21 Baltimore Orioles (Means) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Suárez, R)

zambonir 2021-09-21 07:25:49 UTC #101

Great bench you got there. They're still gonna need a couple of FAs, and/or one major trade. It does come down to player development but of the 9 names you listed besides Hoskins we'll be lucky if three them develop (as everyday players). And three have already cratered. They're still gonna need two free agents, though only one of them has to be pricey. Maybe one big trade. The big mistake this year was running back the 2020 team almost in its entirety and getting no improvement (rather, things got worse to the point where the better bullpen and decent rotation wasn't enough most of the season. That's not gonna happen again.

flyers19rw 2021-09-21 13:23:12 UTC #102

This was the year that just about everything went wrong. All of the younger players-Quinn, Hasely, Bohm, Kingery- failed to produce. Injuries hit Realmuto, Hoskins and Eflin. Father Time took out Cutch and Gregorious. Then Nola slipped. No club is going to succeed taking hits like this.

bkox 2021-09-21 13:40:01 UTC #103

This was the year everything went wrong, All the younger players, Pache, Contrearas - failed to Produce. Injuries (and suspensions) hit Acuna, Ozuna and D'Arnaud and Ynoa. Father Time took out Inciarte. Then Smyly slipped. No club is going to succeed taking hits like this.

All clubs in this era of baseball deal with injuries and such. Just some clubs are built better than others and can fill in better or have pieces to trade for reinforcements.

EDmuch 2021-09-21 13:52:11 UTC #104

To continue to talk about Hassely, Quinn, Moniak as potential contributors at the ML level is to engage in pure fantasy. Maybe Bohm can be salvaged. Kingery, who knows what his long term Covid impact will be? If they are not going to go over the CBT, we will once again be a fringe playoff contender with a slightly over .500 record. They need at least another big bat in either the OF or shortstop. They need to get a real closer. They need to get at least one credible RH bench bat. Maybe another starter depending upon whether Eflin heals or Falter makes significant progress. And then, of course is the always compelling story of who they sing to add to the BP.

flyers19rw 2021-09-21 13:58:52 UTC #105

Comparing the Braves to the Phillies is a comp of two bad baseball clubs. One will get into the POs but winning the NL East is like coming out first in the tallest midget contest.

Philsmania 2021-09-21 14:11:22 UTC #106

And, deGrom went down for the Mets, Syndergaard never got going, Lindor had a disappointing first season in New York and McCann whom they signed instead of Realmuto flopped (and has become a source of buyer's remorse) among other problems in Queens.

I look at the Braves' and Mets' issues, shake my head and say that this year may have been our best window of opportunity to steal away the division.

Philsmania 2021-09-21 14:17:13 UTC #107

The NL (L)East.

andyb 2021-09-21 14:19:11 UTC #108

I think the point about young players is we got nothing from almost all of them (except a few first time around the league hot streaks from reserves like Maton, Williams, and Vierling who are not really long term starting prospects. There is something wroing with most of our young prospects (Quinn gets hurt and strikes out too much, Haseley is a defensive tweener, Moniak is the same but had not played AAA yet, Kingery went backwards, Bohm can't play 3B and his approach has too little power and the league probably figured him out some). We got nothing from all these guys.

In a normal world we would have gotten 4-6 WAR from some combination of them. Haseley should have made a perfectly fine platoon partner/4th OF for Cutch. Kingery should have been infield insurance that does some things better than Didi. Bohm should have hit more. Quinn and Moniak were longer shots, but other clubs had longer shots contribute. We got nothing. And that exposed the aging parts of our lineup.

Add 4 WAR and we are in first place even with the main injuries (Hoskins, Eflin, etc.).

zambonir 2021-09-21 17:42:04 UTC #109

The Braves are more flawed than bad. They have a 100+ run differential and are likely going to win their fourth straight division title. We're hoping to have our first winning season in that time. And while a few months ago it seemed like the NL East team was going to be worse than the second wild card, that's no longer the case, and I don't know that the Brewers are really that much better (if you go by RD).

Kingery's issue probably isn't COVID anymore, but he had shoulder surgery (after struggling with back and shoulder trouble post-COVID as well) and isn't even a sure thing to be ready for spring training (though a labor dispute might help). You can maybe pencil him in as a pure bench player but not the 400-AB super sub, let alone a starter, you'd like. And if he still needs to rebuild his swing and find his game he probably needs the time in AAA he never got this year anyway. Hard to see any scenario where he forces his way back onto the 40 before June.

The constant FA churn is not sustainable but the core of this club is not built for long-term sustainability. If you want to win anything with Girardi, Wheeler, JT, Nola and in Harper's Prime, gotta keep spending. Otherwise, give it up. They don't necessarily have to go over the CBT right away, enough money is going to shake loose this off-season, plus a good GM should be able to find more cost-efficent free agent talent. They really blew it this year though. Should have spent more in the off-season (I don't think $ is what kept them from doing more at the deadline, as the sellers picked up most salaries. It was lack of talent to send back.)

Philsmania 2021-09-21 18:48:48 UTC #110

Some numbers to digest with regard to Suarez's bonafide hard luck this season.

10 starts.

Phillies average only 3.5 runs in games he starts.

In 5 of his starts (50%), Phillies have scored 2 or fewer runs.

Phillies relievers have blown saves in 4 of his games.