Grotz: Like it or not, Neris still the closer for the Phillies
PHILADELPHIA » Phillies manager Gabe Kapler wouldn’t dismiss a closer-by-committee approach going forward. But the more he spoke Saturday, the clearer it became Hector Neris is still his guy.
Kapler asked reporters as many questions about closers, including the slumping Neris, as he got before the scheduled game with the New York Mets was postponed until Aug. 16 due to rain.
Neris has blown saves twice in seven days. It’s tough to say which meltdown was worse, the one on the road against the Washington Nationals last Sunday or the Friday night deal where he blew a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning giving up back-to-back homers to the New York Mets.
The losses made the Phillies 7-14 against the NL East and 15-2 against the rest of the league.
While Kapler hasn’t named a closer per se, borrowing a page from Chip Kelly and his what’s the benefit of naming a starting quarterback until you have to play, the guy with the saves is Neris. He has eight of them.
Neris, since the start of 2017, also ranks second among NL relievers with 91 appearances, third with 70 games finished, and tied for sixth with 34 saves.
The wide-eyed Kapler asked the media for details about the slump Neris fought out of last April. Let’s just say the loud non-analytical descriptions were a waste of time.
Much more useful was the mild criticism Kapler made of the Neris slider. The manager is not a fan of it, as he prefers the veteran’s splitter and fastball. And that was the pitch that was an issue in the slump last year.
“I don’t think the slider is his best pitch,” Kapler said. “But that’s not to say it wouldn’t be effective in certain situations or that he wouldn’t be able to record outs with it. What I think happens is when a pitcher or any baseball player is a little uncomfortable, you see a little experimentation. For some pitchers and players, it works really well. We’ve seen it with (Aaron) Nola where he just pulls out a pitch and uses it more than in the past.”
Neris got in trouble with the slider against the Nats and the Mets. Throwing it makes Kapler uncomfortable. That was to be the topic of the talk they would have before long.
“There are a number of things I’m excited to touch base on,” Kapler said. “We did have some really important pitching meetings about some of the ways that we could help him be at his best. And then we discussed various topics about how we’re going to manage our bullpen going forward. And really not much has changed. The idea is still to use our best pitcher for any given moment of the game.”
Which is reasonable, especially for a team getting the most out of the rest out of a pitching staff such as the Phillies.
Kapler was asked in what scenario Neris wouldn’t be the best guy. All you had to do was go down the list of potential candidates to understand why Kap didn’t answer.
Would the closer in waiting be Seranthony Dominguez, the 23-yearold flamethrower, who’s pitched three clean innings? His fastball tops out at 98 mph. He could be the first homegrown hammer since Brett Myers in 2007. Myers registered 21 saves, a 4.33 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of relief. The Phillies made Myers a starter the following year because Brad Lidge came in and had a perfect season, getting the final out of the World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Lidge was perfect in 41 save opportunities.
Would veteran righthander Tommy Hunter work as a closer? Great splitter. He’s coming off a hamstring strain, so maybe it’s early to consider him. It sure looks like the full-figured Hunter might want to do a little more conditioning.
Victor Arano had a scoreless streak and was getting outs prodigiously before going on the DL with a rotator cuff strain in his pitching arm.
Luis Garcia would work, and he throws a fastball (96 mph), splitter and a changeup. But they aren’t closers.
Which brings us back to Neris and the scenario in which he would he not be the best guy.
“If we liked the matchup significantly more for another pitcher,” Kapler said. “But that’s been true all the way through. We’ve actually had conversations with Hector and others that ‘Hey, if you have the best three matchups in the eighth or the seventh, and we just think that that’s the perfect spot or pocket of the lineup for you, we might use you earlier in the game or vice versa.’ So again, this is not new conceptually by any stretch. And it’s not based on the results of last night’s game – or D.C.”
Neris impressed Kapler with his toughness this past Thursday, when he completed the Phillies 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. Kapler is a fan of seeing “how strong you can be in sub-optimal conditions.
“It’s kind of what separates you from the competition,” Kapler said.
Neris is in that sub-optimal area right now. If he can’t escape it, the Phillies can always go out and trade for a closer — assuming they’re still relevant.