2021 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion (part 2)

[zambonir]

Miller's also not hitting himself (and yet he get the start at 1B tonight too).

[bkox]

Miller's also not hitting himself

well this is a good thing. I would be worried about his mental health

[bkox]

Rhys Hoskins did some more work today. Joe Girardi estimated he ran at 70 percent. The team is encouraged, but do not expect him to be activated tomorrow.

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) August 18, 2021

[Sabin]

Bats over the first eight games of August:
.289 /.347 /.554 (.901)

Walks: 21 (2.6/game)
Hits: 81 (10.1)
XBH: 40 (5.0)
Runs: 55 (6.9)
K: 53 (6.6)
LOB: 49 (6.1)

In the six games following* ("Since the board outage" for the superstitious):
.197 /.275 /.293 (.567)

Walks: 20 (3.3)
Hits: 37 (6.2)
XBH: 10 (1.6)
Runs: 15 (2.5)
K: 57 (9.5)
LOB: 41 (6.8)

* does not include 8/17 @ Ari

[zambonir]

In the six games following* ("Since the board outage" for the superstitious):
.197 /.275 /.293 (.567)

haha that explains it all!

[Sabin]

Here's the updated, including last night's game in Arizona. Guess I should've included the season stats as well.

Bats over the first eight games of August:
.289 /.347 /.554 (.901)

Walks: 21 (2.6/game)
Hits: 81 (10.1)
XBH: 40 (5.0)
Runs: 55 (6.9)
K: 53 (6.6)
LOB: 49 (6.1)

In the seven games following ("Since the board outage" for the superstitious):
.183 /.271 /.284 (.556)

Walks: 26 (3.7)
Hits: 40 (5.7)
XBH: 12 (1.7)
Runs: 17 (2.4)
K: 64 (9.1)
LOB: 47 (6.9)

Season
.240 /.318 /.404 (.721)

Walks: 416 (3.5)
Hits: 940 (7.9)
XBH: 347 (2.9)
Runs: 535 (4.5)
K: 1061 (8.9)
LOB: 806 (6.8)

[andyb]

Girardi is getting into a rut with his player decisions. He is playing Torreyes too much and generally relying on veterans when he has younger options. Bohm should really be playing 1B most of the time with Hoskins out. Miller is not any good defensively and the Phillies seem to be wasting Bohm away on the bench when he has actually been hitting.

Williams is also lost on the bench. Has not played a full game in months. Whatever development was present early in the season might be gone by now. Galvis will take over his role, but really not deliver any more offense. Herrera also plays far too much. Options are limited of course, but they probably should have given Moniak playing time when he was called up.

I know the defense is terrible. But some of the decisions Girardi is making are hurting the offense while not helping the defense too much.

[Austinfan]

To be fair to Girardi, most of the kids should be playing full-tine at LHV, Moniak isn't ready, Maton and Williams are scrapping by, Bohm's in a horrid defensive rut and so on.

[andyb]

Moniak might be capable of delivering what Herrera has if he got a chance. Maton and Williams sit when they are with the team. That is not an ideal role for them (Galvis would help in some respect).

But the big disagreement is Bohm. He should not sit for a week ever. It is not as if Torreyes is great with an OPS slightly over 700 that will probably drop below that mark. Bohm has a 777 OPS since June 1. He should at least be starting over Torreyes when there is a fly ball pitcher. He should also be starting at least half the time at 1B because he is better than Miller defensively there and Miller is not hitting either.

You do not bury your best young player on the bench. The Athletic has more on this (note I saw this after I commented). Girardi is just relying on his veterans too much because that is what he does. We just scored 2 runs against a AAA team last night. Part of the reason was the lousy lineup of hitters we ran out there.

Phillies' initial 'reset' for Alec Bohm has turned into referendum on where he...

[bkox]

The last seven games, listed from most plate appearances to least. Basically, the entire offense went into a slump at once. https://t.co/axAfQhbZl4 pic.twitter.com/KuWFNMztRj

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) August 18, 2021

[zambonir]

He should at least be starting over Torreyes when there is a fly ball pitcher.

As the Gelb article notes, the Phillies don't really have any (except Nola).

But agree, he should be playing.

The only way I could be any less impressed with Joe Girardi is if I really thought most managers were any better, or even matter that much. But some of these decisions are also GM-level, i.e. if they wanted Moniak to play he'd play. As it is Girardi is on record as saying he's not a CF so the organization would have disabuse him of that too. And Maton and Williams really shouldn't be up at all, but who else have they got? They're gone once Rhys and Freddy return.

[Austinfan]

The best thing for the Phillies is to go with scrubs like Torres, Galvis and MIller this season, and let the kids play everyday in LHV, most aren't that far away and if you waste this season, they won't be ready next year.

C: Marchan
1B: Hall
2B: Maton, Gamboa (too bad about Brito)
SS: Williams, Guthrie
3B: Stott (when he's promoted)
LF: Randolph
CF: Haseley, Vierling
RF: Moniak

Give this group time to develop and they can start moving out some salary the next couple years at the ML level.

[andyb]

But if you start Bohm when Nola pitches and against all LHP, you at least are not sitting him for a week which is what they are doing now. Those Brad Miller numbers on the previous chart are pretty telling to me.

I guess the point with guys like Maton and Williams and Moniak is that they need to get 1-2 starts a week like all bench players. They just don't have that veteran "aura" that Girardi likes. If they are not going to play at all then bring in a veteran to sit on the bench in that role. There are plenty of them out there and we have a few of them in AAA (Bonifacio, Tejada) in addition to Jankowski who is fine as a defensive sub.

If the veterans were hitting it would be one thing. But they are not.

[andyb]

Give this group time to develop and they can start moving out some salary the next couple years at the ML level.

I thin you might have one decent starter in that entire group (Stott). Everyone else would be below average. Quality > Quantity.

[zambonir]

Well, the veterans were hitting just fine a week ago. Even Herrera was hot for a bit. I don't need to see Maton instead of Torreyes or Williams instead of Jankowski (who still has a nice OBP) but again, agreed on Bohm. I

I do still think it's okay to play Miller to some extent and hope he benefits from the work eventually (when he's back to just PH/one start a week), but he could be in LF some.

The best thing for the Phillies is to go with scrubs like Torres, Galvis and MIller this season, and let the kids play everyday in LHV, most aren't that far away and if you waste this season, they won't be ready next year.

This is already a wasted season in AAA. Part of that is COVID. But Marchan, Maton, Williams, Moniak and Vierling have all been on the yo-yo, Haseley hasn't been playing all year essentially, and Randolph is hurt. Even with the longer season, what happens in Allentown over the next five weeks isn't going to be of any significance - or more important than helping the major league team.

To some extent it's not Girardi's fault. In this current MLB era, with or without COVID, nearly everyone on the 40 has to be used in MLB at some point. Even then, the whole point of Torreyes, Jankowski and Matt Joyce was to keep the young players in AAA. Maton and Williams and Marchan are the third-string. But still needed.

[bkox]

To some extent it's not Girardi's fault. In this current MLB era, with or without COVID, nearly everyone on the 40 has to be used in MLB at some point

exactly... Every team in the majors have used at least 40 different players this season. The Cubs, Brewers and Mets have used 60!! different players. The Dodgers have used 57.

The Phillies have only used 48 which is tied for 8th fewest.

[andyb]

The issue with Girardi is not the number of 40-man moves and options. It is not playing Moniak at all when he is recalled. If we are not going to use the young player in that role then we should not put him on the 40-man roster. The limitations of the 40-man roster dictate this type of usage. They do not dictate whether the player on the major league roster plays or not. The manager does that.

[zambonir]

Well, in a perfect world Moniak would not be on the 40, but he had to be this year anyway. He was an emergency call-up last year and he's been an emergency call-up this year. Especially with no Kingery or Haseley - and even Kingery was someone they had to call back up without wanting to earlier this year.

He already had his one chance at playing time this season and it didn't go well. If they were prepared to keep him up and actually let him play through his struggles that would be one thing, but not sure watching him go 1-9 in two starts a week while not being that good defensively helps him or the Phillies. Still prefer Jankowski's defense/OBP or the possibility that Herrera gets hot.

[andyb]

Then you play Moniak when he is called up. The problem is not him being on the 40. It is not playing him (especially when the alternatives are really not better).

Any young player on the roster should play. You can sit guys like Torreyes at times because they are fully developed veterans. And if Herrera is not really good enough, then you move on and find someone better.

[bkox]

Rhys Hoskins is doing better, Joe Girardi said, and it’s possible he could be active Friday in San Diego. They’ll make the call after some more work tomorrow.

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) August 18, 2021