21 Milwaukee Brewers (Houser) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Velasquez)

LoneStarPhan 2021-05-04 02:59:25 UTC #101

Phillies move back to one under .500 at 14-15. Washington remains in first with a 12-12 record, 1/2 game ahead of the Phillies. The Mets are down a run going into the 9th in St. Louis. A Mets' win would move them into first place, a half game ahead of the Nationals. A loss and they are with the Phillies in second, a half game behind Washington.

The NL East remains tight.

EDIT: Mets get two on base in the 9th, but St. Louis holds them off to win, 6-5. So Mets now 11-12, joining the Phillies at a half game behind the Nationals in the NL East.

BostonRoss 2021-05-04 03:06:14 UTC #102

That was a really nice win with our fifth starter going up against a very good team. Kudos to Vince and Hector, who really went beyond the call of duty tonight.

zambonir 2021-05-04 03:15:01 UTC #103

The defense remains a concern. I feel like a starting pitcher can survive a free baserunner or two over 5-6 innings (though not always, obviously!) but it sure makes it hard on the relievers in tight games too.

Les229 2021-05-04 06:14:06 UTC #104

The weakest linc in this infield is Didi Gregorious.He gives the o0ther team at least 2 extra outs each game.. I have to admit that I always thought of him as a great fielder, but I have to wonder if age has caught up with him. It may be time to look elsewhere. Where is Freddie Galvis when we need him? Dumbest trade in Phillies recent history.

Philsmania 2021-05-04 15:49:12 UTC #105

It seems as if Father Time caught up with Didi real fast. Most phans, myself and many here included, were in favor of bringing him back, though.

bkox 2021-05-04 15:55:09 UTC #106

Hes only 31.. seems young to be old

zambonir 2021-05-04 15:57:25 UTC #107

Well, they didn't bring him back for his defense, though the numbers showed his bat was heading in the wrong direction too. Hard to know if he's slumping or if the age curve accelerated - maybe it would have already caught up to him in a full season last year. It could also be due to the mental and physical strain of the past year-plus, given his medical condition. Obviously what we learned last week is even minor injuries can drag Didi down more than a fully healthy player.

Moving on from Freddy wasn't a bad decision at the time but the Crawford-Kingery-Segura-Didi chain of events sure is a disaster, and they'll still have to ditch one or more of the three guys they got next year if they decide to keep being all-in and play the SS market. I figured that would mean finally trading Jean and putting Didi at 2B, but right now it seems like it would be the opposite.

Two or three years from now we may also still wonder if it should have been Machado rather than Bryce, though the latter has certainly delivered both as a player and a star.

bkox 2021-05-04 16:05:40 UTC #108

Its slightly possible.. but Machado is sub 700 OPS right now. And was sub 800 in his first season with SDP. And its not like we are over loaded with outfielders we could have been using instead of Bryce. And I cant imagine Machado wearing Phanatic shoes.

zambonir 2021-05-04 16:11:54 UTC #109

Yeah, but 3.2 WAR to Bryce's 2.0 last year. He'll probably pass him again this year if the bat wakes up. SS is just more valuable and, it seems, harder to come by. But it's true, they still would have had to buy some OFs, and the decline of the current LF would be even harder to take.

For sure Bryce is more fun.

andyb 2021-05-04 16:21:34 UTC #110

If Cutch has any more trouble, get ready for the Darick Hall experiment. Apparently it is a thing. Split time in the outfield in the Mexican Winter League last Fall and the Phillies are going to play him there occasionally this season. More likely we'll see Moniak in one of those roles of course, but Hall can hit for power and that is actually a little bit of a weakness in our lineup if Harper is hurt and Cutch is declining.

bkox 2021-05-04 16:23:25 UTC #111

Manny's SS defense was very suspect the one year he spent there. -0.4 dWAR. -10 DRS. -6.5 UZR

zambonir 2021-05-04 16:24:47 UTC #112

If we get to the point where Hall is our LF and Harper's on IL I suppose we'll also have room on the 40 from our deadline selling. If anyone is wanted.

David_Criss 2021-05-04 16:47:28 UTC #113

Wasn't Hall a pitcher in college? I remember hearing Bowa rave about his glove at first base during spring training.

zambonir 2021-05-04 16:51:44 UTC #114

Yeah but I don't think Bryce is gonna add any defensive value either in the long run. I know he was better last year (and a disaster in 2019). Of course Manny is going to be play 3B sooner than later too.

It just seems like, head-to-head, Manny and the Padres are going to make out better than Bryce and the Phillies, and the choice had a big effect on team construction in both cases. But we shall see.

bkox 2021-05-04 16:55:07 UTC #115

Manny is playing 3B... Padres have some hot shot named Tatis at SS.

But Manny has been playing 3rd his entire time in San Diego

andyb 2021-05-04 16:56:47 UTC #116

Yeah. He is just really slow though. Question I guess is whether he is any better than Ruf or Hoskins or other failed OF experiments. I doubt it, but I guess it is worth trying in the minors at least. Realistically if a corner OF in the upper minors stepped forward this year it probably would be Moniak or Josh Stephen. If we needed someone a trade would also be pretty likely.

zambonir 2021-05-04 17:19:17 UTC #117

Haha right, I got confused by you citing the SS stats, but I started it!

It just feels to me like the Klentak era turned on two foundational mistakes. Moving Rhys, and shifting their focus from Manny to Harper after (IMO) having the former on their future depth chart board for several years. They fell in love with Harper, but Middleton obviously also decided Manny wasn't a good fit after the playoff stuff (and he was probably correct).

The two moves will always be related too, since moving Rhys back is also what got us Segura and lost us Crawford (and turned Kingery into a permanent super-sub, if you think that hurt his development).

Of course these moves are not nearly as big a deal compared to the lack of cheap young talent, but that's why they were made, and the team's inability to improve enough this year and last year (without exceeding the CBT) is related to both things.

Les229 2021-05-07 01:45:03 UTC #118

Actually, the last few games, Didi has been a lot more steady. It looked to me that his brain was ahead of his body. A couple of his errors were fumbled ground balls and if you look at him, he is looking at the base, or runner. I hope he has corrected the problem.