allentown...yesterday was merely a band aid, I see big trouble for the club right now and I suspect Middleton sensed this also and thus leaked the extensions. The tirade of Kapler, the benching of Franco, the once again quick demotions of a reliever [I mentioned this yesterday and am convinced this has not gone over well in either the Phillie or LHV clubhouses] are signs to me of a team in disarray.
Clearly, the loss of McCuthchen hurt badly, he was likely the true leader of the clubhouse and while he is probably still in that clubhouse on a mostly nightly basis, its not the same when you can't play.
And in regards to my comments yesterday about the "misuse" of relievers, it doesn't have anything to do with the number of innings they are pitched, it is the foolish way they are up and down warming up in the bullpen, its the silly misuse of them in the game [just because it worked last night that Nicasio pitched 2/3 of an inning and then Morgan came in and got 4 outs doesn't make it right], and Kapler's seeming lack of feel for the game that is dismaying to me.
The sad part to me is that there are so many solid manager candidates out of work right now who could probably salvage this season but won't get the chance because McPhail would look bad if he goes back on his word.
That said, I already feel Kapler has failed his managerial test and likely won't get another one again once this experiment ends.
