The CF Void

Odubel Herrera is fitting right in. Since being recalled from baseball purgatory, he's hitless in eight at-bats with two strikeouts. Mickey Moniak, who got shipped out to make room for Herrera, got all of 25 at-bats to prove his worth. He got three hits and walked three times. Roman Quinn, who is still on the roster for some reason, has two hits in 32 at-bats. And Adam Haseley is still on the restricted list, having left the team for personal reasons.

Is the plan to let Herrera stay out there until he starts hitting? Or is he the next warm body holding a place until Scott Kingery finds his stroke or Dave Dombrowski makes a trade? If Herrera goes hitless today, his welcome should be even warmer than expected when gets back to CBP on Friday night.

Speaking of second chances, Vince Velasquez got another start last night, the 101st of his Phillies career. It took him 74 pitches to get 13 outs. After the Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the second, hit promptly gave it back by allowing two runs in the bottom of the inning. His ERA is an ugly 6.57. Why do they keep giving him chances? They know what he is. Would Spencer Howard or Ranger Suarez or any other starter on the 40-man roster be that much of a drop-off in talent from the great Velasquez?

At least today is Nola Day, and the first-place Phils have a shot of going above .500. I don't expect Bryce Harper to be in the starting lineup today after getting hit in the face with a 97-mph fastball, even though he says he's OK. Didi Gregorius got drilled in the ribs with the very next pitch and he could be out of the lineup as well. I sincerely hope Aaron Nola drills someone on the Cardinals today. 

He's Back

You knew it was going to happen, considering how awful Phillies centerfielders have been this season. But that doesn't mean I like it. Odubel Herrera, he of the domestic violence arrest, has been called up and placed in the starting lineup to replace Mickey Moniak, who was sent to the alternate site. 

Herrera hasn't played an inning of MLB baseball since May 26, 2019, when he was suspended and charged with assaulting his girlfriend. She eventually dropped the charges, but Herrera has been persona non grata since then. This really shows how desperate the Phillies are and how far out of favor Scott Kingery has fallen. They'd rather play the accused abuser than their former top prospect. 

Herrera was lousy when he got suspended. He was hitting .222 with a .629 OPS, which makes him a superstar compared to the way the other guys have played in CF this season.

Yes, the Phillies need help in center. It's a good thing the Phils are on the road for the first part of the week. Herrera ought to get an earful when he returns to CBP this weekend, if he's still with the team. I'd make a call to Shane Victorino and see if he can still hit. I'd take him in a heartbeat. (Philadelphia Inquirer photo)

Help Wanted - CF

April 4. That’s the last time a Phillies starting center fielder got a hit. What the actual hell. Roman Quinn, Adam Haseley, and Mickey Moniak (above) are a combined 3 for 49 with 18 strikeouts. 

I certainly didn’t expect a whole lot from Quinn and Haseley; I thought maybe they’d be league average. But Haseley has left the team and Moniak is hitless in 12 at-bats. 

So what’s the solution? Odubel Herrera, who was terrible before being suspended and not playing a MLB game since 2019? Scott Kingery, who was sent to the minors to find the swing that earned him a six-year contract before he ever played an MLB game?

Or is the answer out of the organization? It couldn't hurt to reach out to some teams who won't contend this year and see what kind of deal can be made. The Mariners (even though they're currently in first place) Tigers, Pirates, Orioles, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies have to have something better than what the Phillies are running out there every day, right? Maybe somebody like Mitch Haniger (Mariners), but he's only played 87 career games in center. Or Cedric Mullins (Orioles).

They could ask Andrew McCutchen to move back to center, but I'm not sure the 34-year-old has the speed and the range needed to play the position. Then you still need to put somebody in left. Matt Joyce or Brad Miller could play out there, but then the bench gets seriously weaker. 

Or they could do something completely insane and move Vince Velasquez to the outfield. He's supposed to be the best athlete on the pitching staff and has played the outfield before. And can hit a little bit. Send him to the minors for three or four weeks for a crash course in outfield play and see what happens. It can't possibly any worse than what happens when he's pitching, right? 

Moore is Less

Matt Moore has been really bad in his first three starts as a Phillie–11 innings, 17 hits, a league-leading four HR allowed, and a 9.82 ERA. Opponents are hitting .354 against him with a 1.136 ERA. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was a member of last year's flammable bullpen. He'd fit right in. 

But manager Joe Girardi says Moore's spot in the rotation is safe for now. It took Vince Velasquez 63 pitches to record seven outs in relief yesterday, so he's not really an option, JoJo Romero got roughed up as well, and Spencer Howard is still getting stretched out in the minors.

Considering the Phils have given Velasquez 99 starts since 2016, you have to figure Moore is in the rotation to stay, barring injury. I hope the weather warms up so the ball starts carrying better for the Phillies offense. Because when Moore is on the mound, they're gonna need all the runs they can get. (Photo from MLB.com)

Back Where They Started

The Phillies caught a huge break yesterday, when the game was rained out rather than having to face the National League's best pitcher, Jacob deGrom. After starting out 5-1, the Phillies have sputtered and lost five of six, and now sit at 6-6 with a six-game homestand about to begin.

It'll be good to play someone other than the Braves and Mets for a change, as the Cardinals and Giants come to town. Maybe being back home will wake up their bats, because they were awful on the road. The Phils scored a grand total of 16 runs on the six-game road trip. And there will be a newish face with the team.

Former first overall draft pick Mickey Moniak has been called up to play centerfield after Adam Haseley announced he was leaving the team for personal reasons. Nobody knows when Haseley will be back, so Moniak has a chance to get a lot of playing time and finally make people believe he's a big league player.

Moniak's arrival means less playing time for Roman Quinn, who is hitting just .050 with 15 strikeouts in 42 plate appearances. Another struggling outfield, Andrew McCutchen, is hitting just .139 and is hitless since April 10. You really need more production from your leadoff hitter. If McCutchen has another ofer tonight, I'd move Didi Gregorius to the leadoff spot.

Even after the lousy roadtrip, the Phils are just a game out of first place in the NL East. Yeah, the season is only two weeks old, but the Phils are back with an even record, just like on Opening Day. 

5 and 1

After six games to start the season, the Phillies are 5-1. I thought 3-3 would have been acceptable and 4-2 would have been the best possible outcome. But 5-1? Against the top two teams in the division? There's no way anyone actually imagined this would happen.

They crushed the Mets 8-2 today with homers from Rhys Hoskins, Alec Bohm, and JT Realmuto. They're hitting .262 as a team with an OPS of 7.53. The pitching has been phenomenal, with an ERA of 2.62 and an opponents batting average of .201.  The bullpen has been outstanding. Today relievers Connor Brogdon, Archie Bradley, Sam Coonrod, and Hector Neris threw five innings and allowed five hits and just one run after ace Aaron Nola struggled but still only gave up a run.

They're tied with Houston and Cincinnati with the best record in baseball and have a well-served day off before a weekend series with the 2-4 Braves and then the Mets again next week. Everyone said the first two weeks of the season would be murderous for the Phillies. It's the Phillies who are killing it.  (Photo from @Phillies)

LOL Mets

What a great win. You knew the Phillies had a chance when the Mets pulled Jacob deGrom after just 77 dominating pitches. 

The Phils feasted on the Mets bullpen and scored five runs in the eighth inning to take a 5-2 lead. What looked like the first loss of the season turned into a fourth straight win. 

The bullpen was excellent again tonight, even after giving up its first run of the season. I could get used to watching this after last year’s shitshow. 

Phils Remain Undefeated

I'm not sure which stat is more insane following the Phillies weekend sweep of the defending division champion Atlanta Braves–the fact that noted Phillie killer and MVP Freddie Freeman went hitless, or that the Phillies bullpen allowed ZERO runs. It was the first time in Freeman's career he's gone hitless in a series against the Phils. 

The starting pitching was better than anyone could have ever expected. Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Zach Eflin combined to pitch 20.2 innings, giving up just three earned runs, one walk, 11 hits, while striking out 24. 

Even after a little flashback action from last year when Hector Neris walked two Braves in the ninth inning on Sunday, the bullpen is unscored upon in 7.1 innings. The defense, also a concern, was again brilliant today with great plays from Alec Bohm and yet another circus catch from Didi Gregorius. 

The only concern was from the offense, which managed just nine runs and struck out 36 times in the three games. But the pitching was so good, the offense was good enough.

Another big test awaits the unbeaten Phils on Monday night, when the New York Mets visit Citizens Bank Park for their first game of the season. Their weekend series against the Nationals was postponed because of COVID issues on the Nationals roster and staff. Jacob deGrom gets the start for the Mets while Matt Moore makes his Phillies debut. 

DeGrom has faced the Phillies 17 times and held them to a .561 OPS, and none of the Phillies regulars is hitting more than .200 against him for his career. Nobody expected a weekend sweep. Who knows what could happen with the Mets in town? (Photo from Phillies Twitter account)

Still Undefeated

Zack Wheeler was absolutely brilliant on Saturday, pitching seven innings and allowing just one hit and striking out 10. And he drove in two runs for good measure. It was probably the best Phillies pitching performance since Roy Halladay's playoff no-hitter. Wheeler dominated the Braves.

The pitching has been everything you could ask for and more after two games. Wheeler, Archie Bradley, and Hector Neris retired the last 23 hitters they faced today. Neris struck out the side in the ninth. Wheeler's fastball averaged 97 mph. The first pitch he threw was 99. The last was 97. And the bullpen has not allowed a run in 5.1 innings so far. 

It's games like this that get your imagination going and wondering just how good this team can be. They're already assured of winning the series against the Braves, and a sweep would be so sweet. But to win two of out every three at home and play at least .500 on the road is a great way to make sure you're playing baseball in October.  

This and That

A few thoughts about yesterday's Home Opener.

It felt amazing to be back in the ballpark. Sure, there were only 8800 of us in the building, but it felt like a real game, as opposed to the cardboard cutouts and fake cheering from last season.

It was cold. Really cold. We were lucky because we were sitting in Section 430 down the LF line, so the wind was blocked behind us. But anytime we got up, it was frosty. The only thing worse than the cold was the food poisoning I got Wednesday night. I felt like absolute garbage, but there was no way I was going to miss Opening Day.

Aaron Nola looked fantastic, except for one bad pitch. He deserved the win. 

The defense was surprisingly good. Alec Bohm made a leaping grab of a line drive, Roman Quinn made a perfect throw to cut down a runner at the plate, and Didi Gregorius made an over-the-shoulder catch while sprinting into the outfield. 

But the best performance of the day came from the Phillies bullpen. Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Hector Neris, and Connor Brogdon shut the Braves out over the last 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit, two walks, and four strikeouts. A complete 180 from last year's crew. 

It's Finally Here!

Happy Opening Day to you and yours!

It's finally here, after what felt like the longest winter known to modern man. MLB is back, and not a moment too soon.

The Phillies begin play today as mostly an afterthought to the experts. Most power rankings have the Phils in the middle of the pack. Those same power rankings love division rivals New York and Atlanta, with many of them putting both teams in the top five teams in baseball.

So where does that leave the Phillies? I think this team is much better than last year, especially in the bullpen. Are they good enough to overtake the Mets and Braves in the division? Probably not. Are they good enough to win a wild card berth and play baseball in October? I think it could happen.

The biggest question marks for this team are pitching depth, center field, defense, and the bullpen. The offense should be fine and score five to six runs a night. If they can get league average production in center and from the bullpen, the Phillies could surprise some people. 

The NL East is probably the toughest division in baseball. If the Phils can play .500 against the division and beat up on teams they should be beating up on, they should get a chance to play in October. 

My division winners are the Braves, Cardinals, and Dodgers, with the Padres taking one wild card spot. That leaves the second spot up for grabs between the Phils, Mets, Brewers, and Giants. It says here the Phils win 88 games and a chance to play in October.