2022 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion Part 2

Philsmania 2022-09-04 00:35:53 UTC #241

And Castellanos is likely headed to the IL.

It's pretty obvious thatv Wheeler's season is over.

zambonir 2022-09-04 02:27:08 UTC #242

I don't think it's obvious but it's possible. The cracks are just showing all around. But then again, seen the Yankees lately?

Hey what's their record since Harper came back

andyb 2022-09-04 04:07:16 UTC #243

Their record without Castellanos is not great either. Trick there is with Harper they can't use the DH.

BaseballCat 2022-09-04 17:56:37 UTC #244

As was feared (may not be the right word), Castellanos to IL. Guthrie up - needs 40 man roster move.

zambonir 2022-09-04 20:58:23 UTC #245

The Phillies placed OF Nick Castellanos on the 10-day IL (retro to 9/3) with a right oblique strain and have selected the contract of INF/OF Dalton Guthrie from Lehigh Valley (AAA). To make room on the 40-man roster, INF Luis Garcia was designated for assignment.
— Philadelphia Phillies ( @Phillies ) September 4, 2022

Philsmania 2022-09-05 00:35:16 UTC #246

Dombrowski'a trade deadline haul has been Ed Wade-esq. Syndergaard, Robertson and Sosa have all hurt more than they have helped

zambonir 2022-09-05 01:02:55 UTC #247

I don't think that's true. Sosa does the job they got him for, Robertson has had plenty of good outings (and is getting overused when he hasn't) and they have needed Thor and Falter both, not just Falter.

Meanwhile the Mets are playing even worse than the Phillies. Phillies are right where they want to be. Luckily they are only competing with the Brewers not the Braves.

A lousy road trip for sure, even 2-4 could have been defended (as just being one game worse than a normal .500 performance). But it's over now. If they start losing the soft home games then we can start talking collapse.

LoneStarPhan 2022-09-05 04:50:14 UTC #248

The Phillies come home for two 3 game series with the Marlins and the Nationals. They need to right the ship and win these series. I am cautiously confident that they will do fine in the upcoming homestand.

zambonir 2022-09-05 05:17:37 UTC #249

The injuries have really been epic when you take them all together. Schwarber, Marsh and Castellanos all have had injuries. The pen has been tested ever since Knebel and Seranthony went down. No Wheeler. And things would probably be even tougher without Harper.

But they looked just fine against the Reds and Pirates and I imagine will get back on track. The nine games against Atlanta and Toronto may well be the turning point.

andyb 2022-09-05 12:11:27 UTC #250

Gelb on the state of the team. Seems McGarry is much in play to piggyback with Suarez potentially. Looks like Guthrie will play a lot. Got there too late yesterday to start.

zambonir 2022-09-05 16:32:25 UTC #251

(this was earlier)

BostonRoss 2022-09-05 18:05:18 UTC #252

If I’m counting correctly, the Phillies have 12 people who have played more than two games in the outfield, and 10 of them have been hurt. Only Vierling and Moniak stayed healthy (though Moniak got hurt after he left).

andyb 2022-09-05 18:42:13 UTC #253

Noah Skirrow promoted to Lehigh Valley too. This seems more of a reward for a decent season than a look at possible major league emergency starts. He has had a nice year but will not even be rule 5 eligible this offseason. Remember also that the AAA season goes a week longer than the AA season. Last week for single A. 2 more for AA and 3 for AAA. There will always be a little consolidation to upper levels as some pitchers hit innings limits and others are just shut down for various reasons.

McGarry is much more about this season.

zambonir 2022-09-05 18:49:54 UTC #254

Well, Moniak also started the year hurt!

It's a lot of hindsight but they wound up being heavy on middle IFs and light on OFs, with Muzziotti's injury the final blow. They could have even stood to hold on to Bradley Zimmer, not that they could. And I believe Herrera would now be eligible to come back (not that it will happen).

Kingery is also still here of course. And hard to believe Adam Haseley was still on the team before this season began.

Austinfan 2022-09-05 19:25:52 UTC #255

Suarez has had two starts in a row with solid 3 IP then falling apart in the 4th - not a drop in velo but a loss of command, we've seen the same with Nola in September over the years, might have to give some starters an extra day of rest down the stretch - but that's tough with Wheeler and Eflin out and a thin bullpen!

BostonRoss 2022-09-05 22:41:17 UTC #256

Yes, I should have counted Moniak even though he was hurt before he played a game that counted!

zambonir 2022-09-05 22:45:26 UTC #257

In one of the game threads someone wondered if Suarez is injured, and the truth is, he's still suffering from the same back issue he went on the IL for previously. It's just that it is not bad enough to get him back on the IL again (in the Athletic story today the Phillies' denied it was a problem, which I think we can choose to interpret as meaning the very opposite).

Seems like you might actually consider ILing him if he's otherwise going to hit an innings limit before he can pitch in the post-season anyway. Turning his starts into tandems de facto means he's an October reliever in any case I guess.

allentown 2022-09-05 23:49:16 UTC #258

The Phillies are short starting pitchers and that is a problem which builds on itself. Guys hurting, coming off recent lost seasons from injuries, already pitching the most innings in their careers. They keep pitching, regardless, because the Phillies have no real choice with Wheeler and Eflin out. We added Syndergaard to the rotation, but he isn't a guy we should have expected a ton of innings from. The Phillies have gotten more IP from their starters, despite the loss of two from original rotation, than just about any other team. It's not just a one-year thing. Few pitchers in baseball threw more innings than Nola last season and I think Wheeler led the pack. There is a price for that. Those who complain about the Nola of recent games should bear that in mind.

Extra rest between starts is a good idea. Not going as deep into games.

We don't want to replicate the Gene Mauch panic of 1964, which led to the joke: Bunning, Short, and precipitation of some sort. Make use of all our starting pitchers and the depth of the pen. Hope for a first-time-through-the-league bump for our AAA and AAAA pitchers from Allentown and Reading. Nothing wrong with McGarry getting a start.

Austinfan 2022-09-06 05:41:37 UTC #259

Actually, it was "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain," predating Mauch by 16 years.

This is where a manager needs courage to roll out Falter and Sanchezand even Plessmeyer, accepting a loss or two to give his top guys an extra day or two off between starts. It will help to have Mondays off in September, but they still need to baby Gibson and Thor as well as giving Nola and Suarez 6 days rest.

andyb 2022-09-06 12:48:12 UTC #260

The schedule is pretty kind to the Phillies if they want to run a 5-day rest rotation most of the rest of the way. They just had 2 days off in 5 days and they are also off Monday for the rest of September.

The last 3 series (Tuesday 9/27 through Wednesday 10/5) are a slog with no off days and a double header, but hopefully they have locked up the last wild card by then and the games mean less. Nola gets the short straw this week with 2 starts on 4-day rest (today and Sunday) but he has been off for a week since last Tuesday. Ideally they keep him to 6 innings and a pitch count in the 90s. And maybe we use Falter as a 6th starter once or twice after Wheeler is back before we get to that last week when ideally we are throwing Plassmeyer against the Astros in a meaningless series as we prepare for the playoffs.