Players arrived Sunday for Instucts and Strength and Conditioning. Monday, they began. And, so did we. My friend Steve Potter and I arrived around 9:00 AM and waited until the players came out to take part in exercises and baseball drills at 11:00 AM. They were divided up into groups, and progressed from one activity to another in those groups. Players were on the field for about 2.5 hours. Here’s who and what what we saw these first few days. Continue reading 2019 Instructs, First Week
Open Discussion: Week of September 9th
Well, the Phillies won enough games last week to tease us for another week. The loss on Nola night was unexpected and heart wrenching. Oh, well. The Phillies have gotten back to two games behind the Cubs. However, the Brewers have caught the Phils, and the Diamondbacks have passed them. The current standings are – Continue reading Open Discussion: Week of September 9th
Playoff Recap – 9/6/2019
No worries about wasting a great start tonight. Adonis Medina took the mound and settled things early. He retired just four batters and dug the Phils an early hole that proved too much to overcome. The bullpen was little better, giving up an additional seven runs before Julian Garcia and Aaron Brown combined for three scoreless innings. Continue reading Playoff Recap – 9/6/2019
Playoff Recap – 9/5/2019
The Reading Phils wasted another excellent pitching performance by a starting pitcher. A night after Spencer Howard held the Trenton Thunder to one run and two infield hits in seven innings (and striking out twelve), David Parkinson shut out the Thunder on three hits in seven innings. But, whereas the Phils’ bull pen couldn’t preserve a 3-1 lead Wednesday, it was the offense that was deficient Thursday, getting shutout through ten innings. Continue reading Playoff Recap – 9/5/2019
Playoff Recap – 9/4/2019
Spencer Howard threw seven innings of two-hit ball last night. This was three days short of the anniversary of his nine-inning no-hitter for Lakewood last season in the playoffs. Last night he was equally impressive as he recorded twelve strike outs. Continue reading Playoff Recap – 9/4/2019
Threshers Recap – 9/2/2019
Very depressing news out of Erie yesterday. Chace Numata died from head injuries he sustained in a skate boarding accident. I’d like to extend the condolences of the Phuture Phillies community to his family as they deal with this tragedy. Continue reading Threshers Recap – 9/2/2019
Threshers Recap – 9/1/2019
Clearwater (32-38, 68-68) Finished the second half in fourth place. Finished the first half in second place. Finished the season with the second best overall record in the division.
Lehigh Valley (65-73) beat Pawtucket, 5-3. Dan Straily (5-4, 3.76) went eight innings. Connor Brogdon (3.06) tossed a perfect inning, striking out one, and picked up his second save. Continue reading Threshers Recap – 9/1/2019
Open Discussion: Week of September 2nd
Condolences to Jean Segura whose grandmother passed over the weekend. Segura is my favorite Phillies’ hitter to watch. His ability to put balls in play from his expanded strike zone reminds me of those Pirates from my youth – Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen, Richie Hebner, Al Oliver, …
Scott Kingery kept the Phillies close in the wild card race with his bases clearing double yesterday. The Phillies are 2.5 games behind the Cubs for the final playoff spot. Continue reading Open Discussion: Week of September 2nd
Threshers Recap – 8/31/2019
Clearwater (32-38, 68-68) Season completed. Finished the second half in fourth place. Finished the first half in second place. Finished the season with the second best overall record in the division.
Lehigh Valley (65-73) beat Pawtucket, 7-2. Tyler Gilbert (2-4, 2.83) picked up the win with 2.1 innings of no-hit ball. He entered in the fifth inning and stranded an inherited base runner. He walked two batters and struck out three. Continue reading Threshers Recap – 8/31/2019
Threshers Recap – 8/30/2019
Reading won and clinched the second half division title. They had already clinched the wild card playoff berth if needed, but won the division outright. And, I am among the minority who insist that Reading won the first half division title. (see below) Continue reading Threshers Recap – 8/30/2019
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