GDT 8/5/18 Miami Marlins (Straily) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Nola)

[Austinfan]

I thought Nola did not pitch well at all, got lucky early when some bad pitches were taken, but his command was off all night. I think Gabe is second guessing himself for not taking him out after 6.

SD got burned on a good pitch, slider/changeup on the outside corner knee high, sometimes the hitter wins.

Good to see Hunter turn it around the last few weeks, now get Ramos back on track, Garcia throwing well again, and maybe even Neris regain his splitter and we'll have an awesome bullpen down the stretch.

[phillychuck]

Neris has been dominating in AAA--one horrible outing, the other 15 outings have been scoreless. He should be getting his confidence back.

[zambonir]

I have no doubt we'll see Neris. And Ramos hasn't really ever gotten off track, he just got hurt twice. Truth is our feeling that the bullpen is bad is quite outdated, even with Seranthony proving human the pen has been great overall for five weeks. It would be huge if Hunter went on a run.

Truth is, this front office has been nearly perfect when it comes to deciding who to stand by and who pull the plug on (including the fact that they have quietly pulled the plug on Kingery and Knapp short-term).

[Patchmk88]

I was thinking last night about Ramos after Cabrera’s homerun. Do you think the trade for Cabrera has anything to do with Ramos being in AAA?

[andyb]

Who knows? I think the Phillies said it was more of a numbers-game option and that he would be back. We just seem to rotate 10-day DL stints and 10-day option assignments to give most of our younger relievers an in-season break.

[Austinfan]

It also gives a lot of young pitchers a taste of the majors, De Los Santos, Suarez, etc.

That helps in player development (gee, they can hit a 95 MPH FB in the Show!), and getting them over the jitters next time they come up.

And of course, a taste of the "show" is a great motivator:

"Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains."

[Philsmania]

Nola keeps rolling though he hasn't notched a win in close to a month.

[zambonir]

Nah, he was up with the big club (while still on the DL) when Cabrera arrived, they chatted and even joked about Ramos getting one of the bobbleheads. These things are never a big deal once you are teammates, remember when the Phillies got John Lannan who broke Utley's hand?

It was a little odd for them to do that with Ramos but they'd just acquired Loup, Davis and Arano are pitching well and Morgan doesn't have options. Everyone's healthy and all the fringe guys (Rios, Leiter, Thompson) are currently not on the roster. Odds are perfect health won't endure but if it does it will be interesting to see who they decide to give the "break" too.

[Austinfan]

I think they're just taking the luxury of letting Ramos get on track in AAA before bringing him back.
He's having too good a season not to bring back.

I'm thinking they're auditioning Loup, because the 40 man roster is going to get awfully crowded when Eickhoff, Florimon and Ramos come off the DL (Lively should stay indefinitely).
Who do you take off and expose:
Valentin, Walding, Leiter, Loup/Morgan, Thompson, Rios, Neris.

[mdougherty12]

Wilson Ramos and Ben Lively are already on the 40 man roster. Eickhoff and Florimon are the only players currently on the 60 day DL at this point. Jose Taveras seems like the obvious first cut, but after that, who knows?

[zambonir]

AF is repeating himself from another thread and now so am I but right, Ramos is already covered and Lively is not yet on the 60 (meaning he is occupying a spot on the 40).

The only way it's going to get crowded is if they want to make room for Irvin (or Windle?).

Doesn't seem like it would be that big a deal to expose Walding either. And Thompson still has more upside than Leiter probably.