I don't know I read the other day that management nudged him to play Goeddel (so?) more. You can see the reaction the crowd continually gave Joseph all series. If Howard continues to play and struggle, the boo birds will reach another level.
Phillies 2016 Season
- Thread starter NovaHoops2002
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I don't know. The management from last year, maybe. I don't see McPhail/Klentak caring all that much.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Howard's hitting .170, coming off back to back .220 negative WAR seasons. I don't think a reasonable manager, who probably wants to be around for a while, would chose him over resurgent hot prospect that just burned through AAA.
Yea, maybe. But listening to him last night I didn't get the sense that he sounded overly frustrated about it.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Probably because his hands are tied. Or hopefully. I have hope for him to not be the olde tyme baseball dipsh*t that Ryne was.
Well, not sure how successful he'll ultimately be, but he's not Ryno with this stuff (Not hard to be better). Seems like he has a good feel and nice blend of being a player's guy, but strict when he needs to be.
the pirates are playing the braves right now. i had no idea that the braves lineup was this pathetic. way worse than last year's CoPhillies
“I’m very conscious of the fact that one of the things we’ve talked a lot about is building a culture and an environment,” Klentak said. “We’ve been careful not to turn the roster over too much early because we believe that allowing the players to settle into roles and feel comfortable is going to allow them to play better. So one of the reasons we haven’t turned the roster over more despite some early-season [offensive] struggles by some players is because we’re trying to allow a culture to build. As the season progresses, we are all aware that this is a performance league and to stay here you have to perform, but for now we’re pleased with the performance of the team and also the style of play that Pete is managing on the field.
“We talk about ways to improve all the time, Pete, myself, our scouts, the front office. We talk about ways we can inject some offense into this lineup. We added Tommy Joseph, who had been on a tear in Triple A and had earned his promotion as a way to hopefully inject some life into this offense. There are other players in our system that continue to develop, and at whatever juncture those players are ready to come up and help us that’ll be another option for us.
“We continue to be open-minded towards any types of additions and ways to improve, but right now the success of our team has been built on pitching and defense and we’re going to continue to respect that.”
http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelph...would-consider-acquiring-bat-not-cost-rebuild
“We talk about ways to improve all the time, Pete, myself, our scouts, the front office. We talk about ways we can inject some offense into this lineup. We added Tommy Joseph, who had been on a tear in Triple A and had earned his promotion as a way to hopefully inject some life into this offense. There are other players in our system that continue to develop, and at whatever juncture those players are ready to come up and help us that’ll be another option for us.
“We continue to be open-minded towards any types of additions and ways to improve, but right now the success of our team has been built on pitching and defense and we’re going to continue to respect that.”
http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelph...would-consider-acquiring-bat-not-cost-rebuild
The Braves are terrible. Wait until they move Freddie Freeman. It's kind of a disgrace what the Braves have done. They tore down a team to save money and are putting that slop on the field every day and on top of everything they are getting a new stadium at the tax payers expense when their current one is still in very good shape.
Sure sounds like the new GM is well aware of how bad Howard is right now, but doesn't want to publicly bury him out of respect for his career, and the remote chance that he could hit enough to get moved to the AL at either trade deadline (because nobody is claiming him on waivers).
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
They clearly sat down with Howard in the offseason and mapped out his road to retirement.
We'll help you set up the Big Piece Foundation and we'll promote it! We won't talk about you hitting .170 as much as we should! We'll play you early in the year and you can fake a hamstring injury after the All-Star break so the young guys can play.
We'll help you set up the Big Piece Foundation and we'll promote it! We won't talk about you hitting .170 as much as we should! We'll play you early in the year and you can fake a hamstring injury after the All-Star break so the young guys can play.
NickleDimer
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When you "come back" in September from your fake hamstring injury for your farewell tour, we can talk about what a gamer you are for coming back from a torn achilles in your prime and playing hurt in September for the fans! We'll even pencil you in to manage the Centerfield BBQ stand in 10 years when you're bankrupt.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
I mean, we're talking about a man who is not playing at even a AAA level anymore:
Against Breaking Pitches (134 seen), he has had an aggressive approach at the plate (-0.05 c) with an exceptionally high likelihood to swing and miss (48% whiff/swing).
Against Offspeed Pitches (76 seen), he has had a very aggressive approach at the plate (-0.48 c) with a high likelihood to swing and miss (48% whiff/swing).
Against Breaking Pitches (134 seen), he has had an aggressive approach at the plate (-0.05 c) with an exceptionally high likelihood to swing and miss (48% whiff/swing).
Against Offspeed Pitches (76 seen), he has had a very aggressive approach at the plate (-0.48 c) with a high likelihood to swing and miss (48% whiff/swing).
Stanton 0-10 with 8 K's in this series....woof.
I hope I didn't just jinx it.....
I hope I didn't just jinx it.....
NickleDimer
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Does Jenmar Gomez' success (leads majors with 16 saves) prove that the Closer position is the most worthless in all of sports?
Phillies have to lead the league in successful Rule 5 pickups in the past 15 + years.
2015 - Goedell - too early to tell, but trending up
2014 - Herrera - very good pick
2010 - Michael Martinez - terrible player, but had some moments
2009 - David Herndon - terrible, but was part of a good bullpen all season
2004 - Victorino - very good pick
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Royals have done well in rule 5. The Phillies have also had 2 or 3 rule 5ers that sucked balls for every one you listed.
A few weeks ago, there was a small article about the pirates bullpen, and one of the things that Clint Hurdle said was something along the lines of "oh, well, being a relief pitcher is in their DNA. its not for everyone." Extreme intellectual dishonesty there. How many bullpen guys either a.) failed as starters in the minors or b.) failed as starters in the majors? 50%? 75%? More? Being a reliever just means you can't cut it as a starter.
Isn't it pretty much all of them? No one comes up as a reliever, right? Look at Mariano Rivera - he was terrible as a starter and is the most dominant relief pitcher of all time.
The Phillies being tied for the second most wins in baseball after 41 games is a God damn miracle. But I'm not complaining.
Update: Stanton 0-11 w/9 K's in series. This will never happen again.
Goedell on May 4 .143 BA. Today .262. No coincidence he's gotten a few more hits with more consistent playing time.
Update: Stanton 0-11 w/9 K's in series. This will never happen again.
Goedell on May 4 .143 BA. Today .262. No coincidence he's gotten a few more hits with more consistent playing time.
anyone who watched today's game, could you tell if the boo's for howard were getting louder? now that there is a viable alternative, i feel like this is going to start becoming a thing. no way he runs him out there fri/sat for the 2 rh's, no freaking way.
He said last night that Howard is going to play, but that he might run Joseph out there agaibst a RHP to give him a day off.
A lot of kids there today from what I heard. Not optimal booing conditions.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Polishing the turd up nicely before heading into a tough stretch against Tigers (struggling), Cubs, and Nats.
Having lived through the Phillies in the early '00s and their horrible/mediocre closers and late inning bullpens with guys like Mesa, Bottalico (maybe a little earlier, but still sore they wouldn't deal him in '93 for Portugal), Turk Wendell and other garbage -- even expending resources to get guys like Wagner who would blow big games and cost them the playoffs -- I find it hard to entirely agree.
Would agree that it's better to try to build one with live young arms than deal for guys though. Still, it's hit or miss. working right now.
Would agree that it's better to try to build one with live young arms than deal for guys though. Still, it's hit or miss. working right now.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Or... STOP USING PITCHERS IN TRADITIONAL SETUP/CLOSER ROLES!!!!!!!!!!!
Your starter is at 110 pitches with the Bases loaded with 2 out in the 6th, and a 2 run lead... bring in your best available reliever, not Clay Condrey.
Can someone explain to me the idea behind batting a pitcher 8th instead of 9th? I realize that this is basically meaningless for the Phillies, as their #9 hitters are about as effective as the pitchers at the plate, but I can think of a number of reasons why you would NOT do this.
1) 5-6-7 in the lineup are more likely to be on base or in scoring position than 6-7-8, so wouldn't you want an actual hitter coming up in the #8 spot as opposed to #9? This has happened several times this year to the Phillies, including yesterday when Hellickson (8-spot) came up with the bases loaded and 1 out.
2) In the NL, a pitcher is often asked to sacrifice bunt. After a sac bunt, it's more likely that the #1 hitter will drive in the run than the #9 hitter.
3) Over a season, the #8 spot will come to the plate more often than the #9 spot. (Just like the #1 spot will come to the plate more often than the #2 spot.) This reason isn't all that significant because the 2 spots are right next to each other, but I would lean towards maximizing plate appearances for actual hitters as opposed to pitchers.
4) Maybe the reason is that you want guys on base for the leadoff hitter. I see a couple problems with that. First, the pitcher is still hitting #8, so you're still seeing that automatic out very close to when the leadoff hitter will bat. Second, the bottom of the Phillies lineup is terrible and is extremely unlikely to get on base anyway. Third, if you are that intent on getting guys on base for your leadoff hitter (and THAT confident in your #9 hitter getting on base), then why isn't your #9 hitter just batting leadoff? Move your leadoff hitter down in the lineup if you think he is a run producer.
1) 5-6-7 in the lineup are more likely to be on base or in scoring position than 6-7-8, so wouldn't you want an actual hitter coming up in the #8 spot as opposed to #9? This has happened several times this year to the Phillies, including yesterday when Hellickson (8-spot) came up with the bases loaded and 1 out.
2) In the NL, a pitcher is often asked to sacrifice bunt. After a sac bunt, it's more likely that the #1 hitter will drive in the run than the #9 hitter.
3) Over a season, the #8 spot will come to the plate more often than the #9 spot. (Just like the #1 spot will come to the plate more often than the #2 spot.) This reason isn't all that significant because the 2 spots are right next to each other, but I would lean towards maximizing plate appearances for actual hitters as opposed to pitchers.
4) Maybe the reason is that you want guys on base for the leadoff hitter. I see a couple problems with that. First, the pitcher is still hitting #8, so you're still seeing that automatic out very close to when the leadoff hitter will bat. Second, the bottom of the Phillies lineup is terrible and is extremely unlikely to get on base anyway. Third, if you are that intent on getting guys on base for your leadoff hitter (and THAT confident in your #9 hitter getting on base), then why isn't your #9 hitter just batting leadoff? Move your leadoff hitter down in the lineup if you think he is a run producer.
NickleDimer
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Most analyses that I've read on the "pitcher hitting 8th" topic say that the effect is negligible - a run or two improvement over the course of 162 games. It's a whole lot of nothing, trying to look smart and basically admitting that you can't find 3 outfielders that are worth a damn.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Bobby Valentine used to put Rey Ordonez in the 9 hole from time to time. They had some pitchers that could hit a little - like Rick Reed.
