Phillies Off-Season 2024-2025 (Part 2 including Spring Training)

[VoteForKalas]

Ouch, not good

[phillychuck]

Wheeler was very solid today. No EARNED runs in 5 IP.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Wheeler was very solid today.

The bullpen arms that followed him looked very good too - Alvarado struck out the side, followed by good innings from Romano and Kerkering. No additional runs scored as the game ended in a tie.

[LoneStarPhan]

Saw the new era of baseball when a called ball (making the country 3-2) was challenged and ruled a strike (second out of inning.) Next batter also out on strikes. A good inning from Kerkering. First hitter in the inning hit a fly ball to somebody in the outfield.

I’m ready for the season to get started.

[BostonRoss]

I’m ready for the season to get started.

You wouldn’t have long to wait if you were a Cub or Dodger fan

[zambonir]

Honestly, that just sounds terrible from a competive standpoint.. Go through all that travel, play two real games, then go back to Arizona and play five more exhibition games, then have to ramp back into game mode again. Even just figuring out the balance between giving your regulars rests and re-sharpening them can't be easy. Cubs actually start their season at DBacks and A's which is a smart accomodation but that also means their first nine games are on the road.

[BostonRoss]

I think I saw that the first game starts at 5:00 a.m EDT. Much worse for the Cubs’ and Dodgers’ fans.

[zambonir]

Well damn the score was nice at least

Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler banged up in Phillies’ spring-training victory over...

[Philsmania]

The Phillies really could finish 3rd in the NL East this season. They actually could do that and still sneak into the playoffs.

Here's the thing: all you need to do is get to October and get hot. That's what we did in 2022 and only came up two games short of the ultimate prize.

But yeah, in terms of the lack of interest in the Phillies, here on this very forum, the Eagles, Sixers and Flyers threads are getting more attention than the threads about the Phillies.

[allentown]

Here's the thing: all you need to do is get to October and get hot.

I agree completely. With the addition of Painter, the Phillies could get hot in Aug-Sept and carry right through the playoffs. It's true that both of our last WS teams weren't the strongest teams in that cycle. Both cycles we added some expensive talent to bolster chances of a return to WS and our playoff performance got worse. We couldn't afford to buf a costly FA this winter. That could well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

[Philsmania]

Here's the thing: all you need to do is get to October and get hot.

I agree completely. With the addition of Painter, the Phillies could get hot in Aug-Sept and carry right through the playoffs. It's true that both of our last WS teams weren't the strongest teams in that cycle. Both cycles we added some expensive talent to bolster chances of a return to WS and our playoff performance got worse. We couldn't afford to buf a costly FA this winter. That could well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

I don't really have the time to do a deep-dive on it but particularly since the advent of wild card play, regular season best record teams have not had a particularly strong record in terms of winning WS's in October. Heck, the 2010 and 2011 Phillies were two of those regular season best record teams which didn't get the ring. However, regular season best record teams have picked up the pace a little bit this decade with the 2020 Dodgers and 2024 Dodgers both winning the WS after finishing with the best record in baseball.

[Austinfan]

One reason is a team built for the regular season tends to have a deep starting staff and bullpen.

But in PO series, better to have the best top 3 starters and 3 top BP guys, get blown out in 1 game in a 7 game series and have an edge in at least 5.

The advantage Phillies will have this fall isn't so much the depth of their SPs, but that 6 have good enough stuff to excel in the POs, so an injury, even to Wheeler, wouldn't cripple them.

[allentown]

They had their SP intact last playoffs.

[zambonir]

Right but it's not an advantage in a five-game series if the other team has 1 or 2 good SPs. Certainly not why they lost to the Mets who were not so much elite as simply able to shut our hitters own, but it was something the Phillies' definitely capitalized on themselves to beat the Braves two years in a row, and to make their run in 2022 when Falter and Thor made starts.

Still not a bad thing to try and win the division and have this kind of rotation depth. And yet they still won the East and 95 games with a lot of awful 5th starters.

[andyb]

Or the playoffs are kind of a crapshoot. Chance dictates like 30%-40% of the results. It is better to have more good pitchers so enough are healthy at the end of the year, but even then it is unpredictable who is pitching well at the end of the year. Kershaw has been mediocre most of his playing career in the playoffs and I would venture it is more bad luck or bad form at the end than anything else. Nola has been mixed as well. Aces at the top of their game like Wheeler are great, but luck is probably as much of a factor.

[Austinfan]

They were also 5th in runs scored. That should have been enough offense.
They went cold, but partially b/c like most good teams, after a few years they've been extensively scouted and a good pitching staff can execute a strategy to exploit their weaknesses.

Long earns his money this season, either he's self-scouted and is able to correct some players' tendencies or he and/or those players need to go.

Stott seems to have made some adjustments this spring, not sure about some other veterans.
We'll know by mid-season if chase rates are reduced, walks and contact are up, and some hitters use more of the field.

[zambonir]

We'll know by mid-season if chase rates are reduced, walks and contact are up, and some hitters use more of the field.

But a lot of that stuff was greatly exaggerated.

“I just think we’ve got really talented players who are really good, and in a short series, when you lose, it changes quick,” Long said. “Were there some approach issues? There’s always going to be approach issues. Was our strike-zone discipline [lacking]? We swung at 30% out of the zone, which was better than we did during the year at times. The Mets actually chased more than we did. So does that make their [approach] better?

“Dombrowski.... wants the Phillies to focus on using the whole field more often rather than trying to pull the ball.

Rob Thomson echoed that talking point. The manager pointed to the Yankees as an example of successfully staying through the middle of the field in the postseason.....

But I think our guys do a pretty good job of using the whole field,” said Long, whose opinion is backed by the numbers. As a team, the Phillies had the second-highest rate of batted balls to the opposite field (26%) in the regular season last year, trailing only the Yankees (26.3%).

Hopefully Turner can be better and Stott bounces back and Marsh finds another level. There are all little things guys can do. But they're not going to become a different offense, and we also didn't want them too if they can be fifth in runs scored again.

[Austinfan]

They didn't need a total overhaul, but a few players needed some incremental improvements.

Stott both getting healthy and using his two strike ability to his advantage (i.e. taking borderline pitches).

Turner focusing more on OBP so he can use his speed and less chasing.

Castellanos understanding he can't hit sliders away and spitting on them

Harper avoiding "hero ball" and not trying to win games by himself (let them pitch around you, they're paying your teammates a lot of money to drive you in).

Rojas growing up, adding a little strength and not getting overanxious and getting himself out

Bohm trusting his opposite field power

JT willing to sit more games and stay fresh, you ain't no spring chicken

[Lucky_Beagle]

It appears the Phillies blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning to take a loss on a walk off HR by some minor leaguer against another minor leaguer (Heika). Sanchez pitched 5 shut out innings along with a scoreless inning by Alvarado and Kerkering, Sweet with a scoreless 8th before giving up the first two 9th inning runs. Casty with a HR

[allentown]

Turner focusing more on OBP so he can use his speed and less chasing.

I fear that if Phillies success depends upon improvement by Castellanos that we are in for a long season. A year older, I think an honest projection is a decline to 0.3-0,6 WAR. If his career rebounds, then great. I can see a Stott rebound and improvement offensively from Turner and Rojas.