So Are The Phillies Good Or What?
This question has been bothering me this season. From a personal perspective, I look at many aspects of this team and actually believe that yes, they are bad. But, then I see the resiliency and the youth like last night and it reminds me of 2006 and 2007 all over again.
Many of you will argue that they are in fact bad. The uneducated bunch who don’t read my blogs, yet click just to comment and say how “Philly is trash,” will lead the charge by saying the Phillies suck and Philly is a garbage city.
Next, we have the #firegabe crowd, who came out a blazing last night on the rookie manager who is trying to instill confidence into his team. Are some of his in-game decisions ridiculous and seem unnecessary at times? Absolutely. However, according to these folk, Gabe single handily blew the 9th inning lead and has ruined the season.
Then you have a guy like me who loves the Phillies more than his own family sometimes and lets his passion get in the way of the truth. So let’s give deductive reasoning a try.
The bullpen has been absolute garbage of late. With an ERA of almost 6, 3 blown saves and a whopping 12 HR allowed in 51 IP in June alone, the consensus should be this team does in fact stink. The manager keeps toying with the 9th inning like its Jenga gameboard where you can just build the blocks back up again, only to crumble and fall. Our closer of the last 3 years, Hector Neris, was just sent down to AAA. The ERA in the 8th and 9th inning this season is 4.65. The $34 million spent on Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter has been a huge waste of money and roster space.
^ BAD
Maikel Franco, aside from the play yesterday and the one hit he got in a month this weekend, him as a whole
^ BAD
55 errors as a team this season, including 12 at the catcher position which is the most in baseball and 11 at the SS position which is 2nd most in the National League. Haven’t mentioned my boy Freddy in a while, but Freddy Galvis is leading baseball with a .996 FP and 1 error on the season at SS. I miss you dear friend.
^^ BAD
I look at the 38-32 record and I see the Phillies in second place in the very competitive NL East on June 19th. I see an offense that has hit 9 HR in their last 5 games, which includes a .881 OPS a 4-1 record. I see Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera, and Aaron Altherr.
^^ GOOD
I see this…
Nick Pivetta, Disgusting 81mph Curveball. ? pic.twitter.com/9zsyBkYqxm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 19, 2018
After one of the worst starts of his career, Vinny V goes out there and no-hits one of the most potent offenses in the National League for 6 innings.
The Vince Velasquez experience. pic.twitter.com/Ef8qcVU8Mq
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 14, 2018
And of course, this…
Aaron. Nola. I mean, come on. That pitch should come with bail money. pic.twitter.com/6BUDReVIon
— Smitty (@SmittyBarstool) June 13, 2018
^^ GOOD
The Phillies are 23-12 at home. They are 5-1 in extra inning games and 13-6 in one-run games. Despite horror stories so far this season, Gabe Kapler has his team right in the thick of it. The offense is starting to come around again with Odubel and Rhys on absolute tears. The starting pitching has been their bread and butter and continues to be, with most recently Nick Pivetta twirling 7 1/3 strong with 13 K’s.
Fuck it, this will be my narrative the rest of the season. Not only are the Phillies Bloggable and Watchable, THE PHILLIES ARE GOOD! I’m through being scared to actually say it. The Nationals made a splash yesterday getting Kelvin Herrera, so now it’s our turn. Let’s make 2018 the year, not 2019. Let’s do it now. In Gabe I trust.
Go Phils.