GDT 9/8/19 Philadelphia Phillies (Velasquez) @ New York Mets (Syndergaard)

[Patchmk88]

Now I definitely think Callaway is the worst manager in baseball

[zambonir]

I don't find this to be especially surprising (or even interesting) but FWIW

Alex Carr on Twitter

[andyb]

I think Kapler believes his bullpen is full of mediocre arms so matchups and short outings is the way to get the most out of it. His September usage is mindful of having an 11-man bullpen (where he does not really trust 9 of them in neutral matchups).

[zambonir]

He's definitely playing the veteran card hard - would rather flip the coin on Morin, Parker and Hughes over and over again than Davis and Garcia (who haven't pitched in September) or Pivetta and Irvin (who are mostly long/low-leverage). Vincent slots just between those groups, while Suarez, Alvarez and Neris are the good ones.

[LoneStarPhan]

Starting spring training, it appeared that the Phillies would have a strong bullpen. Based on previous performance, the following all seemed ready to contribute and there appeared to be enough arms to allow for a couple to be out hurt at any given time. These are pitchers I thought would be in the bullpen mix:
Neris
Robertson
Hunter
Dominguez
Arano
Morgan
Alvarez
Neshek
Ramos
Nicasio
Davis
Pazos

I anticipated that Robertson and Neris were both closer capable and Hunter, Neshek, Morgan, Dominguez, and Arano would provide solid set up work. Alvarez or Pazos looked to be a second LH reliever to pair with Morgan. Of course, just about everyone but Neris ended up on the IL. If these pitchers had matched their 2018 performance, the Phillies bullpen would have been a real strength.

[zambonir]

It's especially brutal that they don't have Morgan (though all credit to Alvarez) and Nicasio (thought I think he'd been used up) at the end here. Everyone else has been gone forever.

Pazos felt like a loss at the time but he sure wasn't!

Klentak still bears some responsibility for building a bullpen that was 50% older, well-paid arms. Robertson was still a good signing. Nicasio is really the one that hurt them since they weren't previously committed to him (and it's still not clear whether that was purely to offset Santana's $ or because they liked him, having previously had him). He wound up helping there and there but ultimately wasn't good. Without his salary they could have added a more expensive deadline arm (or Kimbrel though it's still probably better that they didn't) to fill one of the injury holes. Or signed Keuchel even (without maxing out).

[andyb]

Without his salary they could have added a more expensive deadline arm (or Kimbrel though it's still probably better that they didn't) to fill one of the injury holes. Or signed Keuchel even (without maxing out).

Even with Nicasio and the September additions it looks like we are going to end up a little more than $12 million under the luxury tax line. They could have added more at the deadline regardless. They chose not to. That is a legit criticism of Klentak because they had a clear need in their bullpen and did not address it very well (with money).

[schillingfan]

I said in Spring training that I expected Seranthony to have an injured and down year this year because his arm had been overused last year. That’s why I call reliable veteran relievers unicorns.

[zambonir]

I'm just not sure money alone would have gotten them a clear bullpen upgrade. We've seen what a mixed bag the deadline trades were and most of them required talent (albeit nothing too high-end). Dumpster dives are not a bad way to reinforce your bullpen, though they got lucky with Hughes (or not, since he's doing so poorly).

I think they really wanted another starter (better than Vargas or Smyly) but the trade prices were too high. And Arrieta didn't pull the chute until mid-August. That not only hurt the rotation but took Eflin out of the bullpen. And then Pivetta pitched himself out of it, but on paper, he could have/should have been better than another outside add.

Arguably they could have used another bat, maybe even two (for those who never wanted to see Rodriguez and Miller again) but they didn't give up on Franco until after the deadline. We have also missed Bruce and Quinn.

This is the basic disconnect regarding Kapler, however: if his bosses weren't really trying to make the playoffs they can't fire him for not making the playoffs.

[andyb]

I'm just not sure money alone would have gotten them a clear bullpen upgrade. We've seen what a mixed bag the deadline trades were and most of them required talent (albeit nothing too high-end). Dumpster dives are not a bad way to reinforce your bullpen, though they got lucky with Hughes (or not, since he's doing so poorly).

Money could have certainly done more though. There were multiple deals out there (like Dickerson) that were done for essentially money. And dumpster dives are NOT a good way to build a bullpen. They are a good way to add inexpensive depth. Generally you have to pay money or prospects for someone that would fit in your high leverage innings.

It is a little disingenuous to conflate the two. One can also do both (dumpster dive and trade for better talent). The need for a bullpen addition was clearly more important than an extra bat after we got Dickerson. Not even close IMO.

[bkox]

According to the Mets telecast, the 110 foul balls in yesterday’s Phillies-Mets game were the most in any 9-inning game in the majors in at least 20 years.

— Corey Seidman ( @CSeidmanNBCS ) September 9, 2019

[bkeich]

Thank A Diety for the Computer age, hate to think some intern would have to count them (along with every other game).

Well, at least we accomplished something this season​