Meanwhile, the lefties have been used and Freddie Freeman has at least one more at bat in this game, which the Phils lead 4-3 entering the 8th inning. Stay tuned.
BOTTOM OF THE 8TH:
So with both lefties already used, Gabe Kapler turned to righthander Luis Garcia to face Braves lefties Freeman and Nick Markakis. How'd that go?
Freeman walked on five pitches. Markakis, who was 3-4 in his career against Garcia, hit a high chopper that took forever to come down. The Phils got Markakis at first, but Freeman ran hard and made it to third, which wasn't being covered. Chris Stewart grounded out for the second out, and Freeman was held at third. Preston Tucker singled in Freeman to tie the game. Sigh. Dansby Swanon appeared to double in the go-ahead run, but pinch runner Peter Bourjos was ruled out at the plate on a replay review.
TOP OF THE NINTH:
Cesar leads off with a walk.
Santana walks as well.
Herrera grounds into a fielder's choice, Santana out at 2nd, Cesar moves to 3rd.
Hoskins Ks to end the inning. Sigh.
BOTTOM OF THE NINTH:
Hector Neris in to pitch for the Phils.
Flaherty flies out to deep LF.
Charlie Culberson Ks looking.
Inciarte grounds to 2B.
Time for free baseball. Oh lordy.
TOP OF THE 10TH:
Altherr grounds out to 3B.
Kingery pops out to shallow RF.
Knapp flies out to deep RF.
BOTTOM OF THE 10TH:
Drew Hutchison in to pitch for the Phillies.
Albies flies out to LF.
Freeman Ks swinging!
Markakis walks.
Stewart grounds to SS.
TOP OF THE 11TH:
Jorge Alfaro Ks swinging.
Crawford singles to CF.
Cesar singles to RF, Crawford to 3B.
Santana flies to LF, Crawford scores, Cesar to 2B. Santana's 3rd RBI of the night.
Other stuff of note: Scott Kingery got his first start at 3B and hit 2 singles, nearly beheading 2 different pitchers with line drives up the middle. Rhys Hoskins hit his first HR of the year, as did Carlos Santana.
“Look, tonight, the decisions didn’t work out in our favor. But I’m very confident that over a long period of time that they
will.” - Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, after watching his team lose when every one of his in-game pitching decisions backfired.
And he mentioned confidence. What about Aaron Nola's confidence after being pulled after just 68 pitches and allowing just three hits with one out in the 6th inning? Apparently, Nola wasn't on a pitch count and he wanted to stay in the game. But Kapler didn't trust him against Freddie Freeman, even though Kapler called his effort "spectacular." And that move completely changed the momentum of the game. The Braves had done nothing against Nola. They had to be thrilled to see him leave the game. And they were, winning on Nick Markakis' walk-off 3-run HR in the bottom of the 9th.
“You just want to go as long as you can. When you’re a competitor, you
feel like you can get guys out in any situation in any part of the
game. I had a good bit left,” Nola told reporters after the game.
Look, I know it's only one game out of 162, but we waited all damn winter for this. And to see it fall apart so quickly was just so reminiscent of the baseball that we've been subjected to over the last 5 or 6 years.
Maybe Kapler was nervous in his big league managerial debut and managed too much. We'll see what happens. But man, what a disappointing start.
Today's FPOTD is a little more random than usual. I kind of have an idea of who I want to feature beforehand. But I just had lunch with one of my best friends who was unaware of the existence of baseball-reference.com. Some folks lead such sheltered lives.
Anyway, I showed him the mobile version on my phone and there were a number of players pictured. I randomly clicked on one and it turned out to be Phillies 1999 All-Star Paul Byrd. He won 15 games for the Phils, who went 77-85 and finished third in the NL East. Byrd had a decent career and also pitched for the Mets, Braves, Royals, Angels, Indians, and Red Sox.
Opening Day is finally here. And this year is going to be one of the most interesting seasons in quite a while. Optimism abounds, thanks in part to new manager Gabe Kapler. The Prince of Positivity seems to be a fantastic fit for this young team.
It certainly won't be boring watching the likes of Rhys Hoskins, JP Crawford, Jorge Alfaro, and future Philly demigod Scott Kingery rake and mash this summer. And people are going to love Kingery. The comparisons to Chase Utley will come early and often.
All that matters is that baseball is back. And after the winter of nor'easters here in Philly-ish, it couldn't have come at a better time. Let's get it on.
Joe DiMaggio. George Brett. Greg Maddux. None of them played for the Phillies. But their less talented brothers did.
Vince DiMaggio was with the Phils in 1945 and 1946. He hit .257 and managed to hit 19 HRs. His little brother Joe did not play in 1945 because he was busy with World War II. Joe was a Yankee, not a Phillie.
Ken Brett was better known for his bat than his arm, which would be a good thing, except for being a pitcher and all. He went 13-9 for the Phils in 1973, but he homered 4 times and knocked in 16 runs. He hit .262 for his career. George Brett, however, was a Hall of Fame 3rd baseman who was a career .305 hitter and led the AL in hitting three times. George was not a Phillie, but lost to the Phils in the 1980 World Series. So there's that.
Mike Maddux went 10-13 in the four seasons he spent with the Phillies. He was not very good, but then again, neither were the Phils when he was here from 1986 to 1989. He's had much more success as a pitching coach. His non-Phillie brother, Greg, won four Cy Young Awards and was an 8-time All-Star.
When the Phils come across ball-playing brothers in the future, let's hope they pick the right one.
Here's a breakdown of what the forecast looks like for next Thursday's 3:05 p.m. start against the Marlins:
Intellicast - Partly cloudy in the morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers
later in the day. High 46F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain
50%.
AccuWeather - Turning cloudy with a high of 60. Winds from the west at 6 mph, gusting to 17. Chance of rain is 25%.
Weather.com - Partly cloudy in the
morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers later in the day.
High 46F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Pundits and prognosticators around the baseball world are making their feelings known about the 2018 season, which starts tomorrow (FINALLY!). Let's see where they're putting the Phils.
18 - MLB.com
27 - ESPN (last updated on Nov. 1)
14 - TheRinger.com
18 - CBS Sports.com
17 - Rotoworld.com
19 - BleacherReport.com
21 - USA Today
Lots of consensus for the middle of the pack for the Phillies. Which, to a neutral observer, makes sense. I do not claim to be neutral. And it really pisses me off that almost all of these rankings have the Mets way ahead of the Phillies.
With 30-plus starts going to Jake Arrieta instead of AAAA pitchers, a full season of Rhys Hoskins, and a heaping helping of Scott Kingery, I think the Phillies have an outside shot at a wild card berth. They play the truly horrid Braves and Marlins a total of 38 times (thank you, division scheduling) and should win at least 60 percent of those games. They did OK against the division champion and perennial playoff disappointment Nationals (8-11) and fared a little worse against the Mets (7-12).
For me, the bullpen is better, the starting pitching is much better, and the offense should be better. I think 84 wins is realistic, but it will probably take 90 to make the playoffs. Second place in the division is absolutely attainable. But this team is definitely headed in the the right direction.
George Vukovich played parts of three seasons for the Phillies from 1980 to 1982. He was one of those anonymous replacement-level guys who would remain forgotten except for his name. He shared the same last name as former Phillie infielder and longtime coach, John Vukovich, but weren’t related. But John was loved in Philly and George was pretty much forgotten.
Sunday's news that Scott Kingery had signed a long-term deal and made the 25-man roster shakes things up a bit for the Phillies.
Roman Quinn and Jesmuel Valentin have been sent down, so the non-pitching portion of the roster looks like this:
C - Jorge Alfaro
C - Andrew Knapp
1B - Carlos Santana
2B - Cesar Hernandez
SS - JP Crawford
3B - Maikel Franco
OF - Rhys Hoskins
OF - Aaron Altherr
OF - Odubel Herrera
OF - Nick Williams
IF-OF - Scott Kingery
IF-OF - Pedro Florimon
The Phils will go with a four-man rotation until Jake Arrieta debuts on April 8.
SP - Aaron Nola
SP - Ben Lively
SP - Nick Pivetta
SP - Vince Velasquez
RP - Hector Neris
RP - Tommy Hunter
RP - Pat Neshek
RP - Adam Morgan
RP - Drew Hutchison
RP - Luis Garcia
RP - Edubray Ramos
RP - HobyMilner
The last bullpen spot probably belongs to Jake Thompson, but someone will have to get bumped when Arrieta is ready.
Wayne Twitchell is your FPOTD. His claim to fame in Philadelphia is being the team's lone All-Star for the 1973 game. He won 13 games that year for a truly bad team that had Steve Carlton win 13 and lose 20. The 73 Phils had two more 13-game winners–Ken Brett and Jim Lonborg. But Twitchell got to go to Kansas City, where he pitched a scoreless 6th inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Here's career highlights for this member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
Sad news out of Clearwater today. Catcher Cameron Rupp was designated for assignment by the Phillies. There really wasn't a place for him on the 25-man roster with Jorge Alfaro out of options and Andrew Knapp providing versatility.
According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia:
"The Phillies have seven days to dispose of Rupp’s contract. He could be traded, picked up by another team on waivers or released. If he clears waivers, he could be outrighted to Triple A. Rupp’s Phillies contract calls for him to make $2.05 million in 2018, but the Phillies would only be on the hook for a quarter of that if he is released by 2 p.m. Monday."
The affable Texan was popular in Philadelphia and was perhaps best known for hosting Ruppapalooza, a fundraiser benefiting the Pennsylvania SPCA.
Rupp's spot on the 40-man roster was needed to make room for P Drew Hutchison, who seemingly has made the team with great numbers during camp.
All the best to Cameron Rupp. Here's woofing at you, big fella.
I consider myself a pretty big Phillies fan. But I'd never heard of Bill Duggleby until just now. I just got back from the Phillies Charities 5K and thought today's FPOTD should be somehow connected to the 5K. So I present Bill Duggleby, who hold the Phillies team record for allowing the most runs in one game. He gave up 17 to the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 19, 1903.
Duggleby wasn't too bad a pitcher, a quick scan of Baseball Reference shows. He won 20 games in 1901 and 18 in 1905. For his career, he was 93-102 with a very respectable 3.18 ERA. His career WHIP was a little high at 1.302.
But what happened on that September day in 1903? Did he piss off his manager so badly that he stayed in the whole game? I can't seem to find the boxscore, but the Phils lost that game 17-7. They won the second game of the doubleheader, 10-4. Maybe the Phils had run out of pitchers by that point in the season and it was Duggleby's turn to take one (or 17) for the team. The 1903 Phils went 49-86 and finished 7th in the National League, 6 games ahead of the last-place Cardinals and 39.5 BEHIND the first-place Pirates.
Today is the Phillies Charities 5K and yours truly planned to run in it. I really did. Was gonna do the whole Couch to 5K thing. But, the couch won out, so I'll be walking instead of running. Maybe I'll run the last 100 yards or so. But at least I'm doing something.
Here are some photos to show I was actually there:
That's me with 1993 NL Champions Tommy Greene and Mickey Morandini. Fun, but freezing time.
Maikel Franco has been having a lousy spring, which is not a good thing to do when you're coming off a pretty bad year and Manny Machado is one of the biggest names of the next free agent class. Franco's bat should be named Generalissimo.
Anyway, Franco entered the day hitting below .200. So of course he's hit 2 HR and knocked in 6 today against the Pirates, lifting his average to a lusty .192. Meanwhile, Scott Kingery is hitting .378 with an OPS of 1.115. Franco needs to go to AAA or another team and Kingery belongs in the majors. There's no good reason (except for the stupid service time rule) to keep Kingery in the minors. #FreeKingery
Our family room is schizophrenic. Most of the decor is beach themed, mostly because my wife is from a Jersey Shore town (the good shore, Stone Harbor, not up north where that show was filmed). But there's a fair share of baseball stuff down there too.
Wanted to give you a heads-up about a MLB-licensed artist, SPreston Designs. He has a minimalist series featuring MLB ballparks and mascots. I have the CBP print as well as the Phanatic. He also does a series called "Ballpark Princesses" that look like Disney princesses wearing your favorite team's jersey.
Here's the CBP print.
I can't find a Phillies princess right this second, but perhaps Poot Poot (SPreston's Twitter handle) will share with us.
Anyway, he's a real good dude. Check out his website and his gallery in California at https://sprestondesigns.com.
Today's former Phillie of the Day, Larry Christenson, holds two distinct honors. First, he was the starting pitcher the only time the Phillies wore their God-awful burgundy "Saturday Night Special" uniforms on May 19, 1979 (boxscore here).
He is also only one of four Phillies to play more than 10 years and spend his entire career with the same team. The others are Mike Schmidt, Terry Harmon, and Bob Miller. The full list of all MLB players in this exclusive club is here.
Anyway, here's LC decked out in dark red. And for you nostalgia fans out there, I hated the 70s and 80s Phillies uniforms. Especially the powder blue. But this is right up there in the "ugly in the dark" category. #lukewarmtake
I'll be updating the blog as the game unfolds. All hail the beard!
FIRST INNING UPDATE:
Three-pitch strikeout to start things off. Another K on a filthy 3-2 breaking ball. And Miguel Cabrera homers to RF. Why'd we sign this guy? What a waste of money. #majorsarcasm
Nick Castellanos flies out to CF to end the inning. Not too bad.
He's done after 2 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 Ks on 31 pitches. Some Twitter reports have him reaching 95 with his fastball. Nice.
When I was a kid, Tom Huttonwas my favorite player. Not Schmidt, Bowa, Luzinski, Boone, Carlton, or anyone else. It was Tommy Hutton. Why? I think it was because he wore No. 14 and was an outstanding defensive first baseman. And I seem to recall him being featured in a Phillies yearbook one season where players gave tips. Now, this might be total hallucination on my part, but I'm pretty sure Tommy's tip was on sliding. I remember the article saying he was an excellent slider. And young me thought that was very cool. I was an odd kid.
Tommy was a broadcaster for many years, calling games for the Expos, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Marlins. And he's on Twitter! So follow him and say hello. He seems like a real good dude. And an excellent slider.
Bob "Bobby D" Dernier was a speedy outfielder who was with the Phillies from 1980 to 1983 and again from 1988 to 1989. He's probably best remembered for a walkoff inside-the-park HR against the Giants on May 15, 1989, with one of the greatest Harry Kalas calls of all time. (the original poster of the video apologizes for the poor video quality)
The pure excitement from Harry with Richie Ashburn yelling in background makes this an all-time favorite. We needed to hear from Harry on this extremely snowy first full day of spring.
The Phillies are pounding the ball against the Blue Jays this afternoon. Rhys Hoskins has 2 HRs and 3 RBIs, Aaron Altherr has a HR, and Scott Kingery has a pinch HR, his 4th HR of the preseason. Kingery is having a fantastic spring, slashing 405/650/1055 going into today. Wow.
Please, please, PLEASE find room on the Opening Day roster for Kingery. Two weeks without him could mean the difference in making the playoffs. Yeah, we're talking about playoffs.
The Phils made a couple of minor deals today. Infielder Eliezer Álvarez was traded to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations, and released LHP Fernando Abad. He had an ERA of 27.00. Abad, indeed. #dadjoke
Jose Cardenalwas a reserve outfielder and first baseman for the Phillies in 1978 and 1979. He played in 116 games for the Phils and was the proud owner of one of the best afros in MLB. Thanks to Cardenal, Garry Maddox, and Bake McBride, the Phils led the league in total hair height.
Spring arrives today. So of course, it's snowing and 34 degrees here in Philly-ish. Every year, I rant about teams from the Northeast playing at home during the first week of the season, but this year it seems extra poignant.
Let's look at the schedule, shall we?
The Tigers are hosting the Pirates in Detroit. The Twins are at the Orioles in Baltimore. The Nationals visit the Reds in Cincinnati, the Cardinals are in New York against the Mets, and the Royals host the White Sox in Kansas City. Chances are pretty good the weather in those home stadiums will be less than optimal for baseball activities. And why is the season starting in MARCH?
Here's the thing I don't get. Houston is playing Texas in Arlington, TX. The Angels and As will be in Oakland. The Brewers (home stadium is a dome) will be in San Diego, and the Giants will be in Los Angeles. Why can't the scheduling folks send the Northeast and Midwest teams on the road for 10 or 12 days to start the season to play dome and warm weather team? Teams take long road trips all season long. The cold weather will affect the quality of play, the health of the players, and the comfort of the fans.
Warm weather/indoor teams: Miami, Houston, Texas, Tampa, Milwaukee (retractable roof), San Diego, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle (retractable roof), Arizona, Anaheim, Oakland. That's 13 cities where fans and players can enjoy the early season in comfort. So only two cold-weather teams would have to have home games. It makes so much sense to me.
Opening Day in Philadelphia is usually awful, weather-wise. I remember driving through a snow squall on the way to the ballpark one year. And when Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, it was 48 degrees, rainy, and windy for the home opener. It was miserable. As a side note, AccuWeather is calling for sunny, windy conditions for the Phils home
opener on April 5 with a high of 61. Let's see if that holds.
So baseball schedule folks, do the fans and players a favor. Start the season where it's warm or where there's a roof whenever possible. They're called the boys of summer for a reason.
The 2018 season starts next week. Next week! Finally! Who cares if the 4th Noreaster in two weeks is bearing down on us. I do, actually. I'm going to the Home Opener for the 39th year in a row and the weather always sucks. More on that in a post to be named later.
Anyway, there are some questions about the final 25-man roster for when the Phillies open in Atlanta next week. Here's this fan's opinion:
SP - Jake Arrieta
SP - Aaron Nola
SP - Vince Velasquez
SP - Zack Eflin
SP - Nick Pivetta
Either Eflin or Pivetta goes down when Jared Eickhoff comes back from injury in May.
RP - Tommy Hunter
RP - Pat Neshek
RP - Hector Neris
RP - Edubray Ramos
RP - Luis Garcia
RP - Adam Morgan
RP - Victor Arano
RP - Hoby Milner
1B - Carlos Santana
2B - Cesar Hernandez
SS - JP Crawford
3B - Maikel Franco
IF - Pedro Florimon
I'm not sure what else they hope to see from Franco. They dumped Tommy Joseph because he was Tommy Joseph. I guess the powers that be think Franco still has untapped potential. I think we've seen what he is. I'd much prefer to see Scott Kingery get lots and lots of playing time in the infield. I think Florimon gets the last roster spot because of his versatility.
OF - Rhys Hoskins
OF - Odubel Hererra
OF - Nick Williams
OF - Aaron Altherr
OF - Roman Quinn
C - Jorge Alfaro
C - Andrew Knapp
Knapp gets the roster spot over Cameron Rupp because he's a bit more versatile and is a switch-hitter.
Arrieta makes this team so much better than last year. With him and Nola, the Phils have a legitimate 1-2 punch in starting pitching. Compare that to some of the awful starts this team got last year. Arrieta is a difference maker. To me, it makes sense to add Kingery and demote Franco. Kingery's offense could be the difference that gets this team to a wild-card playoff berth. And that's a move worth making.
I have a Philadelphia Phillies problem. I care deeply about this team. More than I should. I can't help it. I've been like this since I was a little kid, so we're talking 50-plus years of fandom.
Anyway, this will be a place for me to rant and rave, speculate, opine, and generally make my medium-warm takes known.
There's actually news to report today. First baseman Tommy Joseph, who was designated for assignment when Jake Arietta was signed, has been picked up by the Texas Rangers. The baseball team, not the law enforcement types. Good for him. He's got a limited skillset that will play better in the American League.
