GDT 4/1/23 Philadelphia Phillies (Wheeler) @ Texas Rangers (Eovaldi)

[bkeich]

Who had Josh Harrison as staff ace after 2 games?

[Philsmania]

Then we play the Yankees. We'll be 0-6 for our home opener.

[bkox]

Phils have lost 11 straight to an opponent for only the 5th time in the last 60+ years:

Rangers, 2014-23 — 11
Angels, 2003-17 — 12
Astros, 2005 — 12
Pirates, 1991 — 14
Dodgers, 1988 — 11
Reds, 1961 — 17 @TheGoodPhight

— schmenkman ( @tgpschmenk ) April 2, 2023

[Philsmania]

Tomorrow's game is worthy of a forfeit. Phillies have no chance of winning.

[zambonir]

I gotta admit I actually was worried about this. If the Rangers are actually good you couldn't really expect better than the standard .500 road trip. Now 2-4 would be great! Not ideal to be playing the night TV game tomorrow before flying to NY, even if it's only one time zone.

[Austinfan]

My rule of thumb is don't panic until 40 games, one quarter of the season is the shakeout cruise in all sports.

I learned my lesson when the Rich Kotite Eagles started 7-2, walloping the 49ers in SF, then lost 9 straight, while the 49ers won the SB that year.
After that, I stopped obsessing over hot/cold starts.

Come June, if Nola and Wheeler and pen look this bad, then I'll reserve my spot on the Ben Franklin bridge.

"It ain't over until the fat lady sings."

[andyb]

I guess it is not surprising that so many hard throwing arms are just a little off early in the season. While one might think the warmer weather in TX would be good for that, a nice 43-degree day in Philly with hitters trying to catch up to Wheeler's fastball might be a good thing. Wheeler is repeating last year where he really looks only like 80% ready for the season. Velocity off a tiny bit and he needed really good command.

At least Alvarado looked pretty good in a disaster of a bullpen day. Seranthony's stuff was moving all over the place. He just could not command it. Happily turned off before the Kimbrel debut. I was always worried about that signing. I think I am missing Nick Nelson at the moment.

[zambonir]

Well, we don't have to look any further than last year to know it's a long season, and the the post-season and the regular season are two different things (so long as you get there). But a really bad start could sink any chances of winning the division. And I suspect the number of teams who have a losing record in April and actually make the playoffs is small (this article from 2012 found that 7 of 92 teams did it over 17 seasons).

But it's still only two games. They could be 3-2 by Tuesday!

[Austinfan]

Those kinds of stats suffer from self-selection bias, most teams with bad records in April are bad teams.

[bkox]

Here's that CB Bucknor umpire scoreboard you've been waiting for.

Graded out as plus-2.63 runs for Texas yesterday.

Not that that matters much in the end when it's a 16-3 game! https://t.co/c6Bx3cJwZ5

— Jayson Stark ( @jaysonst ) April 2, 2023

[zambonir]

Those kinds of stats suffer from self-selection bias, most teams with bad records in April are bad teams.

Agreed!