2019 Phillies Season Discussion

David_Criss 2019-06-04 19:41:55 UTC #541

Ah for some reason I was thinking Adams was the cfer. Thanks for clarifying. Altherr is gone, Quinn is hurt, Robinson as mentioned above is on the DL, so imo it is Rodriguez or Scott Kingery so I am relaxing a bit on my why rush the kid thoughts. There aren't to many other options, if any. In ST, it was mentioned that Franco or Kingery will be the starting 3B. Maybe they truly do plan to keep him in the infield.

zambonir 2019-06-04 19:45:41 UTC #542

Franco and Herrera are both streaky. Maikel had his moments last year and he had his moments this year but they obviously don't stick. Herrera just never came back after he cratered last year, and the defense died too. It doesn't really matter why they falter - pure ability, coaching, work, focus - just that it hasn't come together for them.

But relative to expectations we could just as easily say Harper isn't responding to coaching, or making adjustments, and lacks intangibles.

Austinfan 2019-06-04 21:34:01 UTC #543

Harper has worked hard to figure out his struggles, he's been taking balls the other way consistently the last couple weeks.

They've worked with Franco for years to try to get him to stop pulling everything and overswinging, it's not a lack of hit tool, he has stretches where he pounds the ball, then reverts to bad habits.

Herrera has that funky swing which I think the league caught up to, and I don't think he knows how to adjust.

Cesar on the other hand has added strength and developed real power, he's a dead fastball hitter who's slowly learning how to handle breaking pitches (will probably never be great, but is no longer floundering).

andyb 2019-06-04 21:40:00 UTC #544

When did Cesar ever flounder? He has been a consistent high OBP guy since he got the start. He has added power as he got older but that is typical. That one would ever suggest he floundered more than most other players kind of backs up my point. People are far quicker to attach negative stereotypes to POC.

el-pietro 2019-06-04 22:15:57 UTC #545

Cutch tore his ACL. Out for the season. Bunch of beat writers confirming it at the moment.
That's tough to take.

julio 2019-06-04 22:17:35 UTC #546

Yep.

Remains to be seen how/if he comes back next season.

This is a BIG hole to ask Haseley to fill.

!@##$

zambonir 2019-06-04 22:19:05 UTC #547

Poor guy. He really didn't think it would be the case.

Makes things simple, really. You see if Haseley can handle it and if not you're on the trade market in July (sooner if something presents itself).

Otherwise it's gonna be hard not to want Herrera back. A cruel irony that Herrera's bad behavior costs Williams an opportunity, in a roundabout way.

Oof yeah. Suddenly having Bruce - and holding onto Williams - looks pretty wise.

julio 2019-06-04 22:27:09 UTC #548

The future is now.

Lucky_Beagle 2019-06-04 22:27:31 UTC #549

I realize injuries can occur on any play, but it is sad this happened on a play where the second baseman purposely didn't catch a pop up because the batter wasn't any where near reaching first base and he could convert the play into a double play.

el-pietro 2019-06-04 22:32:44 UTC #550

Big opportunity for Haseley. He's played well but clearly he wouldn't have been on the 40 man til September at the earliest. Hopefully he can hold his head above water until they can get someone to take over the position for the rest of the year. Where is Quinn when you need him??

This also shows Bohm and Stott among others that the oath to the starting lineup is there for you if you are ready to take it. Franco hasn't exactly made third base his own after his blistering start. If Bohm can force his way up the minors he could earn an opening day spot as soon as next year. It's not likely but it's far from impossible.

Gutted about Cutch. He was fast becoming one of my favourite players. He couldn't have made a much better first impression than a lead off HR on opening day. Quality on the field and it seems like everyone off the field loved him. One of the most popular guys in the majors. Hopefully he bounces back stronger than ever next year.

Patchmk88 2019-06-04 22:34:55 UTC #551

This will come off as Debbie downer but I’m not very happy with the shape of the team right now.

This is what happens when you have to go out and get veterans because your scouting department has failed miserably for the past10 years.

Not at all happy that we have a catcher that has a OPS lower than the one we traded for him with a top notch prospect attached, not happy that the veteran SS we acquired who is slumping fails to run out a pop up that caused this injury. Not happy that the majority of veteran signings we have made are now on the IL. This could all be avoided if our front office made decent moves in the past 5-8 years and we had minor league depth similar to the Braves.

Philsmania 2019-06-04 22:41:50 UTC #552

I pretty much agree with this. Our lack of depth is a killer. I thought a winning season would be in our back pocket but now I am not so sure. Just goes to show you can't build a team through free agency.

Having said that, just as Buster Posey's injury a couple of years ago led to rules changes about collisions at the plate, I can't help but wonder if McCuthen's injury will lead to a tweaking of the infield fly rule this offseason.

bkox 2019-06-04 22:53:17 UTC #553

I doubt it. The injury was a freak injury that could have happened on any rundown play. You would have to eliminate run downs.

el-pietro 2019-06-04 23:09:22 UTC #554

I agree we don't have enough depth, largely due to poor drafting. I think the drafting has been better since 2013 or so, particularly in the first round. Randolph was a disaster but Moniak aside (and there is still a chance he becomes an everyday player) the Phillies appear to have drafted reasonably well these last few years. But still not enough depth.

I dont agree that we would be better off with JP instead of Segura and Alfaro instead of Realmuto. Those two along with Cutch have been our MVPs this year. I would have loved to see JP Crawford become a star in Philadelphia but I'm very happy with Segura.

Patchmk88 2019-06-04 23:13:06 UTC #555

I’m happy with Segura’s statistics so far (even though he had been dreadful for about a week or so now), but not running out the pop up (despite falling down) is inexcusable - look what it caused.

bkox 2019-06-04 23:13:16 UTC #556

I never thought this team was as good as most others thought. We never had SP depth. Nola and Arrieta havent been lights out at all. The bullpen is a M*A*S*H unit... and now we have depth issues in the OF.

I dont think we have the prospects to fill all these holes at the deadline and even if we did, do we want to empty whats left of the system to try.

I expect we end up around 500 this year.. maybe a few ticks above.

el-pietro 2019-06-04 23:17:13 UTC #557

It was a fluke injury and it couldn't have happened any time. If he didn't do it there what's to say he doesn't blownot out trying to steal a base later in the game. It's not Seguras fault.

Patchmk88 2019-06-04 23:20:36 UTC #558

Definitely a fluke injury that could have happened at any time. However it happened because an infielder decided to drop a pop up because Segura wasn’t running. Just highlights why you should always hustle which Segura did not. Although to provide counter evidence to my statement it also probably shows that you should concede an out when their is a small percentage that you’ll be safe which McCutchen did not.

In reality it is unlucky, still makes me mad though.

Philsmania 2019-06-04 23:36:56 UTC #559

And thanks to Segura to adding more fuel to Philadelphia's anti-Latino fire.

Patchmk88 2019-06-04 23:43:53 UTC #560

No Latino bias from me. My favorite player is Franco even though he’s disappointed. My dog is name after him. Have to constantly tell people (living in Louisville, KY) is named after a Phillies player and not the actor.