This weeks results:
Tue: 3-2 W @ Det
Wed: 4-0 W @ Det
Fri: 9-2 L vs. Atl
Sat: 15-7 L vs. Atl
Sun: 9-4 W vs. Atl
Overall: 55-50 (3-2 this week).
Ugh. This week almost feels like a tie. Sure we finish with a winning record but we lost the series that truly mattered. I mean the Tigers literally have the worst record in baseball so beating them twice is not an accomplishment.
As I sit here writing this I’m trying to go back in time to April 2nd of this year. At this point the Phillies were 4-0 on the season, with all four wins coming against the Braves and the Nationals. This was a time where it appeared that the offseason signings that we were all so excited about seemed to have propelled the Phillies to the top of the division where they rightfully belonged. A true force to be reckoned with in the National League.
Back to today, July 28th. Even after today’s win, the Phillies are just 4-11 against the Braves and Nationals in the months of June and July.
FOUR. AND. ELEVEN.
And what’s worse? Among those 15 games Aaron Nola has started four of them. The Phillies are 3-1 in those starts.
That means that they are a disgraceful 1-10 in their other 11 meetings with the teams currently ahead of them in the division since June.
To put things simply, the Phillies rotation is a one man show. It’s Nola then absolutely nobody. Not Jake Arrieta who they’re paying $25 million this year. Not Zach Eflin who has an ERA over 9 in his last 7 starts. Not the other rotating spots that could be filled by guys like Vince Velasquez or Nick Pivetta (both of whom seem to be better out of the bullpen). It’s just Aaron Nola.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t name any teams with only one trustworthy starting pitcher that go on to make deep postseason runs.
Although I am upset with how the staff minus Nola has looked, let’s keep the glass half full and look at some positives.
The Phils won today with Harper, Hoskins and Realmuto all going deep. Adam Haseley is also showing flashes of being a solid young player and should really be an everyday starter even when Jay Bruce comes back from the IL in the next couple days. I mean move Kingery to 3rd and sit Franco’s bum ass against righty’s.
Some guys in the bullpen are also showing well. Mike Morin should prove to be a valuable addition and for as bad as he’s looked at times as a starter, Pivetta shut the door against the Braves out of the pen today.
Shifting gears to the trade deadline on Wednesday, what should you expect from the Phillies?
Unfortunately the answer is, pretty much nothing. This makes me sad but it’s the truth. Phillies General Manager Matt Klentak and President Andy MacPhail have both said that because the Phillies are multiple pieces away from winning a World Series, they will likely not part with any prospects of value.
It’s a fun feeling when your favorite team pulls out all the stops and makes a huge win-now move to bring in a big name at the deadline. It energizes the fans and I can only imagine what it does for moral in the clubhouse. Players like to think that management believes in their chances to win right?
But sadly it just doesn’t make sense for the Phillies to be active at the trade deadline this year. Klentak and MacPhail are right this team is multiple pieces, or should I say multiple pitchers, away from winning anything significant.
As discussed earlier, the biggest team need is starting pitching. They’re are plenty of options on the market, but non that seem to be a good fit for the Phillies. They would not be in the market for a rental player like Madison Bumgarner (if the Giants even want to part with him), because they would almost definitely lose him in free agency after the season and as we discussed they need more than one piece for this years puzzle. It WOULD make more sense to go after a pitcher that is controllable for another year or two such as a Matthew Boyd or Mike Minor, however these players would require a much bigger haul of prospects that Phillies either don’t have or aren’t willing to part with.
From an offensive standpoint, I have seen some people connect Tigers outfielder Nicholas Castellanos to the Phillies. This to me just doesn’t make any sense. While a good hitter, Castellanos would only be a rental player and if the Phillies do bring in a rental player it better be an arm not a bat. This team has much bigger holes than outfield, especially with Haseley playing well and Bruce coming back soon as mentioned earlier.
Although the I expect the front office to be quiet, I expect big things in terms of on field performance this week as the Phillies will host the Giants and White Sox for three game sets.
Until next time, go Phils.
P.s. I know Segura exited today’s game after his collision with Acuna Jr. but I haven’t heard any news of an injury that would keep him off the field. Hopefully I don’t need any such news anytime soon.
P.p.s. What are the Mets doing. This whole week there were rubblings of them selling Syndergaard and now they turn around and buy Stroman for two of their top six prospects? So many questions. Like does management really think this team can still contend? And if so do they think their biggest need is starting pitching?? And did they base all of this off a three game sweep of the Pirates??? Lol what a wild organization.
Ring the Bell 