Mediocrity, Thy Name is Phillies

And it's over.

The 2019 season has mercifully come to end for the underachieving Philadelphia Phillies, who managed to improve by exactly 1 win over last year's team. Each team featured September collapses, but so much more was expected of the current team that added Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and  Andrew McCutchen.

So now what happens? I imagine we'll learn the fate of manager Gabe Kapler in the next week or so. If they keep him, they'll use all the injuries as an excuse. If they don't, they'll say the team could have and should have accomplished much more. I'm thinking that Kapler gets canned, escpecially since Joe Maddon is now looking for work. I'd also wager there will be a new pitching coach.

I'll have more on what I think needs to happen over the next few weeks. But now is the time for my annual malaise that comes with knowing I can't watch the Phillies for 5 months.

1 Play Says it All

If there was one play that explained the 2019 Philadelphia Phillies, it happened last night in the top of the 3rd inning.

With runners on first and second and one out, Isan Diaz singled to right field. The runner on second scored easily as Bryce Harper chased it down and threw to third. The throw was offline and third baseman Maikel Franco threw to first, because Diaz was in no man's land between first and second.

Rhys Hoskins threw to Scott Kingery, who was covering second and chased Diaz back to first, throwing back to Hoskins. Hoskins then realizes the runner who was originally on first was trying to score, so he threw home, late and the run scored. Catcher Andrew Knapp fired to second, and of course Diaz was safe there.

Just your normal 9-5-3-6-3-2-4 for zero outs.

Wait Til Next Year - Again

And, it’s over. Today’s loss to the Nationals means the Phillies will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year and the 122nd time in franchise history. They still have a chance to finish with a winning record, provided they can find a way to win 3 of their remaining 6 games.

There’s plenty of blame to go around. Lousy starting pitching, bullpen injuries by the dozens, and the complete disappearance of Rhys Hoskins as an offensive threat leap to mind.

I thought they’d make the playoffs after signing Harper, McCutchen, and trading for JT Realmuto. But the pitching was never there and they couldn’t string together a winning streak of more than 4 games. But after starting the season with 4 straight wins, they've been a sub-.500 team ever since.

It should be a very interesting winter as the team tries to find a way to stop the rebuilding and actually play in October. Some familiar faces will probably be released or traded (Cesar Hernandez, Mikael Franco, Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez). And then there's Gabe Kapler–will he be back for a third season? I can almost guarantee you'll see a new pitching coach and a new hitting coach as well, since Charlie Manuel said he'd work for the rest of this season only.

This team has a long way to go to compete with the likes of the Braves and Nationals and even the Mets in their division. Sigh. 

Shows What I Know, Part 2

When I saw Gabe Kapler's lineup for last night's game, I was livid. And I blogged about it. And I was wrong. Big time.

I ripped Kapler for starting Sean Rodriguez and Jose Pirela in one of the most important games of the year. So of course, both played huge roles in a 5-run 4th inning that helped the Phils beat the Braves, 5-4.

The fun began when Bryce Harper hit a 1-out single. Rhys Hoskins homered to right to tie the game at 2 and Scott Kingery followed with a infield single. Rodriguez singled, moving Kingery to third. A Cesar Hernandez groundout  scored Kingery, giving the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Pirela crushed a 1-2 slider from starter Dallas Keuchel and sent it 410 feet into the left field seats.

The Phillies move a game closer to the second wild-card spot, but still trail the Brewers and Cubs by 4 games. And their chances of making the playoffs grew from 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent. There' barely a playoff pulse, but it's there. 

I don't know what led Kapler to start Rodriguez and Pierla. I thought he was making a huge mistake. Turns out the mistake was mine.

This Lineup Blows

You’re fighting for your playoff life. You have just a 0.4 percent chance of earning a wild card spot. Every game matters. What do you do?

If you’re Gabe Kapler, you start Sean Rodríguez at third base and Jose Pirela is starting in left. Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me?

The season is on the line and he opts for the woefully inexperienced Pirela and the sucktastic Rodríguez. Is he trying to get fired? Do the numbers say these two clowns will do better against lefty starter Dallas Keuchel? I don’t give a rats ass what the numbers say. Those two stink like feet and should never be anywhere close to a big league lineup, especially for a team that allegedly wants to play in October.  Jesus Tapdancing Christ. 

Boiling Point

A season's worth of frustrations finally blew just now when both Bryce Harper and manager Gabe Kapler were thrown out of the game by home plate umpire Gabe Morales for arguing balls and strikes.

Harper knows that screaming at an umpire will get you ejected. But he also should know that the Phillies have precious little time left to gain ground and make the playoffs. And Harper being replaced by Jose Pirella isn't exactly the substitution you want to make in a playoff-caliber game.

But it's been a frustrating year for everyone and the Phillies haven't been able to string together a long winning streak or even a consistent offense. And Harper blew up today. And with the Phils 3.5 games out of the wild card with 2 weeks to go, it's looking pretty bleak. Especially being down 5-1 to the red Sox in the 5th inning with offense nowhere to be found.

Pay the Man Already

I'm tired of writing about Team Schizo's up-and-down chase for a playoff spot. The Phillies are 2 games out of the wild card after splitting a 4-game series with the Braves.

Even if they make the playoffs, it'll be a quick exit because the pitching is abysmal. But I don't want to talk about that, either.

I want to talk about the absolute priority must-do off-season job–sign catcher JT Realmuto to a long-term contract extension. Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball. @ me if you want. I don't care. Stats don't lie. He's played the most games of any catcher in baseball and leads all catchers in hits. He's second in OPS, second in home runs, and has 10 more RBI than anyone else behind the plate.

And we haven't even talked about his defense yet. He's thrown out 42 would-be base stealers this year, at an almost unheard of 47 percent rate. He's thrown out 18 more guys than the second-place catcher. And he's picked off an MLB-best 3 runners. He's been charged with only 8 passed balls in almost 400 innings behind the plate.

He's arbitration eligible for 2020 and can become a free agent in 2021. That cannot happen. So what's it gonna take to keep him year for a while? I'm thinking at least $22 million a season for 5 years. The two highest-played catchers this year, Buster Posey and Yadier Molina, make $22 and $20 million respectively. And both are on the downside of their careers. Realmuto is at his peak. He's probably worth as much as Bryce Harper makes per season, considering the importance of his position.

But this is one contract the Phillies can absolutely not afford to screw up. They gave up their top pitching prospect, Sixto Sanchez, to get him. And so far, Realmuto has been worth it. Pay the man.

Down and Almost Out

The Phillies' playoff chances aren't officially dead. It just seems that way.

The week started off well enough, with 3 straight wins. But, in true Team Schizo fashion, they dropped the next 3, the last 2 on walkoffs.

On Thursday, it was a walkoff homer. Last night, it was a walkoff walk. And in both games, the guy who allowed the winning run was in the minor leagues just a week ago. Just make it stop.

And to make things even worse, Bryce Harper got hit on the hand by a pitch and had to leave the game. He's listed as day-to-day, just like the rest of us.

Fangraphs says the Phils have a 1.9 percent chance of making the playoffs. I'm kind of shocked the odds are that good. They're 4 games out of the second wild card spot and are tied with the Mets and Brewers 1.5 games behind the Diamondbacks. That's a lot of teams to pass with just 22 games left.

Ever-optimistic manager Gabe Kapler still thinks this team can get hot and make the playoffs. If that's the case, I'll have what he's having. The Phils haven't managed to win more than 4 games in a row at any point this season. There's no reason to think that's going to start right now.

Slump Over

Rhys Hotkins, I mean Hoskins, has finally shed his slump. In a big way. In his last 5 games, Hoskins has 9 hits in 17 at-bats with 4 walks. He homered twice on Monday against the Reds and has 5 RBIs in the last 5 games.

If the Phils have any shot at all of making the playoffs, Hoskins will have to keep hitting. They got a surprising solid start from Drew Smyly on Monday, but the state of the pitching staff is such that it can't be counted on. The Phils will have to hit their way into October.

There are 26 games left in the regular season and the Phils are 2.5 games out of the second wild-card spot. They have the toughest schedule in baseball the rest of the way. If they keep hitting, they have a chance.