Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Phils set off on short year with postseason run in mind
The Phillies’ season is about to begin, and there is optimism. Good but failed players are gone. Some freeagent money was spent. A rebuilding project is near complete. The time is right.
“I’m looking forward to what the future holds for us,” Andrew McCutchen said.
Yes, there was optimism as the season began. That season: 2019. That was in April. By October, the Phillies were a .500 team, their fans had turned elsewhere for entertainment, their manager was fired and, of all unimaginable indignities, Bryce Harper’s old team would be just cheeky enough to go ahead and win the whole thing.
How in the world did any of that happen?
Injuries. Incompetent coaching staff. A manager who approved hanging a disco ball from the clubhouse ceiling but who too often took a baseball out of the hand of a pitcher who was throwing well. Slumps. The mystery that was Maikel Franco. A soft bullpen. A front office unwilling to be aggressive at the deadline. Sean Rodriguez.
Rhys Hoskins was there for it all, not that he was as much a help as he should have been, hitting .226 and striking out 173 times. He understood what happened and what didn’t, and was always big enough to admit that underachievement is on the players.
Seasons like that happen sometimes. It’s how the survivors react to them that matters. Hoskins, for one, has been caught suggesting that a bit of healthy anger would help.
“We have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “I feel like we are being a little overlooked right now. That is a pretty good combination for a highly successful season for us.”
That season will begin Friday night at 7:05 against the visiting Miami Marlins. In 60 games, or about three-quarters of a typical hockey season, it will be over. A brief summer camp followed a 102-game concession to coronavirus concerns, and the Phillies are confident again.
“There are outlets that might overlook some of the talent we have here,” Jake Arrieta said. “We have a difficult division and will be playing other difficult opponents that we are not accustomed to playing. I know there are predictions out there that we won’t be much better than .500. But if you ask around the clubhouse, you’ll get a much better answer. You’ll never know until we start playing games. We have health on our side currently.
“We all feel pretty good about it. Our pitching is strong. Our lineup is deep.”
Since the Phillies were such firm believers in themselves last year, it’s impossible to declare them more confident this time. They are, however, better in all the right areas.
Gone is Cesar Hernandez, an in-house energy drain and on-field mistake-maker. Franco, so talented, already exasperated enough managers. He’s out. Didi Gregorius, who may not even be around for more than 60 games, is known for his leadership touch and showed a certain joy for the game during the recent intrasquad scrimmages.
And then, there is Joe Girardi, a manager and a good one, a world champion. Not unlike Gabe Kapler in that he will be swayed by the smallest past-performance statistics, he is quite unlike him in the way that most matters: His command of a room.
Kapler, a genuinely nice fellow, trusted that players would respond to his overpositive spins, never realizing that they would take that as a signal of weakness. At the end, it all became so unbearable that the owner demanded a change even while his GM was trying to resist shaking his head.
“Joe just has a level of poise about him that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen from a person, not only in a baseball setting, but in a life setting also,” Hoskins said. “Nothing gets him off guard. He always seems prepared. He’s very thorough. And I think that is going to translate over to the clubhouse and you’ll see a pretty confident bunch.”
The Phillies had a right to be confident last year. They have more of a right this time. Gregorius is an upgrade. Girardi finally figured out what Kapler never could and has made developing star Scott Kingery his everyday second baseman. McCutchen is healthy. Roman Quinn is healthy. Jay Bruce is healthy and will be a dangerous DH in a season played under American League rules.
Adam Haseley has had seasoning. J.T.
Realmuto is in a contract-push season. Harper is one year into showing why he will be the best player in the history of the organization. Zack Wheeler was financed to provide a second No. 1 starter behind Aaron Nola. Arrieta is no longer bothered by an ouchy elbow. Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin no longer have to work for incompetent pitching coach Chris Young, as former big-league manager Bryan Price has taken over the job. Price could even help the bullpen, average at best, but with some live arms. The Phillies have it right this time. “Our guys are really excited and so am I,” Girardi said. “I want to see real action and real competition. I think it brings out the best in people. I am really looking forward to Friday.”
The Phillies’ season is about to begin, and there is optimism. Good but failed players are gone. Some free-agent money was spent. A rebuilding project is near complete. The time is right.
One of these years, that will all result in a deep postsesaon run.
Welcome to one of those years.