Clearwater update 2020

Les229 2020-02-21 22:44:06 UTC #81

Zambonir

I don't really know about up there, but down here they wait outside. In the park they clog the railing in front of section 120 which is where the door is to the Phillies club house. When the players leave the game. they walk passed it. Usually the players will stop and sign there. The attendants have to chase the autograph seekers away because they block the view of the seat holders.

BostonRoss 2020-02-21 23:25:08 UTC #82

My mom is the best. She never threw out my cards. They might be worth more if I had taken better care of them, though. When I was seven, I thought Pete Rose would look better with a mustache.

BostonRoss 2020-02-21 23:30:42 UTC #83

Sometimes players sign before a game, but obviously their time is limited. When my sons were young, they got some good ones, including Vlad Guerrero (Sr.), Jim Leyland, Torii Hunter, Nomar, and many others.

My oldest son waited outside the gate after a game at Fenway because he wanted to get an autograph from Lou Piniella. The bus was waiting for Lou as all the Rays players filed by. Some of them gave my son an autograph (I remember Rocco Baldelli was very nice). But Lou was taking forever to come out. Finally, probably 15 minutes after the last player boarded the bus, Lou came out. My son was the only person there by this point. He asked Lou for an autograph, but Piniella just shook his head and got on the bus.

Jeff05 2020-02-21 23:43:31 UTC #84

Les229 2020-02-22 07:27:19 UTC #85

I have never been into autograph, or memorabilia collecting, but I know it is important to some fans. Hey! What ever floats your boat.

Les229 2020-02-23 22:51:23 UTC #86

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2020

Perfect day for a baseball game. It was sunny and into the mid 70’s. Beware that you will have to pass through metal detectors to get into the park and walk through heavily armed police to get in. I knew that the Pirates would bring a ton of kids, or who he’s? and they did. To make matters worse, the Pirates were playing a split squad. That meant that anyone with any seniority didn’t make the bus trip up from Bradenton. I knew they were rebuilding and completely broke that team down by trading away anyone who had any value. They also cleaned out the manager and coaching staff and the front office.

This is the earliest that I can remember the games starting. Actually if I am remembering right, it’s almost a week early. I’m not sure spring break has started yet. It’s surely not in full swing. It made me wonder what the attendance would be like. As it turned out, the official count was 6,989. That is somewhat below the Phillies norm, but when you consider that the average attendance for a Florida spring training game last year was 6,318, it’s not bad. It was light early last year, but improved as the Spring Training/Spring Break moved along.

Nola started and pitched two scoreless innings. There were 3 hits, but only1 was solid. Actually, Segura screwed one play up, but the scorekeeper gave the guy a hit and another play he messed up Gregorius. It’s a new position for him and he will need to learn his limitations. Based on today’s game, Gregorius has a lot more range into the hole that Segura did and if Segura is going to play third alongside of him he is going to have to learn what to let go. One thing to add here, the scorekeepers in spring training are very lenient towards the fielders. Watching Gregorius for the first half of the game, It’s a pleasure watching a shortstop who can actually play it. The Phils haven’t had any one since they traded Galvis.

After Nola came a string of long shot pitchers. The only ones I was familiar with were Jo Jo Romero and Austin Davis. For those who are not familiar with spring training, there are two things at play here that irritates a lot of fans. The first is that the teams sign a lot of Quad A players to sure up the AAA team. In getting them to sign, they promise them that they will invite them to camp and give them a legitimate chance to make the major league club. Usually they will get them in several early games to get them out of the way and then one by one they send them to the minor league camp. Every now and then they find someone who can actually help them… remember Chris Coste? The other thing is that the major league coaches and manager want to get a chance to look at them and evaluate them. They don’t get a chance to see them during the season. The important thing to keep mind is that it is not about winning. It’s about getting ready for the season, sorting and evaluating.

You hear a lot about windblown hits in Florida and sometimes they lead to great plays Roman Quinn made two today. Because of the wind gusts, he misjudged both of them. One was a diving web job and the other one was a leaping catch at the wall. I really wish he could stay healthy. His speed and defensive ability would be a big help at the top of the order. He could score a lot of runs and save a lot.

Just Thinking: Bruce could be a valuable bench. He had the big hit today and drove in 2 runs with a double. He is not a bad outfielder, he just can’t run, but he has a strong arm. A 20 year old kid named Marchan came into the game and gunned down a runner stealing. It looked like his mechanics were good and his arm really strong. He hasn’t shown to be much of a hitter. I think I’ll keep an eye on him.

Baltimore tomorrow.

philsphan67 2020-02-24 00:15:43 UTC #87

Thanks -- I watched the first two innings to see Nola. Nola looked fine and as long as he is healthy is going have a good season, hopefully a great one. ]

BUT thanks for a great update, I've only been to spring training once and really enjoyed it. I hope to get down there on an annual basis when I retire from full-time work -- 5 - 7 years away.

Les229 2020-02-24 03:09:45 UTC #88

It's a pleasant vacation. My day started having a leisurely breakfast on the beach and talking to a visiting couple from Kennett Square and then the game.

Les229 2020-02-24 22:21:01 UTC #89

MONDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Another great day for baseball. It was 78 when the game started. The crowd turned out to be a little smaller at 4,718 today. If it stays true to form, the attendance will slowly build until the beginning of next month. There was a good wind blowing out to left field and it was continuously blowing balls from home toward left field. It brought a couple of popups out of the stands back on to the field. It also helped a couple of home runs. The first 3 pitchers for the Phils were Velasquez, Rosso, and Liriano all had good days and left with a 3-0 lead. Rosso was particularly impressive. Norris, Dohy, and Edgar Garcia got banged around. Warren came in and struck out the side in the 9th to get the win.

I have to wonder what color the sky is in the world that the Phillies live in. They talk as if the rotation is set. All they have to do is decide who is going to be the fourth starter. I’ll give them that the first 2 spots look solid, but Arrietta may be done. It has to be proven that he can return and at his age that’s not a given. I have always liked Eflin and he did finish strong, but he has had hot streaks before and then fell back into sub mediocrity. He has to be counted as a possibility rather than a certainty. Has the front office forgotten that Velasquez and Pivetta were so ineffective last year that that they were sent to the bullpen to take up bench space there? They seem to think that Bryan Price is going to wave a magic wand and make everything right. He can’t throw for them.

It’s hard to judge the Phillies hitting because of the caliber of the Orioles pitching. None of the guys who pitched for either side really were major league pitchers. I was constantly scrambling to look up guys’ records. Those who did pitch in the majors at all last year, had ERAs of about 7.00. None of the guys who hit them have a chance of making the team. It was a typical early spring training game. When guys do well down here, you really have to look to see who he did it against. It may be a guy who played for the Delmarva Seabirds last year. Each game, the major league team takes a few, maybe 5, or 6 minor league players with them in case they run out of players in the game.

I was looking at Nick Williams, who started out in left field today. He really must be on the cusp. He is now 26 and getting a little long in the tooth to be thought of as a prospect. Every year he has been in the big leagues, his batting average has gone down, until the complete meltdown last year. He did hit at Lehigh Valley and maybe he will get over it. If he does will, it could complicate the outfield situation.

Tomorrow is a split squad game. Girardi will take one squad to Bradenton to play the Pirates and Robby Thompson will stay here and take on the Blue Jays. Bryce Harper is supposed to start here tomorrow.

Les229 2020-02-26 02:13:55 UTC #90

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2020

Today is Mardi Gras Day, but you wouldn’t know it around here. Tampa has copied it, but named it after a pirate named Gasparilla who once attacked the town. That’s where the name Buccaneers comes from for their football team. Dunedin had a big Mardi Gras parade on Saturday. How does that work? Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday. It is the day before Ash Wednesday.

It’s a warm, humid day, the temperature was just 80 at game time. The wind was blowing straight out from home plate to centerfield at gusts from 12 to 25 mph. Again it caused a several weird plays and some titanic home runs, including one that cleared centerfield and into the pond. Unfortunately, it was hit by a Blue Jay. Today was a split squad game which usually means that most of the major leaguers stay home because the established players don’t like 2 hour bus trips. However, today Girardi decided to go to Bradenton and take most of the major leaguers with him. A good part of the roster in Clearwater were minor league prospects and guys who signed minor league contracts with a chance to make the big club. There were only 7 total players who are likely to go north with the Phils in the game all day. Thanks Joe. There were a lot of players from Clearwater and Lakewood in the game. Not much of a return for those that paid major league prices. Obviously, Toronto won the game 13 to 6.

One thing that I did get to see was Jake Arrieta’s return to the mound. In all, I thought the outing was fairly inconclusive. He gave up three hits and three runs in the first inning. Only one of the hits was solid, but it was a three run dinger in the first. The wind may have had something to do with the first two hits. He retired the side scoreless in the second inning. I thought he was having trouble locating his sinker, but it is somewhat encouraging that he had a strong second inning. He was followed by 7 more pitchers, the only one that probably will come north with the Phils was Jose Alvarez. Jose threw a scoreless 5th inning.

Realmuto had a good day. He threw out a runner and had a double and triple. Bryce Harper started the game in right field and went 0 for 1 with a sacrifice fly and a stolen base. Jhailyn Ortiz is a 21 year old outfielder from the Dominican Republic who the Phillies signed 5 years ago as a 16 year older. He has slowly been working his way up the minor league ladder one rung at a time. Last year he spent it with Clearwater and hit 19 homers and today, he hit a grand slam. His problem is that he does not hit for average and strikes out a ton. While he did hit 19 homers, he hit just .200 and struck out 149 times.

Tidbits: Haseley dove for a ball and injured himself. He had to leave the game. The report was that he was going through concussion protocol. The starting keystone combination for Toronto was Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette. I wonder if sons of former all stars ever started as a keystone combo before. The Blue Jays batted out of order, but the Phillies didn’t contest it. Welcome to spring training. Passed the 6th inning, neither team had a major leaguer on the field. This is the kind of game that gives spring training games a bad name.

Les229 2020-03-01 22:43:46 UTC #91

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2020

The Phillies have said that they will not be televising any more games until March 7 when they will be hosting Boston. In the last 7, or 8 years, they have always televised all of their home spring training games. I don’t know why they have changed it this year. I have been continuing to listen to all of their games on the radio broadcasts, but that is not the same as seeing it. I have decided to continue to write about the games that I see and comment on my observations and will make a decision about what to do with the Clearwater Update as the spring goes along. If they have just decided to not telecast these 5 home games that they are skipping at the beginning of the spring, that is one thing. However, if they are only going to telecast some of the games, randomly, that’s going to bring about some decision making.

I think we all realize that a lot of the changes that baseball is making an attempt to speed the game up. In watching and listening to some of the games this spring, it seems to me that they are assessing the problem all wrong. Actually, baseball games are not that much different in length than football. Football is now allowing 3 ½ hours for a game. It seems to me, that the length of the game is not the issue. The problem is the dull periods. This obsession with pitchers that can throw 100 mph and hitters that can hit 500 foot homers is killing the game. There is a lot time sitting around waiting for someone to put the ball in play. In between a couple of brief action periods, that leaves a lot of sitting around, watching hitters swing and miss and unaccomplished pitchers working deep counts, or walking hitters. The games would not seem so long if hitters were putting the ball in play, running the bases and actually fielding their positions. Just saying…..

Les229 2020-03-08 01:44:50 UTC #92

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2020

It was a great day for baseball. The temperature was in the mid 60’s, There was a stiff breeze blowing in from the NW. That made it blowing straight in from centerfield. It knocked down a couple of home runs. While I generally think that the Red Sox fans are the most difficult of all the fans that visit Spectrum Field, I’ll say one thing for them, they do support their team. The crowd added up to 10,201. That’s the biggest crowd so far this year. WIP had a radio show set up along side of the Tiki Bar. Clearwater is keeping an eye on this virus that is dominating the news. Pinellas County hasn’t had any cases yet, but with all the visitors constantly ccoming, it makes us nervous. If the tourists stop coming, it is going to put some people out of work. If they keep coming, they are bound to bring it with them. No rash of room cancellations have been reported in the area yet.

The Red Sox had a split squad game and the players sent to Clearwater reflected it. The only players who looked like starters on the big team they sent up here were Jackie Bradley Jr. and Kevin Pillar. The rest, I didn’t really recognize. I have to say one thing about the Phillies TV announcers, they really don’t spend much time on preparation. All day long, a steady stream of unknowns came to bat and pitched for the Sox. Not once did they cite the kid’s record, or who he played for last year. I spent a lot of time looking up kids’ records. When I think of Vince Sculley and his preparation, there is only two words for Murphy’s approach…Lackadaisical and sloppy. It’s like they don’t have time for that baseball stuff because they are too busy kidding among themselves.

It was good to see Ranger Suarez get the start. I no longer have any confidence in Velasquez, or Pivetta. I think it is time to start looking elsewhere. Suarez went 3 innings and got banged around in the third. It is early in the spring yet(we are about half way through the games), but he didn’t make a case for his stuff being good enough to go through a line up more than once. On the whole, the pitching was fairly good. Of course, most of the hitters they were facing were unknown. It is interesting that Girardi has started to let the pitcher hit instead of using the DH. However, Suarez is the only one that got to hit. He put down a successful sacrifice bunt. The rest of them were pinch hit for. After Suarez, 6 consecutive pitchers each pitched one inning and they all pitched hitless innings except Neris. He gave up a hit and a walk but got out of it scoreless. You guys who follow the minors closely might want to keep an eye on Mark Singer.

Some things to think about: Hoskins talks about a new approach, but he has not had a good hitting spring. Gregorius doesn’t have a hit yet and he wasn’t hitting when he came back last year. Quinn is hitting .222 this spring, about what he hit before he was hurt . The quality of umpiring may drop off a bit this year. They have had a lot of retirements this year.

zambonir 2020-03-08 04:08:21 UTC #93

Mark Singer's an actor. (I do that kind of thing all the time). Jeff Singer will probably pitch for the Phillies this year.

Les229 2020-03-09 21:37:31 UTC #94

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

Another Chamber of Commerce day, it was sunny and 75 degrees at game time and 79 when the game ended. The wind persists. it was blowing from right to left today and created some interesting plays. The weather man says that the weather will stay this day for the next week. This is normal for Clearwater this time of year. That coronavirus doesn’t seem to be affecting these games any. Today’s crowd was 9,493. Last year the average crowd for all spring training games in Florida was 6,312. I went to breakfast at Clear Sky this morning and there were a goodly number of people standing in the parking lot waiting for a table. That’s a good sign for the economy.

Aaron Nola was supposed to start today, but he came down with the flu. I hope that is really what it is. Ramon Russo started instead. He gave up the only run that the Phils’ pitchers gave up today. It’s hard to judge how good that is, the Yankees didn’t bring many major leaguers with them. None of the big sticks were here. The Yankees are known for that, but it seems like it is becoming more and more prevalent among all of the teams. I mean, it is only about a forty minute drive from Steinbrenner Field to Clearwater.
McClain followed Rosso and while giving up a hit and a walk got out of it scoreless. Garcia, Llovera, Russ and Cleavenger all pitched well, but again, how do we know? Morgan mowed down the first two hitters and then lost the strike zone and left with two out and the bases loaded . Russ saved his hide. To me, Russ has looked good every time I have seen him.

Realmuto led off again today. I don’t know if it is traditional with me, or not, but I don’t particularly care for the catcher leading off. I always prefer the leadoff man to be able to steal bases and bust it from first to third and I don’t particularly want to expose a catcher of J.T.’s ability to that wear and tear and potential injury. Harper is tearing it up. He went 3 for 3 today and raised his batting average to an even .500. I hope he doesn’t leave it all down here. Actually, I view him as a better candidate for the leadoff spot than Realmuto. I know that it might limit his RBI opportunities, but he has had a high OBP all his career and he can put some pressure on the defense with his speed. Mikie Mahtook hit his second homer of the spring.

Just Saying: I want to repeat for those coming down, when the Phils are away, there are minor league spring training games going on down on the lower fields. Parking and admission is free. They are also playing when the Phils are home, but parking will cost you $10. Bethancourt hit his third homerun of the spring and won the game. Wouldn’t it be something if he suddenly lived up to the potential that everyone thought he had when he came through the Braves farm system. Two homers accounted for all the Phils runs. There were only 13 hits in the whole game by both teams and 17 Ks. The rest of the time we sat twiddling our thumbs.

Les229 2020-03-10 21:34:41 UTC #95

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

Today was another Chamber of Commerce day. At game time, it was sunny and 78. It stayed that way all game. The wind even died down a bit and didn’t cause any comical plays. Again, the Phils pitching dominated the game. Zack Wheeler started the game. This was my first opportunity to see him pitch as a Phillie. The Phils won 5-1 with Wheeler giving up the one run on a homer by a 21 year old rookie shortstop from AA ball. It happens in spring training. Wheeler struck out 4 on the day. All in all, it was a good day and it was good to see one of the starters looking like he might be ready to go. Harper was hit in the heel by a pitch in the first inning and left the game. It was later reported that he was ok.

Didi Gregorious got his first hit of the spring today. The crowd and the dugout good naturedly gave him a standing ovation. They stopped the game and retrieved the ball like it was his first major league hit. He went two for two today with a walk. Another regular who has been struggling this spring is Kingery. He did manage to go 2 for 3 today and bring his springtime ba up to .185.

There is a lot of non-pitching talent on this team and probably some guys who earned a spot on the roster are going to wind up in Lehigh Valley, or released. Although neither Hasely, nor Quinn have hit this spring, it is generally believed that the teams needs their centerfielding. Put Harper in right and Bruce in left, that leaves only one spot for another outfielder, no matter how well any of them perform down here. There are 6 major league successful infielders currently fighting for maybe 3 utility spots. The only position where there are not a overload of talent is catching.

As we have known for over a year now, the real challenge is in the pitching staff. I still only see 3 dependable starters and none of the remaining candidates are drawing ooohs and aaaws. The bullpen is still a muddy mess. Nobody seems to doubt that Neris is going to close. After Neris, there is a hodge podge of sometimes great and sometimes terrible failed before guys. The one bullpen guy who looks like he can help is Jose Alvarez. Well, there are still 13 games to play. An interesting thing is that Girardi is only giving most relievers one inning. I wonder if it is to see more of them. It was good to see Spencer Howard throw a shutout inning, although he did give up 2 hits.

Bits and Pieces: The Phanatic brought out his hot dog scooter gun. He is still having trouble controlling it. A couple of them left the yard. Does anybody know why Dominguez is getting so little work? Is Victor Arano in camp? They are off tomorrow and they are playing in Port Charlotte on Thursday.

tom81 2020-03-11 13:25:49 UTC #96

I’m curious Les who you consider are the 3 dependable starters are? I would guess Nola and Wheeler are two but who is your third? I would think Arrieta and Eflin would either both be included or excluded, they have performed about the same the past two years.

Over the last two seasons, Zach Eflin has a 4.23 ERA and Jake Arrieta has a 4.26, each of them between 1-2% better than the league average in that span.

Les229 2020-03-11 14:44:10 UTC #97

I was giving Arrieta the benefit of the doubt until we see how he responds in the early part of the season. I have to admit that he looks dicey and I may be giving him more value than is real., but given his past success and the hope that his ofseason surgery, the Phils are due for a break. Although I have always thought Eflin would develop into an dependable starter, I haven't seen that happening lately. Eflin did finish strong last year and spring training is not an accurate barometer of how a guy will do once the season begins.

BostonRoss 2020-03-12 03:42:29 UTC #98

Les, is attendance down due to the coronavirus?

I am supposed to go to Florida for meetings each of the next two weeks. My plan was to stay over the intervening weekend and catch some games. Now I am hoping my meetings are canceled. Even if I have to go, I am not sure I want to go to the games (if they are even letting in fans by that time).

Les229 2020-03-12 14:42:51 UTC #99

So far, there have been no restrictions on any events, except the NCAA tournament. There will be no spectators at the tournament. The last Phils home game drew about 7500 fans. the beach has been active and the traffic has backed up over the big bridge most days. I have not heard anything about a drop off in hotel rooms. I haven't heard of any identified cases in Pinellas county, but with all the tourists we see, I am sure that it is only a matter of time.. Ross, I personally am practicing a form of social distancing. I am 80 and a prime target for it. Every time I go out to eat, I have a wrestling match with my mind.

I really don't know what to tell you. I don't really know what to tell me.

Les229 2020-03-12 20:41:50 UTC #100

Well Ross, it looks like Major League Baseball has solved the baseball part of your dilemma. They have just cancelled the remainder of spring training and I understand that some of the players are going home.