Closing Time for Hector

Hector Neris will again be able to do Hector Neris things in the ninth inning to start the season, as manager Joe Girardi this morning tabbed the veteran Phillies reliever as the closer.

For his career, Hector's been mostly good. But when he's bad, man oh man is he bad–remember his demotion to Triple A in 2018? In his seven-year Phillies career, he's appeared in 331 games and pitched 333.1 innings. He's given up 280 hits while striking out 422 and walking 129 for a WHIP of 1.197. He's saved 72 games for the Phils, but also blown 19, and his career record is 17-22.

He's been mostly good against the rest of the NL East, holding three of the four teams to an OPS against of .700 or less. The Mets have an .814 OPS against him.

The closer role will probably be fluid, since expectations are higher in 2021 than in past seasons. Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, and Connor Brogdon will all be in setup roles, and any one of them could be called on to close out a game if Hector starts being Hector again. Maybe he'll be better with better arms in the bullpen. (Photo from The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Hey MLB–Fix the Schedule!

The weather for tomorrow's Phillies Home Opener is going to be less than ideal for baseball. AccuWeather is calling for considerable cloudiness with a high of 49. But it'll feel much colder, with winds of up to 30 mph making it feel like 37 degrees in the shade.

I go on this rant every season. Let the teams in the Northeast and Midwest start the season on the road for the first 10 days or so. The Phillies have an 11-day road trip and two 10-game trips this season. Why not have one of those to start the season and play in domes and warm weather cities?

Ten days can make a huge difference when it comes to weather in April. It makes no sense for MLB to schedule games in Philadelphia, New York (48, winsy), Boston (48, windy) , Detroit (33, cloudy) , Chicago (37, partly cloudy), Denver, Cincinnati (39, partly cloudy), and Washington (48, windy) when history shows how lousy the weather can be.

And it makes even less sense to have warm-weather and dome teams playing each other while players and fans are freezing their asses off in the rest of the country. Arizona is playing the Padres in San Diego. Miami and Tampa (both dome teams) are playing each other. Houston is playing at Oakland.  

Here are the warm weather and dome cities: Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Toronto, Milwaukee, Houston, Arlington, TX, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle. Those 14 teams should be playing at home for the first 10 days of the season and hosting cold-weather teams. But what about the other two cold weather teams?

Here's the solution–schedule three three-game series in San Juan to start the season. Have a pair of cold weather teams play each other in Puerto Rico and showcase MLB on an island that has produced scores of MLB stars. Everybody wins. And nobody freezes their butt off. 

Haseley and Quinn are In

The world's most underwhelming centerfield competition has ended–and Adam Haseley (above) and Roman Quinn win a trip to Philadelphia, while Odubel Herrera has been banished to the team's alternate site in the Lehigh Valley.

Quinn and Haseley will likely platoon, with Quinn getting at-bats against left-handers and Haseley taking on the righties. Look for Quinn to get the start on Opening Day on Thursday against the Braves, since lefty Max Fried will be starting for Atlanta.

Haseley, who lost playing time this spring due to injury, still hit .316 with a .907 OPS. Quinn finished at .270/.747. Herrera was good, then bad for a while, and finished at .231/.726. Herrera hadn't played regularly since 2019, and it showed. So he'll be insurance just in case someone gets hurt, although former No. 1 pick Mickey Moniak, who had a great spring, might get the call before Herrera.

Herrera's much-publicized arrest on domestic violence charges and subsequent suspension probably played a role in the decision. But he made the choice easier with inconsistency at the plate. 

Kingery Down

Phillies utility guy Scott Kingery won't be coming to Philadelphia with his teammates this week. He's been sent to the minors to fix his broken swing. 

Kingery was awful this spring, He had just seven hits in 44 at-bats with 19 strikeouts. Ronald Torryes will take Kingery's place as the utility guy on the roster. The demotion comes on the anniversary of Kingery's six-year, $24 million contract signing before he had take a single swing in MLB. There are also three club options from 2024-2026. 

The Phils made a couple of other surprising moves. They sent lefty JoJo Romero to the minors, leaving the Phils with just one left-hander in the bullpen. Vince Velasquez has made the team, using yet another of his unlimited lives to stay on the big league roster. He'll be a long man out of the bullpen and will be used as a starter in case of emergency. 

So the bullpen will look like this–Velasquez, Jose Alvarado, Archie Bradley, Connor Brogdon, Sam Coonrod, David Hale, Brandon Kintzler, and Hector Neris. This group looks worlds better than last year's toxic waste fire. 

The last spring training game is tomorrow, and the centerfield job is still up for grabs. Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Odubel Herrera are all still in the mix. Quinn was sidelined with food poisoning for part of the weekend, and I wouldn't be surprised if Herrera had something to do with it. 

The rest of the roster looks like this:

Catchers - JT Realmuto, Andrew Knapp

Infielders - Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Didi Gregorius, Alec Bohm, Brad Miller, and Torreyes.

Outfielders - Andrew McCutchen, Bryce Harper, Matt Joyce, and two of the group of Haseley/Quinn/Herrera

Starting pitchers - Aaron Nola, Zach Wheeler, Zack Eflin, Matt Moore, Chase Anderson.

This looks like a pretty good team. I'll have predictions later in the week.

Roster Coming into Focus

The Phils made a bunch of moves today as the team looks to finalize its 26-man roster before Opening Day on April 1. 

Reliever Brandon Kintzler and outfielder Matt Joyce have made the team. Reliever Tony Watson opted out of his minor league deal in hopes of hooking up with a new team.

Starting pitcher Spencer Howard was sent to the minor league camp so he can get more innings until he's needed in the bigs. Howard was slowed by injuries this spring. Will Scott Kingery also get sent down? He's had a god-awful spring and could probably use some regular at-bats to straighten himself out. That won't happen if he's on the bench in Philly.

The team still has to make some moves so Kintzler and Joyce can be added to the 40-man roster. One easy solution is to trade Vince Velasquez for a bag of left-handed curveballs and a case of Big League Chew that's passed its expiration date. Maybe he can be packaged with a couple of minor leaguers on the 40-man roster so the Phils can get something of value in return.

The Baseball Gods Have Smiled

The streak lives. My 41-year run of attending Phillies Home Openers is alive and well. My wife got an email today saying that since she's purchased holiday packs of tickets in the past, she was eligible to buy tickets to the Opener. Boom!

I've been sitting here with a ridiculous smile on my face. I don't really care that the seats are essentially in Delco (Section 431). I'm going to be in the building to watch baseball for the first time since June 2019. I was at CBP for last year's Home Opener in July for a photo, just to say I was there. So this year marks Year 42 of The Streak.

Things are looking up for the regular season as well. JT Realmuto returned last night and homered in his first at-bat. Catcher Jeff Mathis asked for his release today, so the Phils must be pretty sure JT is good to go. And Aaron Nola was absolutely dominant against the Yankees on Monday night. In six innings, he gave up one hit, struck out nine, and got 16 swings and misses. Let's save some of that for next Thursday against the Braves.

And the centerfield derby is still on. Adam Haseley returned from injury today and went hitless in three at-bats. Scott Kingery got a hit, but is still batting .143. Odubel Herrera is 1 for 3 today and hitting .231. And finally, Roman Quinn is hitting .323 with an .866 OPS. It says here Quinn gets the starting job, a healthy Haseley gets a bench role, and Kingery might get some time on the taxi squad to get his offense going. Herrera can go pound sand.

 

No Go for JT

J.T. Realmuto was supposed to make his first spring training appearance this afternoon, but was pulled from the lineup because of "general soreness."

Realmuto has been sidelined with a broken right thumb, but was making progress in his recovery and the Phillies were hopeful he'd be ready for Opening Day a week from Thursday. 

Manager Joe Girardi told MLB Radio that the star catcher had "some general soreness in his body. He had probably 7 to 10 at-bats yesterday (in a simulated game), he threw to bases, he caught. I just said, 'Hey, it’s cooler today, you have general soreness. I’m not going to play you for three at-bats, I don’t think it’s worth it. Let’s just see how it goes tomorrow and we’ll try to get you in.'"

So it sounds like he was held out just to be safe. Which is fine with me. But if this team is going to do anything this year, they need a healthy J.T. Realmuto.

Save the Streak

With the exception of last year's pandemic season, I've attended every Phillies Home Opener since 1980. It's my favorite day of the year and my personal religious holiday.

Only 8,800 tickets were made available for this year's Home Opener, and they went to season ticket holders. If anyone has a pair of tickets to the Opener they'd be willing to sell me for face value or slightly above, I'd be eternally grateful and would gladly interview you for this blog. Or cut your lawn or wash your car. 

I don't want to go all Blanche DuBois, but I need to rely on the kindness of strangers. Or maybe someone I know. I checked StubHub, and that's a budget buster, unless I hit the lottery in the next couple of weeks. 

I had tickets to last year's scheduled opener, but then the pandemic shut the planet down. When play finally started up last July, I made a point to go to Citizens Bank Park on Opening Day just to say I was there. The photo above is my son and me, masks on, at CBP last July. His streak of Home Openers started in 2001. 

The streak stands at 41 years, with an asterisk for last season. There has to be somebody out there who can help us out and extend the streak to 42. Yes, we're desperate. 

Listen to Joe

If you've watched any Phillies spring training action in the past few weeks, I hope you've had a chance to see the fourth inning interviews with manager Joe Girardi. They've been fantastic.

Today, for example, Joe was talking about the danger of pitchers hitting in the National League with Roman Quinn at the plate and Ronald Torreyes on second. Quinn hit a chopper over the pitcher that was fielded by the shortstop, who had no chance to get the speedster at first. The shortstop lobbed the ball over anyway. A surprised first baseman saw Torreyes rounding third for some reason, and threw home. Torreyes was out by 30 feet.

When asked by Ricky Bottalico what happened with Torreyes on the play, all Joe could say was, "I'm not sure what happened there. I'll have to get to the bottom of that."

Girardi has been thoughtful, intelligent, honest, and entertaining. He's a great baseball mind and I'm really glad he's the guy guiding this team. 

Starters Looking Strong

The regular season starts in a little more than two weeks, and the starting pitching has been good. Really, really good. So good it gives you visions of a lengthy postseason run.

Based on spring performances, the rotation should include Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Zach Eflin, Matt Moore (pictured above in an AP photo), and Chase Anderson. Between them, they've thrown 35.1 innings, allowing just 26 hits. They've walked 11 and struck out 33 with a collective ERA of 2.80.

Their excellence leaves two guy—Spencer Howard and Vince Velasquez—without spots. Howard missed his last start with back issues and Velasquez remains inconsistent. Barring injuries or other weirdness, I look for Howard to start the year either on the injured list or in minor league camp. Velasquez will either be traded or moved to the bullpen. I think a trade is more likely. 

The Phils figure to carry eight guys in the bullpen. Hector Neris, Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Brandon Kintzler, Connor Brogdon, David Hale and Tony Watson, seem like locks to make the team. That leaves one spot left for guys like Sam Coonrod, Ramon Rosso, Enyel De Los Santos, and maybe Velasquez. Maybe the new regime gives VV another shot in Philadelphia. I think a change of scenery for him would do everyone the most good.

My favorite pitcher this spring has been Alvarado. He's allowed just two baserunners in four innings and might be one of the hardest throwing lefties I've seen in a while. He's consistently throwing 100 mph and keeping hitters bewildered with a devastating curve.

Pitching is going to be huge in the first days of the season. The Phils play their first 13 games against the Mets and Braves, two teams most "experts" expect to battle for the division title. If the pitching is as good against them as it's been this spring, the Phils will be added to that title conversation. 

Going to the Ballpark!

If this post is a little giddier than normal, I apologize. But I just went online and got tickets to see the Phillies play an actual baseball game live and in-person!

I got a pair of seats for April 21, a 1 p.m. start against Gabe Kapler and the San Francisco Giant. My last game was June 29, 2019, so it will be 663 days between seeing games in person.

I can't even begin to express how excited I am. I had tickets for Opening Day last year, but we all know what happened with that. And since the chances of attending the Home Opener this year look slim to none, I'll take what I can get. I've been smiling non-stop since the transaction went through. 

I don't have a problem with just 8,800 people allowed in the building during a pandemic. I feel the distance between other fans and the fact that I'll be wearing and mask and fully vaccinated make it pretty safe. If, however, I had the chance to go to Opening Day at full capacity, I'd have to think twice about it. That's what the Texas Rangers are doing, which is kind of hard to believe. 

I'm still working on getting into the ballpark for Opening Day. If anyone can help me out, please let me know. Just respond to my Facebook post at facebook.com/jeff.lyons or DM me on Twitter at twitter.com/JeffLyons. I'll take all the help I can get. 

But for now, I'm excited about going to the game on 4/21, and will begin obsessing over the long-range weather forecast as soon as I post this, 

Philadelphia Gas Company

Gas. Cheese. Heat. Whatever you want to call it, Phillies relievers are throwing it. 

Everybody knows how historically awful last year's bullpen was. This year has a chance to be a lot different. 

I watched Friday's game against the Pirates, who managed just two hits off Phillies pitchers. Jose Alvarado threw two 100-mph fastballs, two that reached 99, along with a slider clocked at 93. Connor Brogdon threw 95. Sam Coonrod topped 98. JoJo Romero threw a four-seamer at 97. Spencer Howard was sitting between 96 and 97. Hector Neris and Archie Bradley were the slowpokes at 94 and 93. 

Yesterday, Enyel De Los Santos hit 96 with his fastball. Hector Rondon was at 95. Damon Jones got to 95. 

Last year's bullpen had an average fastball velocity of 93 mph, which was 24th in the majors. Things are looking up for 2021. 

Moore Please

Matt Moore made his Phillies spring debut today and looked like he belongs in the starting rotation. The left-hander pitched two innings, and allowed just one hit, a bad-hop double. Moore threw 23 pitches, 15 for strikes, struck out two and walked one. His curve and changeup were very effective. 

The enigmatic Vince Velasquez was next, and he pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three. He threw 20 pitches, 14 for strikes, and did not allow a baserunner. This is the kind of performance that has earned Velasquez so many chances and what makes his inconsistency so infuriating. 

The Phillies also got home runs early from Scott Kingery and Odubel Herrera, who provided a bat flip. You'd think a guy trying to get back in people's good graces might tone it down a bit and just run. But that's just me. I love a good bat flip as much as anyone, but not in your second spring training game when you're on an apology tour.

Odubel also had a part in the old 9-4-2 double play to end the second inning. A bad-hop grounder ended up in the right field corner and Herrera corralled it, threw a strike to cutoff man Nick Maton, who threw a one-hopper to the plate to get the runner trying to score. 

The Phils' bats were active early, and they led the Yankees 6-0 in the fourth inning. I had to go back to work because I have a real job that pays for this blog. (Photo via iPhone off my TV)