MARCH 27, 2018
The last day of spring training is always kind of bitter sweet for me. The bitter part is that the live games are ending for me and now my games will be watched over the internet. I will miss the crowd atmosphere and getting a good idea of how hard the pitchers are throwing and the break on their pitches. The sweet part is that the season is starting and the games will count. But, the day was a beautiful 81 degrees with a lot of sunshine and a nice breeze. Itâs hard not to be in a good mood. The parking lot attendant told me that they were expecting 7,500 paid today. In the end it turned out to be 7,958. Thatâs a sellout, pretty nice sized crowd for the end of Spring Training.
Both managers started what looked like their opening day lineups except for the pitcher. Opening day is only a couple of days away and Neither Arrieta nor Taillon would be able to come back on one dayâs rest. What surprised me most was that Cliff Hurdle brought about all of his regular position players. Usually on the last day of spring training the busses and trucks are being packed during the game and the plane is ready to take off at the airport. I didnât hear if the Phils are going directly to Atlanta from here and take the day off there, or go to Philly and spend the off day there.
Arrieta got off to a bad start and gave up 4 runs in the first inning. Of the 4 hits that he gave up, Bell hit a 3 run homer in the first and then there were 2 more well hit doubles. After the first inning, Arrieta settled down and pitched two more scoreless innings. Neris, Morgan, Garcia, Milner, Thompson and Beato combined for 4 shutout innings on three hits and no walks. The lead was blown by a couple of kids from the minor league camp and the game ended in a 5-5 tie.
The Phils came back and tied it at 4-4 in the 5th inning. Altherr had a home in that rally. The Phils had 9 hits and no one had two. I think at this point that the Philsâ pitching is still performing ahead of the hitting. Iâm a little worried about the Philsâ hitting.
Some Observations : *Base runners are running at will against the Phillies. I canât decide if it is that the catchers are slow, or the pitchers are not keeping them close.
* Nick Williams is completing a very lackluster spring. I hope he has a switch that he can turn on come Thursday. The talk is that they are going to platoon Williams and Altherr. I think that will be a mistake. Being the lefthander, Williams will get twice as many at bats and Altherr. Clearly this spring, Aaron is the better ball player both in the field and with the bat.
* The Phils need to hire a base running coach. Every time one of them gets on base, it is an adventure.
* The Pirates beat Kapplerâs shifts 5 times today for hits. His shifts leave a lot of space in the opposite field. Iâd like to see him rethink this strategy.
* Florimon made a couple of nice plays at third again today.
Well, back to lunch, walking on the beach and reading my book at a Tiki Bar.
