2018 Phillies Spring Training News/Notes/Discussion

[California_Dreamin]

tom81...oh, my friend, say it ain't so! I so loved your Johnny Callison photo from 1964, hitting against the Cardinals. You may not realize how significant that photo was but it was taken during loss #9 on September 29, 1964 in a game that Callison was too sick to play.

He pinch hit late in the game and as that photo shows, he singled to right field. But here's the real story. While at first base, he was so sick that Mauch sent him out a warm up jacket, which in those days was illegal to wear in a game if you weren't a pitcher. The Cards not only didn't argue but first baseman Bill While of the Cards felt so bad for Callison and the Phils that he personally zipped up Callison't jacket.

Every time you posted and I saw that photo it reminded me of that night...hope you bring it back.

[andyb]

I have zero problem choosing Quinn as the 5th OF on this team. If we are going with a short bench, I guess my question who backs up Crawford at SS? Can Quinn back up SS in an emergency or do we have to carry Rosales?

I think we have to carry another middle infielder, even with a 5-man bench. Whether this person is a "good" shortstop is another question. As with Galvis we really don't need to sub Crawford defensively. We also will have Hernandez to move over in emergencies. It would be logical for this team to be more aggressive about in-game switches than past teams, especially given all the flexibility talk. Which means carrying a middle infielder who can play all 4 IF positions adequately.

[andyb]

I was referring to how the Mets employed Kevin Mitchell his rookie year where he was #3 in ROY, he played all over the field that year.

I realize that. I just remember laughing a bit (back in 1986) when I saw the Mets actually played Mitchell at SS. I know the BR page has him kind of average over those 24 games (SSS), but look at the number of games he completed (5) and it shows you what the Mets felt about his defense.

[tom81]

Thanks for sharing the story of that picture CD my friend.

Like MLB with their display of support I will get back to a normal baseball mode shortly with a Callison avatar.

MLB (MLB)

[zambonir]

The 4 man bench still has room for both Quinn and a utility IF. Plus the catcher and Altherr (for the sake or argument/organization). What they won't be carrying is an IF bench bat (guys like Gload or Dobbs back in the day, more recently Blanco by default) or a second utility guy. If they're willing to try Quinn at SS (to say nothing of Hernandez) the ability to play SS doesn't have to be the single most important quality of the utility guy, but I believe all the candidates do play it.

[phillychuck]

Watching the spring games, it's hard to keep from observing that the Kapler era is beginning with awful base running (worse than last year), dropped pop-ups, bad plate discipline, crucial errors, loafing on the base paths, and bad pitch framing. Does Kapler just preach the right things, or does he actually stop being everybody's best friend and let the players know that there will be consequences for lousy decisions and crucial mistakes? Very curious to see how it plays out.

[donaldorc]

Watching the spring games, it's hard to keep from observing that the Kapler era is beginning with awful base running (worse than last year), dropped pop-ups, bad plate discipline, crucial errors, loafing on the base paths, and bad pitch framing. Does Kapler just preach the right things, or does he actually stop being everybody's best friend and let the players know that there will be consequences for lousy decisions and crucial mistakes? Very curious to see how it plays out.

Indeed an extremely sloppily played game today.

[Austinfan]

Which is why I don't watch until March. The first week is just players getting back into a basic groove, they may train in the off season, but you have to get on the field. And you have too many minor league players in the clubhouse.

Around the first week in March, the hitters have enough reps, the pitchers have 2-3 starts under their belt and are stretching out, and some of the minor league scrubs are sent over to the minor league complex. At that point we can get a better read on the fringe roster guys and how the young pitchers are progressing.

[EastFallowfield]

And the games have started earlier than usual this season.

[David_Criss]

Some of these players had only officially been in camp 5 to 7 days before that first game.

[andyb]

All games are meaningful. The results are not necessarily meaningful but what individual players do and how they do it is meaningful. The season starts a half a week earlier this year so there is a little more compression in Spring Training. Of course a majority of the roster has been in Clearwater for a while, well before the reporting date.

[julio]

We do have to take it with a bit of patience, if the awful baserunning we see consists of Zach Coppola getting picked off first base, and Dylan Cozens imprudently trying to steal third. Mistakes like that from kids who are trying to impress, but who have as much chance of making the Opening Day roster as I have, ought not trouble us much.

[allentown]

Some of these players had only officially been in camp 5 to 7 days before that first game.

But isn't that also true of the guys we're playing against. I do agree that it is too soon to expect our new manager and coaches to have made significant changes in the approaches our players are taking and for those changes to bring positive results. That takes time, old habits aren't shed quickly and new approaches take a lot of time to learn and be comfortable with. Of course, some players just don't have the skill set to hit with power and contact. Perhaps Cozens is one such player, but it is too soon to conclude that. Let's see how he looks at the half-way point in the AAA season. I wouldn't expect a newly prescribed approach to work much faster than that. I expect that most changes will lead to worse results before they lead to better results. The manager needs to be very positive during this period. If a player is convinced to try a new approach and then experiences natural difficulty during the adjustment period and is publicly criticized during that adjustment period, then that's the end of that. To the player, and rightfully so, that is management being two-faced. What the manager should be looking for now is whether the player is trying to use the new approach in games and helping him tweak minor things to ease the adjustment period. When you're changing, you're actively thinking while hitting/running/pitching rather than acting instinctively, and that will cause errors and failures until the new approach becomes instinctive.

[Austinfan]

It's spring TRAINING.
It's like the first exhibition game in the NHL preseason. Take it with a grain of salt.

Now if in a couple weeks players don't look sharper, and pitchers aren't able to get secondary pitches over the plate or show a decline in velocity after they've been stretched out, then it's time for the raised eyebrow.

None of the games count, the only thing that counts is veterans showing they haven't lost it and young players showing progress.

[zambonir]

Yeah, I am not worried about sloppy play yet. It seems premature to suggest the team won't be disciplined, or to speculate that Kapler and his staff can't teach and enforce discipline because he has a different kind of personality. Especially when we just had three years of Larry Bowa and Mackanin.

And AF can make his own entertainment choice but to me it's fun to watch the early games and no-names.I'm certainly not planning my day around it, but it's still baseball.

Night game tonight, btw. Hoskins leading off. No TV alas.

Cesar Hernandez at shortstop, and two other things about tonight's Phillies...

[Austinfan]

I'm still in Flyers/Sixers mode.
Plus what I'm really interested in watching the young pitchers, I think this is a better group than some think, but confirmation can only come on the field.

Nola - Pivetta - Eickhoff - Eflin - Lively is my bet.
Five guys who have shown they can eat innings.
Eflin is supposedly up to 220 v 200 last year, and is just learning to use his legs in his delivery.
Lively has an marginal FB (91.3) but a deceptive delivery and good curve and slider. If he can improve his changeup he can be a solid back of the rotation guy.
Eickhoff if healthy is a proven commodity.
Pivetta has the stuff, now he has to show command and "pitchability."
Nola was a #1 starter last year, 12th in WAR, 20th ERA, 9th FIP, 15th K/9, with a BABIP of .309, so it wasn't luck.
Now he just has to do it again.

Velasquez has the stuff, but I think this is his last chance at starting, otherwise off to the bullpen, probably in Lehigh if he has any options left.
Thompson has yet to regain the velocity he had in Texas, he has good secondary stuff, but I think he needs to hit 92-93 or show much better command. Two seam, slider and change were solid, four seamer was BP.
Eshelman is the dark horse, I think improvement in his secondary pitches is essential - he has great command but the below average FB won't work without a plus changeup to set it up, and breaking balls that can freeze hitters.

[bkeich]

While I also want to see the young starters, I am not nearly as optimistic. This is the same group that was 21st out of 30 teams in Starter ERA and lost Hellickson.(who was team average ERA at 4.73) and replaced him with.... no one. Nola had a season that was not only not really expected but a little out of what anyone thought he would likely become, so he probably regresses a little (who knows). All are young, but honestly I dont see as much improvement as hoping for a repeat out of most of them, and except for Nola that isnt much to hope for. The pitchers you listed (except for Nola) combined for 1.6 WAR last year, and of that Eflin had 1.2.

[Austinfan]

Most young pitchers struggle their first year in the show, some for a couple years.
The problem is that it's hard to predict who'll turn it around.

But I'd take all 8 over Kendrick, who had a great sinker but took years to develop a second pitch and never really developed a third pitch. Or Worley, who had solid stuff but below average command.

Just remember we gave up on Floyd and Gio and Carrasco. Happ took a while, but turned into a pretty good pitcher.
Sometimes you have to be patient, especially with young pitchers.
And it helps a lot to have a deep, veteran bullpen.

[zambonir]

The Phillies didn't give up on Floyd, Gio or Carrasco, they were high-end prospects who were traded for high-end pitchers, even though one of those acquistitions did not work out (the other certainly did). It may indeed be too early for the Phillies to make such a deal (at least not for players who aren't more controllable than Garcia and Lee were) but the thing is if they had wanted to acquire Verlander or Gerrit Cole none of the pitchers on that list would have moved the needle. One can only hope that in addition to developing two solid starters this season, they also develop someone as tradeable as Happ and Worley and Carrasco were.

Granted, they didn't handle Floyd great. But he had value, and they cashed it in.

[andyb]

Just remember we gave up on Floyd and Gio and Carrasco

These guys were all much more highly touted than the Eflins and Livelys that you tout now. All were top 100 BA prospects. As Zambonir said, we traded them in high profile trades for really good players. In our system now they are the equivalent of guys like Sanchez and Medina and ahead of guys like Kilome.

Right now we have Nola and a bunch of 5th starters. And $100 million of excess profits not being spent. Why wouldn't we take a chance on Arrieta if the price is at a discount?