19 Philadelphia Phillies (Arrieta) @ San Diego Padres (Quantrill)

zambonir 2019-06-05 23:30:28 UTC #141

Nicely done. Would have been nice to get one in LA but the trip was definitely salvaged.

Still the second-best team in the NL and Dodgers, Phils and Braves the only NL teams with winning records against over-.500 teams.

Lucky_Beagle 2019-06-05 23:32:55 UTC #142

consideration, yes...make the team really tough I believe.

Yates, Jansen, Osuna, Will Smith, plus a couple others who may be the only player on their team (Pirates etc) to consider. Plus they always seem to take at least one set up person lately. If he were the only Phillie player possible he would have a better chance but with Harper (name recognition) Segura, Realmuto, and Hoskins or Hernandez as possibilities I will say no he doesn't make the team.

Lucky_Beagle 2019-06-05 23:34:17 UTC #143

I agree with Ben Davis the turning point of this game may have been when the Padres didn't try to get another inning out of there starter.

zambonir 2019-06-05 23:44:16 UTC #144

Osuna still plays for the Astros no? I am sure MLB could live without him in the game too.

Lucky_Beagle 2019-06-05 23:45:33 UTC #145

lol, I looked through the list quickly saw Houston and immediately thought NL...somethings are hard to change!!

Austinfan 2019-06-06 03:34:40 UTC #146

Still 100 games left.
Plenty of time to get the pitching staff together, Arrieta can't be this bad, same with Nola.
Get Hunter and Morgan back and Ramos, and you can wait on Robertson and Neshek.

This team is going to hit, Bruce looks like the guy from a few years ago who used to torment us.
Would like to see Realmuto dropped to 7th, I think Bruce (against RH) and Kingery have earned higher spots.
Question is who platoons with Bruce against LH pitching? Is Quinn due back soon?

zambonir 2019-06-06 04:18:14 UTC #147

I'm afraid Arrieta can be this bad, as he was for chunks of last year. Nola's fine, but if he's Hamels 2009 he won't be an ace either.

I'm assuming nothing about Robertson until he's either on the mound or in surgery.

They are thin but they could have gone 2-4 on this road trip at full-strength too. The fact of the matter is, this line-up, this manager, and this front office's approach has resulted in the second-best team in the NL. But a whole lot will still have to break right to win the NL East or get to the NLCS without additions.

bkeich 2019-06-06 12:17:04 UTC #148

Any plan that involves the names Robertson, Neshak or Hunter is suspect. Robertson has barely pitched this year, Neshak and Hunter have both been hurt for large portions of 1 1/2 seasons and are not even being mentioned as being "getting close". None of these guys should be in the plan, if they come back and contribute, great, but it isnt the likely outcome. All 3 will probably be back this season, but old pitchers dont break down during the season and then come back strong nearly as often as they break down and come back and perform well below their personal norms. They have all been off long enough that really they need to have another training camp to get ready, and that wont be until next February.

Austinfan 2019-06-06 13:47:43 UTC #149

Problem is the guys we have coming of IR are probably better than anyone available other than a gross trade overpay.

History shows that a lot of mid-season turnarounds are simply due to players getting healthy or rookies coming out of nowhere. It's not like this team needs a drastic change, small tweaks could have big results, like stabilizing the rotation, which might merely need Arrieta to make an adjustment to be more consistent, Eickhoff a tweak in mechanics to keep his offspeed stuff down in the zone, Pivetta to bottle whatever he had in his last start, and so on - and longer starts mean less pressure on the bullpen.

Just getting back Hunter and Morgan would have a big impact, allowing SD to avoid back to backs (if he doesn't go on IR for a long period), Neris to be used as the closer, and so on.

andyb 2019-06-06 15:09:47 UTC #150

Why do you assume every trade is a gross overpay? It seems to be Klentak's style to do small deals without giving up prime prospects. Or free agents (like Keuchel still). If you frame everything as an overpay you kind of overlook that there are a lot of Jay Bruce type deals that can be made.

We have had so many bullpen injuries that I don't think we can count on everyone to be healthy. Velasquez could be great. Or he could be inconsistent in a new role. Lots and lots of questions.

zambonir 2019-06-06 17:11:33 UTC #151

Supposedly Hunter is close. But agreed, I'll believe Robertson when I see him and Neshek might be out until August (if he's out as long as Hunter and Robertson).

No way to know how they'll perform because with relievers there's never any consistent approach/result. Even as older players they may come back better, if initially rusty, because rehab and rest is better for their arms then three months of pitching.

(Neshek did not, however; in fact - again, with usual small sample/bullpen caveats - you can argue that he might be done. FIP and WHIP were bad last year for first time since 2015 and it's all bad this year.)

Deadline deals are rarely overpays. Nobody gives up their top guys for relievers or FAs-to-be. A controllable high-leverage guy, maybe.