On April 8th, the Phillies were 7-2. Their playoff odds peaked at 62.2%, the highest their odds have been in April going back to 2014. The pitching? Adequate. The offense? Rolling. The team, in short, looked unstoppable. Plot twist- they were stoppable. Since their hot start, the Phillies have recorded a not-so-nice 6-9 record. The … Continue reading 2019 Phillies Week 4: Don’t Panic
What. An. Offseason. The Phillies ended 2018 with an 80-82 record - their most wins since 2012, but still a disappointment given how hard they slumped in September. Even with that improved outlook, they had several concerns- Rhys Hoskins was an unmitigated disaster in left field. Despite solid power and defense, Jorge Alfaro approach at … Continue reading 2019 Phillies Preview
Baseball fans are generally fans of teams first - grow up in Philly, you're a Phillies fan; in Seattle, you're a Mariners fan; in Florida, you're probably wondering why you're a Marlins fan. From there, you become a fan of whatever league your team of choice belongs to. National League fans generally extol the virtues … Continue reading Week 13: The AL is Very Good and Very Bad
You cannot deny him. Once the subject of derision, Carlos Santana is now the team's hottest hitter (picking up the slack for a suddenly slumping slugger in Left). After bottoming out at a .532 OPS on April 18th, he's put up a .908 OPS to bring his season total into respectable territory. Such a drastic … Continue reading Week 7: Was Carlos Santana Walking Too Much?
I like games. Do you like games? Good. Let's start this off with some fun, then. This game is called, "Guess the players!". It's called that because you have to guess who the players are from the presented stats, and also! because I lack ~cReAtIvItY~. Wow, whoever those two guys are, they certainly aren't tearing … Continue reading Week 2: The “J” Stands for “JCould Be Better”
It's opening day! The time for untethered optimism. The roster is set - and with the majority of the roster un-previewed, let's do a quick run-down of everyone who made it. Phans, this is your team! Infield J.P. Crawford - Shortstop of the future, and the future is now. His plate discipline is as good … Continue reading Phillies 2018 Preview: Opening Day Roster
The 2017-2018 off-season was a particularly tough one for avid baseball fans. The traditionally hot stove has run cold (for a variety of reasons that have been well covered, as there hasn't been anything else to cover), leaving us with little to snack on in between the meals of Actual Baseball Games. As such, the … Continue reading Phillies 2018 Preview: 1B and 3B
It was a year.
Entering the season, there were several reasons to believe that the Phillies could play competent baseball. Not competitive, not contemptuous, but competent. Tommy Joseph's 2016 debut had been encouraging. Maikel Franco was coming off a down year, but the underlying numbers and his 2015 performance pointed to a potential rebound. Between that and the promising … Continue reading Week 25 Recap: The Phillies Are Already Better.
It hasn't been pretty for the Phillies this season. They entered the year short on talent, and injury time has robbed the team of what little talent it had. Finally, it seemed as though the roughest was over - the underrated Cesar Hernandez was recalled from the DL. The good news was followed closely by … Continue reading Week 15 Recap: The Baseball God Giveth And Taketh Away
