillips, I think the Peter principle applies and the summit was AAA.

    So, DD needs a starter and I don’t think they will throw Painter in the fire til mid 2025 at the very earliest and that would be very, very ambitious IMO. So, lineup the candidates ….. when is the date for post-season rosters set in stone? Remember, where the sidewalk ends …… nothing is written in stone!

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48. Just saw that Austin Hays hasn’t walked as a Phillie. He has 69 plate appearances so far. That’s crazy.

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    1. You can’t walk out of Baltimore!

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       1. Agree ……. last guy was a guy named “Fats” and he was headed for “New Orleans”!

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    2. I was good with the Hays trade when it happens but after seeing him play, I’m not impressed.

       He’s got one swing that tries to pull everything with zero plate discipline. Really hope they don’t offer him arbitration after the season is over.

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       1. I’m not a scout but it seems to me, Hays and Wes Wilson are the same player… and Wilson didn’t cost us anything.

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          1. Wilson actually walks on occasion though. I’ll take him over Hays

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             1. Wilson also has some defensive flexibility to play the infield……perhaps not a Gold Glove guy, but someone you can put in there in a pinch.

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49. I have no idea why Sanchez struggles on the road but it’s not good. Should be relegated to home playoff games only(if that were possible).

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    1. Kudos to Sanchez for settling in. Hell of an effort!

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50. Harper & Marsh both hbp’d today. I hope you guys got to read Merrifields comments yesterday (he was hit in the back of the head). His comments on pitchers throwing really hard and having no control were spot on and how he fears that someone is going to be disabled seriously.

    Jeff Skversky …… Whit Merrifield hates where ……

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51. Nice win. Romus. The Phillies now winning 32 straight games when starter goes 7 is amazing. Also, that Jays bullpen have given up 82 home runs after last one by JT. Braves 3 run opponent record is amazing as well. I do not know about anyone else, but I have always liked Clemens. One will not find a better pedigree. I know he really does not have a position, but he has the DNA. I am not sure how well he has done at Lehigh, but he seems to always contribute for Phillies when given a chance. I hope they find a way to hold on to him. Just my 2 cents. Let’s go down and take care of the fish. Phillies sometimes have let downs with them.

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52. Clemens should be on a post-season roster and the Phils can choose between Hays and Wilson.if all are healthy. Wilson is probably odd man out on a team that likes vets.

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    1. Agree on Clemens. I like him. I have no idea who will be left out. I was surprised to see Hays has no walks in like 70 plate appearances That is almost impossible as wild as some guys are these days. But he swings at some bad pitches.

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       1. Don…Hays has a little less than a 6% BB rate in almost 2200 MLB PAs…..that is pretty low and below the MLB average of 8%. So do not expect any changes there.

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          1. And yes….Clemens should be added to the roster come play-offs……and Wilson IMO.

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             1. This just a guess on my part. I am sure you will know quickly. Casty probably has a low BB rate as well. He can get pretty undisciplined at times but has been better of late. I would have thought average would be slightly higher maybe 10%. In regard to Clemens my swing back in the day would be more like his than Schwarbs. I was built more like Clemens. I think he still has a quick swing. More line drive like I was as to Schwarbs. Probably more similar in size too.

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                1. Yes, Castellanos also isn’t a fan of a free base. 6.3% for his career, 6% this year (and this is his highest mark during his Phillies tenure).

                   And only 2 seasons in MLB history have had a league average walk rate over 10%: 1949 and 1950. Mostly it just hovers in the 8-8.7% range. Last time it was over 9 (excluding 2020) was in 2000 when it was 9.6%. There were a couple guys by the names of Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds helping to drag that average up.

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53. Dan. You guys are so awesome on the stats. But I knew Casty would be low. I was just a kid who loved to play baseball. I always gave guys the eyeball test. I could tell the guys who could play and those who could not by watching. I am sure Bonds did. I believe in that time he drew the most intentional walks probably ever.

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    1. Yep, Bonds is far and away the leader in IBBs. More than double second place. 688 for Bonds, and 316 for Pujols in second.

       Bonds’ 2004 season alone would tie for 96th all time with Brooks Robinson and Mike Trout at 120… yes, he was intentionally walked 120 times in 2004 alone. His walk rate that season was an absurd 37.6%.

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       1. Dan. You, Romus and others are so knowledgeable on this stuff. All my knowledge is just stored in my memory. I so enjoy this site. Everyone has their opinion on this player or that player or management. But in the end, we all just want the Phillies to put another WS banner up in CBP. That is what makes this place great.

          BTW your numbers made me think back to my Statistics class at Ball State. It was one of the most difficult classes I had to take. But I had a great professor in Dr. Miller who made the 3 1/2-hour class interesting every week. He told us over and over that the great thing about statistics is that you can make them represent whatever point you are wanting to make. First class after break he gave us the final exam. 100 multiple choice questions. I was a really good student, but my head was spinning when I walked out that night. The following week before he gave them back, he told us our score would determine how we would do in the class if we attended and did the things he asked. I got a 68. On the chart he showed that would be a 93 to 97 on the final. I got a 95. The class was great because of him but it was so hard.

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54. Hoosier Don ……….. great thing about statistics is that you can make them represent whatever point you are wanting to make ………. accounting has a saying too ……… figures don’t lie, but liars figure …… I think, both may be the same in application.

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    1. oldruff. That is really good. You most likely are correct. That class was so hard, but it was required for us business guys. I have no idea if I had got a different professor. My buddies had told me he was really good, and he was. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I had to work really hard which I normally did not need to do.

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    2. Mark Twain’s famous quote definitely applies: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, darned* lies, and statistics.”

       My college Stats professor actually started our semester with that quote. Being able to use numbers to back up any argument you desire is both the best and worst thing about statistics. So it’s just our job to understand what the numbers actually mean.

       *Twain may have used a slightly stronger word.

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55. Romus, oldruff, Dan and any others, these last few weeks are going to be exciting. A 2 or 3 game losing streak may sink your hopes now. The O’s have jumped the Yankees today even though they dropped a game last night to the White Sox. That may come back to haunt them at the end.

    As of today. AL. Bal-81. Cle-80. Hou-75. NY-80. Minn-75. KC-76 Boston, Detroit and Seattle all at 70 wins. Seed 1 and 4 are up for grabs. Cleveland may sneak into the 1. I doubt now Houston moves from 3. KC and Minny may flip but will be tough for others to make up that many games. I am impressed with the Tigers. They have really come on.

    Now for the NL. LA-84. Phi-83. Mil-81. SD-80. Az-79. Atl-76. Mets-76 and Cubs 72. Phillies have a shot for the 1 spot. A little breathing room from Brewers this morning. What happens if Phillies and Brewers both win 3 games in their season series? Phillies only need 1 to gain tiebreaker. Those may come into play. I think SD and AZ hold onto 4 and 5 but may switch order. Braves cannot afford to lose. Mets are breathing down their necks and Cubbies are not totally out though may be difficult to jump 2 teams in this few of games.

    This is what MLB wanted and for this season they are getting it. As oldruff would state “as the season turns daily this year.”

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    1. If they end with the same record and an even head-to-head record, the next tie-breaker is their respective records against their own division. The Brewers currently lead in that department; they’re 30-19 against their division whereas we’re 23-15.

       I’m not a fan of that tie-breaker, especially since the Phils have a winning record against EVERY division whereas the Brewers only have one against their own. But them’s the rules.

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       1. I agree. Most likely this one was set back when teams played 19 games against division opponents rather than now when it is much more balanced. For me the next tie breaker should deal with common opponents. Both teams have probably played similar opponents. You may have a couple total game difference but it more like apples to apples rather than apples to oranges now. Plus, my guess the East is a much stronger overall division. I can look at the records although the Fish and Nats will pull down the East.

          So, the Phillies just need to take care of business when they go to Milwaukee. Take at least 1 and it becomes a moot point. But for one of the top spots may need to take at least 2 or 3.

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       2. Dan. I was wrong. East has 349 wins at this time. Central has 356 wins. Brewers only have 3 games left in division. Whereas Phillies have 14 games left in division. Let’s start with the Fish this weekend and start adding some numbers on the left side of sheet. Phillies can still get above them. Brewers can only top out at 33. Phillies still could get to 37. Unlikely but possible.

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56. Slight change of topic… gotta be rough to be a Marlins fan, all 6 of them.

    The Phillies should have a good series against them, if they take 3 of 4, … The marlins stand a very good chance from going from making the playoffs to a 100 loss team …. Crazy to me considering the pitching talent they supposedly had.

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    1. Almost the opposite of the Royals. Phillies need to keep the train rolling this weekend. There really is almost no margin for error for top 2 seeds in each and for the last spot in the field.

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57. Looks like Seth Johnson will toe the rubber in Miami on Sunday. Really looking forward to seeing him throw.

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58. I have never seen him pitch. Is there someone who he is comparable to in his style? Hope he has a great game. For the next couple weeks Phillies need to find someone to fill that 5th day spot. Not room for 3 or 4 automatic losses.

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59. https://x.com/IronPigs/status/1830359835205910549

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60. Lots of us were hyped up about Mercado and Phillips. Hope S. Johnson does a super job but let’s not anoint him our savior just yet.

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    1. Not annointing anyone. Phillips has really never pitched well in his minor league career(except for his 2018 season) and was a 16th round pick. Where as Johnson has really never pitched poorly. Johnson just ran into some bad luck with Covid year and TJ surgery. Johnson also was a 1st round pick. Just really excited to see the young man get his long awaited chance and perhaps take a run at the back of the rotation next spring.

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       1. I was never excited about Phillips. Even after his SO against CLE(?)

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          1. With Johnson starting on Sunday he will be the 11th different pitcher to start a game for the team this season. Even Orion K started two games to my surprise…the debacle vs Oakland, the last game before the all-star break and that game in Seattle….both as the ‘opener’ and did fairly well.

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61. RichHeb – It would be fabulous if Johnson turns out to be a diamond in the rough. I’ll be rooting him on in hopes of a good debut.

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62. See an article now saying Phillies are prioritizing resigning Hoffman. The number $49M is mentioned. I did not check years but most like 4 or 5 then. Sounds as though Estevez is the example of a true rental. Did not feel they will do much in that regard.

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    1. Is he in the company of Diaz ($19.7M AAV), Hader ($19M), Igleisas ($16M) or Jansen ($16M)? Phillies management will need to make that decision. It would appear on first glance, $49M over 4 years or $12M plus AAV would be about generously right.

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       1. Then there are:

          Reds RHP Nick Martinez: $14M

          Astros RHP Ryan Pressly: $14M

          Orioles RHP Craig Kimbrel: $12M

          Twins RHP Anthony DeSclafani: $12M

          Giants LHP Taylor Rogers: $12M

          Astros RHP Rafael Montero: $11.5M

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    2. I think it is important to sign both Hoffman and Estevez for two reasons:

       (1) It can justify the Estevez trade as something more than a three month rental.

       (2) The Phillies need to stop this yearly prospects for rental relievers stuff and those two could solidify the pen and stop the yearly rental trades.

       I would offer three year contracts to both figuring if you can get two good years out of three from each one you come out ahead.

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63. Not up on screen as I get on this time. Has a Dodger reference to resign a 61M pitcher. Did not look at who.

    We are probably looking at 4 years, but I do not know. I am not a very good informant. One plus for Hoffman is his versatility. Can be used any time. Estevez seems more like a one trick pony. 9th inning. I am more impressed now with him than at the beginning. Maybe he has adjusted some to the hitters more. Where do you believe he will fall. I wonder on his duration going forward but I have only seen him a few times. Not a fair assessment on my part to go there.

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64. I think leaks of this kind come from agents, not the club. You can read “prioritizing” as agent speak, perhaps a reflection of the club telling the agent that “signing your client is a priority of ours.”

    I think the shifting roles in the Phils’ pen serves to level the field with Topper confident using Estevez, Hoffman and Strahm as closers. Estevez has shown himself capable of pitching 2 innings. With Strahm and Alvarado on decent deals, I don’t expect the Phils to be offering new deals into the stratosphere.

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    1. Alvarado is the fold for two more years if the Phillies want at an approx reasonable $8M AAV,,,,,,,,Estevez probably is looking for a bump up to $10M AAV…..and Banks is here until retirement it would appear.

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65. Romus. It appears since becoming public that both Disney and Direct TV are digging in. Monday may not be a breaking point.

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    1. I think it is about money….

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    2. I would give you… alternative… methods of watching sports, but I’m not sure Jim would like me doing that.

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66. To take a cue from Romus – FREE AGENT RELIEF PITCHERS :

    Bosox -Kenley Jansen – makes 16 m

    Padres – Tanner Scott – 5.7 m

    Carlos Estevez – 6.75 m

    Cinci -Nick Martinez – 12 m option

    Yanks – Clay Holmes – 6 m

    Rangers – Dave Robertson – 11.5 m

    Indians – Scot Barlow – 6.7 m

    Rangers -Kirby Yates – 4.5 m

    Ariz – Paul Sewald – 7.35 m

    Astros – Ryan Pressly – 14 m option with limits

    Yanks – Tommy Kahnle – 5.75 m

    Seattle – Yimi Garcia – 5 m

    Add in Hoffman and there are a number of good closers available. Some of these others are high profile 7th or 8th inning pitchers. For what its worth, Estevez is age 32 – as is Barlow, Holmes ; Scott is the youngest at 30. All others are over age 34 for what that’s worth. Yates at age 38 is a great value while many fan’s favorite, Dave Robertson, is age 40.

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    1. Hard to believe…the Astros have spent $45M AAV on three relief pitchers.

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67. AFL starts their six week season on Oct 7th and runs until mid-November……then there is the Premier 12 tournament between 12 countries and that starts the second week of Nov….then comes the approx. 40-game Australia winter league season and Adelaide will have a few Phillies prospects going down under…. usually starts the week before our Thanksgiving and runs thru the last week of January. So will be able to follow the progression of a few prospects thru the winter.

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68. Romus. I am just waiting for Phillies game on MLB tonight. Probably be same broadcast as Extra Innings. Just had an interview with Max Clark. He looks just like he did a few years ago just bigger. When do you think he makes the Tigers? Yep, Phillies broadcast team

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    1. He should see Detroit sometime in two years.

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69. That Rojas can roam the outfield extremely well but he is an atrocious hitter.

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    1. 🐃 s 👁

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70. I hope you guys saw Stott’s homerun and the extension of his right leg! 👍

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    1. oldruff. I had fallen asleep on the sofa. But I did wake up in time to see Kody score to make it 5-0 and watched remainder. Another nice win. Ranger did what he had to do. A win is a win. Plus, Phillies are now at the moment the 1 seed.

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71. umpires have been absolutely terrible tonight for both teams.

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72. Dan. I am fine. I do not want anything that is possibly an issue. I get Phillies on Extra Innings, and Cowboys on Fox or someone Sunday and IU football on Big18 channel now. I am good Thanks.

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73. What do you guys think of Ranger’s drop in velo?

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    1. I do not think if it is a one-time deal, there is much concern. One of the best attributes of Ranger is he knows how to pitch. He is not a flame thrower to begin with like others. T Mac seemed to be concerned at the beginning but less as game wore on and also velo picked up some. This is just my opinion but the loss of velo for Walker is much more apparent than for Ranger. Walker is very hittable because pitches are in the middle of the plate and at an easy speed to hit. Ranger was still right on the corners and still quality pitches.

       Just on a personal note. I pitched baseball till I hurt my rotator cuff just before college. But then I had a really good fastpitch softball guy teach me to pitch fastpitch. Because one uses a totally different windmill motion I could do it without pain to my shoulder. I was able to pitch at a high level for close to 20 years. Just like Ranger tonight there were times you just do not have it from one outing to the next. Like Ranger did tonight that is when you have to use the knowledge you have to get by. He is only a few outings back. This happens with many pitchers. The guys were talking about Verlander in the same vein when he pitched against the Phillies a week or so ago. Now if it becomes a trend going forward the hitters will realize as well, and they will adjust. He was pitching against young hitters tonight for the most part and his savvy got him through. I think just something they will monitor. Which they will do anyway.

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    2. I am definitely concerned, but not outright panicking. Lots of things can cause a temporary drop in velocity, so if he can be back up a couple MPH on his pitches next game I’ll just assume it was an off day. If he continues to be sitting 90, then I expect another IL stint will be incoming. And if that happens, then I’ll be VERY worried, because then we might be dealing with something permanent.

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       1. Could be what they use to refer to as ‘dead arm’. Ranger is up to 133 innings this season. Two years ago was his max-155. Then again at age 29…..he could have an aging arm now and it is showing.

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    3. I was concerned. Luckily he was facing the Marlins where almost every player is still trying to stick in the bigs. I don’t think Ranger’s back is 100%.

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74. I thought he looked better after the 1st inning. Started to see some 90-91s mixed in which is still down a tick but not drastic. I suspect he’s still not 100% with the back but he breaking pitches appeared to make much more life as the game moved on.

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    1. Phillies will need to make a decision on a contract extension for Ranger….and soon. He just turned 29 years old, so if they decide to do it, it could 5 or maybe even 6 years.

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       1. Here lies the dilemma. If Ranger is having back issues now, odds are he’s going to continue having this in the future. Baseball pitchers don’t normally get healthier as they age into their 30s. Ranger knows this, and maybe he’s more open to doing an extension now. However, if Ranger can’t manage his back issues now and in the future, his production will likely suffer.

          I really didn’t want to extend Ranger because of the Phillies’ internal options in the minors, but with his back issues now, I really don’t want to extend him. Let him play out his final year next season.

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       2. I am a big fan of Ranger but I would be slow to offer him a long-term contract for 5-6 years. He’s never had a season where he’s topped 160 innings in the regular season and seems to periodically go through stretches like now where he is a little off with his stuff.

          He has stretches where he’s an ace but doesn’t have the staying power needed to be a true front-line starter.

          Not sure how well that ages into his mid 30s.

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       3. You are always the optimist. Like I said earlier I am not concerned with Ranger at this time. If things are still the same in couple more starts, then there may be an issue. Romus you are correct in the dead arm. Frequently it is toward the end of Spring Training. This could be a modified version for Ranger. How many starts since coming back has he made? I thought he looked physically fine last night.

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       4. • I’d offer Ranger 2 years @$16 M. It’s a serious but not overwhelming offer. Gives him time to show he can move up to an 180 + innings per season guy.which premiere starters are.
          • If Suarez declines it, at least he knows the Phils had the interest. He then goes to arbitration and the Phils have a chance to revisit the situation following the 2025 season with Ranger entering free agency.

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          1. That’s a total joke. That’s what you pay a situational reliever. Ranger has had a whole half season (actually two separate half seasons in different years) where he pitched like an ace and he will finish the season around 4 WAR even with the low inning count. He’s a fine pitcher. The comments about his innings usage and health (and, to a lesser extent, velocity) are legitimate, but he’s a guy they should really try to keep. Fortunately, I think the Phillies value him a lot more than folks on here and his injury/inning issues could allow the Phillies to buy low on a 3 or 4 year deal.

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             1. By the way “buying low” is something that looks like the Taijuan Walker deal. If they can get that, I’d run to get it done. Ranger is a special player.

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             2. Situational reliever? Name one. You an’t.

                The Phils are 4-deep in multiyear deals for guys in their rotation. I like Ranger and the way he pitches but he has yet to show hes a stalwart starter who can carry the load for a full season.

                The Phils do not have to bid against themselves when it comes to Ranger. Teams are not lining up for guys who log 150-160 innings a season.

                If Ranger is as disdainful as you are of my proposal then he will bet on himself and go to arbitration, prove he’s a durable TOR starter and collect in free agency. Every team will be looking at his medicals.

                In the meantime, he might not be missed if Painter can slot into the #3 role in the rotation.

                If you could guarantee that Walker is gone this off-season, I’d be closer to your point. But you can’t guarantee that and, with money tight, the Phils can’t set the market for a guy who might only be great for half a season.

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                1. What? Of course I can – Matt Strahm to start – what you propose is almost exactly what they are paying him. Ranger is worth far, far more than a situational reliever.

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                2. Ah, but I can!!!

                   Matt Strahm is getting almost exactly what you proposed for Ranger. Ranger is a MUCH more valuable player than Strahm who, again, is a situational reliever. Not really buying any of your other points.

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                3. Most distressing today was watching some young players performing well and realizing none were wearing Phillies uniforms. If I were Dave Dom rowski, this would concern me a lot more than the 10-1 game score.

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75. How did Burger barehand a ball to throw out Rojas on his bunt 😂?

    Damn … even Rojas can’t bunt!

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    1. I blame the turf. The ball rolls so fast on it, it’s crazy.

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76. Actually that was one of Rojas’ better bunting efforts. I think Burger was looking for it and he surprised me at how well he handled it. Nailed him by a step and a half (?) and Rojas was busting it.

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    1. You are funny. Any bunt Rojas gets down is one of his better. He is not successful that often. I have no idea on metrics, but Burger is not a bad 3B. He is in the major leagues he should be able to make that play. I believe you are the author, but I like the chopping wood the best. Swing does look like that at times.

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       1. Don……looks like the ‘Ham’ Burger is not highly rated by SABR’s SDI

          Alec Bohm…-0.3Austin Riley…-3.6

          Jake Burger…-3.8J. Candelario…-5.2C. Morel……….-7.0

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          1. I knew you would pick on me. LOL. My theory is simple. If you are a MLB guy you should be able to make that play. Anyway, I see after Vlad Jr. belly flop on Monday he was moved to 3B next day. That move should move these guys up the list. If Hamburger is only slightly below Riley, I would accept that. Riley seems ok to me. Maybe neither are Brooks Robinson.

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             1. Don…those five players …are the bottom of the list in the NL for defense. For the complete list and every position by AL and NL….here is the link:

                https://sabr.org/sdi/2024-08-11

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             2. Marsh looks to be a finalist for a Gold Glove in LF…if he qualifies….the other two are Cowser of the Os and Riley Greene of the Tigers.

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             3. Oh my goodness, a beached whale or belly flop ……… I need to pay more attention ………. I thought he was a Carribean sand dancer or making sand angels.

                Remember when Richie Allen wrote “MOM” in the dirt at first…….. and Casty after HRs scrolls something between home plate and the dugout…. get on top of that Dan K. sand graffiti?

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                1. oldruff. My Hoosiers are now playing on the Big18 channel now. Much more basketball guy than football but IU may now have finally a football coach. This guy is similar to Bobby Knight so we will see if he can win. Also, Hoosier Don is glad that Tom Allen is one of PSU assistants. He may be the DC. I am not sure on that.

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                2. You & Romus put a hex on Burger, they move him to 1B & first play of the ……. he throws it away to the pitcher covering …..you two are the best ….. “double bubble toil and trouble!🧙‍♂️🧙‍♀️

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          2. Romus. I am going to give the same answer for these 3B that I gave to some people the other night at my granddaughter volleyball game. Her team has 14 players. 6 are pretty good. But the others are not good at all. But those are the parents who complain the most. My two-word response. Get Better. Same applies to these baseball guys. LOL Also to appease those who are weak they usually only play 2 of the better ones at a time. So basically, makes them awfu

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77. I have a question for anyone who wants to chime in. Youngest grandson is now 10 so kids next year can lead off. I have told my son I want him to have the same delivery when no one on or someone on base. I am a big fan of Zach Wheeler’s delivery. Pretty much the same each time. Oldest who is 17 does similar. Those around here call it a hybrid delivery. Any thoughts or ideas for what is best? He is little in stature but throws hard.

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    1. Whatever they’re more comfortable with is fine. The only reason the stretch exists is because it’s too easy to steal on a pitcher in the wind up. But pitchers that use the wind up only so so because it helps them perform better. If there were no differences in end result, the stretch would be the only one used.

       If they’re comfortable with a hybrid approach, and it doesn’t negatively impact performance or allow easy steals, then have at it. That’s just one fewer thing they’ll need to practice going forward.

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       1. Thanks Dan. Oldest does well. I am just a big fan of keeping things simple for kids. I just think one delivery is maybe best and same for hitting. Lots of times these 10-year-olds even forget anyone is on base and wind up and kid is standing on 2B.

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    2. I pitched into my 30’s and had separate wind-up/Stretch delivery. It’s really a matter of comfort and control. I found I threw a little harder out of the wind-up but it wasn’t significant.

       most important thing at that age is commanding the fastball.

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       1. Agree on command. Some kids throw pretty hard even young but ball goes everywhere.

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78. Congrats to Sam Aldegheri on his first MLB win. 6 IP, 1 R, 7 K.

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79. “What? Of course I can – Matt Strahm to start – what you propose is almost exactly what they are paying him. Ranger is worth far, far more than a situational reliever.”

    catch, my use of “@” signified $16M per season on a 2-year deal, or $32 M in all. I might go slightly higher on the $ but not on the years unless/until Suarez shows he can shoulder the load of a premiere starter.

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80. Hoosier Don …….. are you positively sure you don’t want Tom Allen back? I’ll throw in a leather helmet (no face mask mind you) reportedly worn by Red Grange (but not verified), a folding chair once used by Bobby Knight for scuffing up basketball courts and a Rojas bat for skulling high bouncers, but that’s as far as I can go or the alumni will bitch.

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    1. LOL….Lions are hapless vs the Bowling Green monsters.

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       1. LEO just has not settled in yet at PSU. Romus IU put 77 on the board last night. They might nudge out both Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. ND paid Northern Illinois 1.4M to come in and kick their butts.

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    2. oldruff. I will pass. Hoosiers put 77 on the board last night. ND is blasting Northern Illinois by 1 last I saw. I have been going in and out but with it 6-3 I saw your guy Walker Longman enter and at the end of the inning it was 9-3. Apparently, another strong outing for the Longman.

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       1. He’s working on centering his pitches where they get a better lift ……. and it is working! We’ll, I don’t need to tell you, it is evident to all. Looking forward to a name change from longman to long gone Walker.

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          1. Funny. It is sad. How does Topper put him in. They were still in game at 6-3 but 9-3 yikes. It is almost guranteed he will give up runs. But Long Gone is going to be Long Rich thanks to Phillies.

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81. Unacceptable outing by Nola. $172M should be able to get you more than 4 2/3 against a minor league team. Cue the Nola apologist.

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    1. Sure, I’ll play the role of apologist. And it’ll be easy. Nola has a 3.41 ERA on the year. Sometimes good players have bad games.

       Some other good pitchers to get roughed up by the fish this year (min. 5 runs): Sean Manaea, Max Fried, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Bryce Miller, Ranger Suarez, Andrew Abbott, Dylan Cease, Logan Webb, Albert Suarez.

       There are more, but I thought those names might get your attention.

       Oh, and ZACK WHEELER. Yeah. He’s on that list, too.

       Nola literally just came off of 4 consecutive excellent starts, 3 of which were against playoff teams. Don’t ignore the big picture.

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       1. Forgive me for being exhausted for rooting for a team that’s won 2 WS in over 140 years and has 3 legitimate hall of famers in that same time. Lipstick on a pig. It’s been a long day and I have no patience for anything.

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          1. I don’t think baseball is the sport for you.

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             1. Thanks Dan

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                1. Just trying to save you some headache. Baseball is too volatile a sport to place that much stock in a single game, or even a single series of games.

                   A huge number of fans, possibly even the majority, have never seen their favorite team win a championship IN THEIR LIFE. And that’s despite there being more parity than ever in the sport. 2 teams have more than 10 championships. Two. In a sport that’s over 100 years old.

                   And even if there were perfect equity on championships now, that would mean winning a championship, on average, once every 30 years. So we wouldn’t be due another one for quite a while.

                   This is a sport where the team with the all-tie lead in wins still lost 29% of their games. Almost 1 out every 3 games.

                   It’s a sport where the very best of the best would only get a hit once in three tries. And those are the best of all time.

                   If you hang on every game’s outcome, then you just won’t have a good time with baseball.

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82. I agree but to the Marlins credit they are small balling the Phillies to death. Bunts, alot of stolen bases, and walks which turned into runs. The team looks like they are tired from scoring 16 runs yesterday. In several opportunistic times Phils had the right man up (Clemens) but with two outs they could not cash in. Frustrating to watch…soft fly balls all day long by the Fightin’s…

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83. Baseball is a funny game. Last night 16-2. Today 9-3 other way with most of the same guys playing. One never knows for sure what is going to happen.

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84. Oldruff and Romus. Unbelievable Northern Illinois just beat ND 16-14. Incredible.

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    1. Hard to believe since ND did it to LSU last week….almost like the Marlins beating on Nola!

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       1. ND beat Texas A & M

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          1. yes, thanks for that reminder……forgot which SEC team they beat.

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85. I don’t want to draw too many conclusions from this information because it’s more nuanced than just this, but it’s worth mentioning:

    Nola has now allowed 4+ runs in 7 starts this year. Garret Stubbs was behind the plate in 5 of them.

    It’s also may be worth mentioning that the 2 JT caught were early in the year (notable because Nola tends to start slow).

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    1. Nola…now 11-18 career in Sept/Oct. That is his bug-a-boo month.

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    2. I do think both Nola and Wheeler work better with JTR vs. Stubbs. They seem to be more in sync with pitch sequences.

       noticed it yesterday when JTR left the game. Wheeler seemed to be heavier with breaking balls.

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       1. I haven’t checked lately, but at about the half way point I also checked Wheeler’s starts and he had the same trend; Stubbs caught all but one of his bad outings, including both of his “career worst” ones.

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          1. Where’s Logan O’Hoppe when we need him?

             Aramis Garcia. A 162 hitter at AAA. Marchan on IL, again.

             Doesn’t look like depth behind the plate.

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             1. Do not discount Jordan Dissin just yet.

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                1. Dissin has some power and a decent eye, but his hit tool has been very suspect thus far.

                   Apparently, Marchan is very close to returning but his constant stints on the IL are a concern. Otherwise, he’s a major league catcher right now and he’s a better play than Garrett Stubbs right now and it’s not particularly close. But you can’t stay on the club when you’re in the tub.

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                2. Yeah agree….Marchan somehow needs to stay healthy. Seems the last two years it is one thing after another injury for him.

                   And yes Dissin’s bat is suspect with a 25% K rate but a relatively good 13% BB rate…..his BABIP (.266) tells me he is hitting into a little bad luck, but still needs to make more contact with two strikes.

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86. I still give the ball to Nola in a GM2 post season series…

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87. By beating up on Nola (without Burger) the fish have shown some hustle and potential. I’m hoping that Seth Johnson can give the Phillies a competitive five innings. Winning the series from Miami with next week’s match up with the Mets on the horizon would be a good thing.

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88. With the Marlins having beaten up a bit on Nola they showed that they have some pride and potential. The Phillies could really use a win today to win the series against the fish with the Mets on the horizon. Here’s hoping that Seth Johnson can give the team a competitive outing today.

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89. And while nobody was paying too much attention, Otto Kemp went from low A ball to AAA this year. He’s supposedly a good defensive player, can hit, has a good eye and a fair amount of power. A very underrated prospect.

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90. oldruff. It appears the Walker Long Gone may get multiple innings today. This got out of hand pretty quickly. The 5th spot has been a real struggle for the Phillies.

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    1. Go figure Spencer Turnbull would turn out to be our most difficult to replace player.

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       1. Hopefully Allard comes back and is able to handle the load over the next two/three weeks.

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91. Romus. Eagles just got a huge break. Cowboys give Prescott a 4 year 240M extension. What a waste of $240M. I would have never given the first one.

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    1. Johnny Manziel, now to back him up and you are set! At least a 2 year deal though or he may bolt.😏

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       1. Manziel would fit right in. How many playoff games has Prescott won in the past 8 years. Not many more than Walker Long Gone has won in the past couple months. Both, a complete waste of lots of money.

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92. And just like that, Seth Johnson’s day is over. He really wasn’t ready for the bigs. I’m trying to find some positive things to say, but it’s hard. He was fooling nobody. He featured a 94-96 fastball, a slider/cutter, curveball, and a developing changeup. His fastball has decent life but he was too wild. Granted, he could have been overthrowing it but still. A lot of non competitive fastballs. His slider/cutter is, in my opinion, junk. It just doesn’t do much. He threw a bad one to Connor Corby and it went a long way. His curveball is just ok. I think his changeup will eventually be his best pitch but he needs to work on it. He threw a couple of really good changeups and then he elevated a bunch of bad ones.

    If Johnson doesn’t develop his changeup, he’s not a big league pitcher. He may be days away from being 26, but he’s nowhere near ready. It’s one of the worst debuts I’ve ever seen. He never should been promoted.

    Seth Johnson just showed that the gap between AAA and the bigs is vast.

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    1. Yikes. Let’s hope Allard can do better

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93. No longer concerned about burning the option year. He’s not a swing starter until he develops better secondary pitches.

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94. We want Walker, … We want Walker, … We want Walker …… We want Taijuan …. Longman.

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    1. Believe there are a few things as Phillies fans we know. The playoffs will be a challenge no matter who they end up facing. Walker may be done. It appears the Phillies have no one in system who can be that 5th guy. Lastly and I may have missed a win somewhere, but I think it was like 6 losses in a row in Walker starts and now we have others follow that the Phillies have lost this 5th game. That is a slew of automatic losses. Not even a chance to be competitive in these games. Despite that 16-2 win the Fish may outscore the Phillies in this series. Yikes.

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95. Harper breaking into the homerun trot a little premature these days, huh? A good throw and he’s a dead 🦆!

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96. Well Allard is eligible to be back on Tuesday….crossing my fingers that he can do better than the recent previous 5th starters.

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    1. What do you think about stretching out Stubbs ……. he’s had several good outings now back to back or ………. maybe anointing him Longman. How about it?🤔

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97. The old expression is be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

    The past two games are appropriate for all those who are enamored of every minor leaguer or bench warmer who has a few moments.

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    1. Even with hindsight, I still like that Johnson got at least this start. It will hopefully help him be more calm on the mound his next time out. He’s already had everything that could go wrong happen to him… almost literally. He lost command of his pitches, he hung a pitch for a HR, his defense let him down a little bit (the single to score the 4th run is an out if it’s Marsh instead of Schwarber in left), he gave up a check swing bloop hit, and the ump missed a called strike three that led to a walk.

       Plus, I still like rewarding young guys who are having a good year. It could turn out this is the only time he ever makes the big leagues. And if that’s the case, at least he made it, and that will stick with him forever. So if my choice is Walker or Johnson for this previous game… yeah, go with Seth.

       That said, I would give him one more start (assuming he’s not at his inning/pitch limit for the year) to see if maybe he can show better after getting the jitters out of the way. If he shows poorly again, he’ll have to pitch well for an extended amount of time in AAA and wait for another opportunity.

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    2. Even with hindsight, I’d still rather have Johnson start this game than Walker.

       Johnson could theoretically be better next time without the pressure of his first MLB start getting to him. Walker is a known quantity, and it’s a quantity of something we don’t want.

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       1. Agree that Walker is shot and my comment is not limited to Johnson. There are several bench players who had their moments whose limitations are now being exposed as well as youngsters (pitchers in particular recently) who are demonstrating the differences between MLB and wannabe MLBs.

          Just hope the over-30 veterans can hold up physically.

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98. oldruff and Romus. Just seeing on Cowboys game that the Boys have won 5 playoff games since 1996. Is that awful or is that awful. Awful. Walker Long Gone may have won more than Prescott. That is 5 in 30 years. Prescott only 8 years. Nice move Jerry. NFL pregame guys said it is like a circus and Jerry is the ringmaster.

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    1. Come play-offs…..will the Phillies put Walker on the active roster….or maybe have a legit BP arm ilo him. Last year he was activated and did not play one inning…they may not be able to afford that this year….especially if they do not get one of the two first round byes.

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       1. Romus. That is interesting thought. I have no idea. But I doubt they can afford a roster spot in the playoffs for Walker. You guys know lots better than I who a BP arm might be who might be more helpful. I am not that familiar on minor guys. Marte has not been very good. Who else might be considered. It seems every inning almost that Walker pitches the opponent scores. That cannot be allowed in the playoffs. Phillies kind of laid a couple eggs the last two days. A chance to get some separation they miss that. The biggest concern I have is it seems recently when Phillies lose, they are not even competitive in the games. Maybe no concern for anyone else but it is for me.

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          1. That is true, but we now have JT, Hays, Sosa, and Bohm on the IL and Harper could probably use a day or two there for his own good.

             It’s the time of the year where the season is getting long and the aches and pains linger. I know, everyone else is going thru it.

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       2. I think you gotta go with a BP arm.

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    2. This site is called Phuture Phillies

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99. oldruff and Romus. I just realized that my wife and I have attended 20% of the Cowboys playoff wins since 1996. We have attended ONE game in our lifetime, and it was their playoff win over the Lions whatever year that was. Thinking I may be getting a call from Jerry to sit in his suite.

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    1. this site is called Phuture Ohillies

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100. Tough go at it for Johnson. It really took the shine off the trade for me. I wish him well. The positives he can take out of are

     1. He pitched in the Majors. Dream checked. I hope he enjoys it, its not how he envisioned, but the still made it.
     2. He now knows personally, how big the gap between AAA & the Majors is
     3. He need to focus on command. He needs to watch Greg Maddux. Too many of his pitches were fat meatballs for a MLB hitter.

     Between Johnson, Phillips, and even Walker… you can really see how talented even the low end talent of the MLB players are.

     that 5th spot ain’t getting solved this year unless Turnbull (SP) can make it back. Best shot t this point.

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     1. What….give up on Allard already!

        There appears to be 3, maybe 4 starts left for the 5th guy.

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        1. 3 starts for the 5th starter. 4 if the Phillies clinch early enough.

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101. The 2 teams that I would fear the most right now are the DBacks and Padres…

     For now I am going to assume we are simply pacing ourselves in preparation of being fresh for the playoffs.

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102. I am closing this post. New discussion can be found at

     Phillies Discussion, 9/8/24 | Phuture Phillies

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