NL East Enemies: 2017 Philadelphia Phillies

[Edgy MD]

Let's take a trip down to Clearwater, home of our friendly rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, as they ... WHAT. THE. FUCK?!

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[Benjamin Grimm]

I can tell you that Phillies fans really do think that "Ya Gotta Believe" is from the 1980 Phillies.

[Edgy MD]

In fairness, they only adopted that rallying cry after strongly considering "WE ARE FAMILY!"

[G-Fafif]

Why poach from the Mets when the Phillies have such a rich tradition of quotes from personnel wearing their uniform at the time they were said? Take renowned 1947 Phillies manager Ben Chapman.

"Chapman mentioned everything from thick lips to the supposedly extra-thick Negro skull, which he said restricted brain growth to almost animal level when compared to white folk. He listed the repulsive sores and diseases he said Robbie’s teammates would be infected with if they touched the towels or combs he used."

Surely that can fit on a wall in the Clearwater catacombs.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Or they can just shorten it to REPULSIVE SORES AND DISEASES!

[Fman99]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Or they can just shorten it to REPULSIVE SORES AND DISEASES!

The MFYs already took that for their locker room. They got the idea based on a homey and cute wooden sign saying the same, in the guest bathroom at Derek Jeter's house.

[Edgy MD]

Here's some inspiration for your clubhouse wall, Phils!

“I’ll tell you something about my playing in Philadelphia—whatever I’ve got in my career now, I would have had a great more if I’d played my whole career in Los Angeles or Chicago, you name a town, somewhere where they were just grateful to have me around.” — Mike Schmidt [fimg=400]http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0615/pg2_g_scmidt_sy_576.jpg[/fimg]

[G-Fafif]

Within context of YGB flap, 1985 Met Larry Bowa takes shot at 2017 Mets.

Nothing wrong with "digging yourself". Bowa could ask the "team to beat" shortstop who used to work in Clearwater this time of year.

[MFS62]

Pfuck Them.
The last original thought to come out of Philadelphia was had by Benjamin Franklin.

Later

[Edgy MD]

The clubhouse down in Clearwater has added more moving words from Philadelphia heroes to greet and inspire young Phillie hopefuls.

[Frayed Knot]

The Phillies are obviously aiming to drive Terry into late-inning matchup distraction by dealing for switch-pitching specialist Pat Venditte
Originally drafted by the Yanquis (twice in fact) Venditte saw some ML time in 2015 & '16 with Oakland, Toronto, and Seattle, plus has spent a significant amount of minor league time in each season since 2008.
He's currently on the roster of Team Italy in the WBC where he just received word that the Mariners have dealt him to Philly for some minor league OF.

During his brief, and certainly unique, time in the majors [41 games, 50.2 IP, 221 batters faced] Venditte has fared considerably better as a LHP against vs LHBs [82 batters faced - 617 OPS against] than
he has as a RHP vs RHBs [126 PA - 917 OPS-A]
And for those of you math majors who realize that the 82 times he's faced lefties plus the 126 vs RHBs doesn't add up to the 221 total batters that I said he faced in total, you're right, and that's because BB-Ref lists him
as having 13 plate appearances vs ?HBs; I'm guessing those were switch hitters where a simple reading of the box score can not determine how they batted in that particular AB and therefore are
also unsure of how Venditte threw.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Phillies lose to Reds 7-4 in part because Reds relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen hit a tiebreaking 7th inning home run -- as a pinch hitter.

2nd career HR for Lorenzen who 'has lobby' to play in the outfield sometimes.

[youtube:231sd1ks]8kB-gONmtho[/youtube:231sd1ks]

[Edgy MD]

The 2017 Phils aren't only about peanut vendors with racial hangups, they've also recently partnered with Uber. While inexpensive rides to and from the ballpark while you're perhaps drunk is a good thing on the surface, daily news briefs seem to spell out that Uber is just a terrible company run by bad, exploitative, rapacious people. Look for a nu partner, Phils, and one helpful hint might be to look for a corporate name that isn't evocative of the Nazis. You don't want folks to think Peanut girl is running the show.

On the phield, Rebuild II is thoroughly underway, as along with the exits of championship-era collosi such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, and Jimmy Rollins, so too gone are post-championship, Ruben Amaro-era fixtures such as Cody Asche (to the White Sox via free agency), Darin Ruf (traded to the Dodgers and subsequently released). Several return, but this is gradually becoming Matt Klentak's team.

Cameron Rupp returns at catcher. He's an averagish hitter, which is kinda good for a catcher, but he doesn't have a standout skill, offensively or defensively. He's why the term "solid" exists. In his sixth season with the team, he's emerged as a veteran leader, but the phanz have a little trouble getting behind all that because he's an out-of-the-closet Cowboys guy.

Lefty-swinging and blandly named Tommy Joseph is entering his first full season taking over at phirst. He's a big meaty Thome-ish white guy who probably went through the minors too fast, but the power is there. Not a huge strikeout guy either. He got off to a slow start this year, and I'm hoping he craps out, but he's better than Ruf on his worst day.

Secondbaseman Cesár Hernandez was one of the more punchless guys in baseball for his first few years, but somehow ran into a few last year and put up six homers. (Insert cracks here about Bank One Ballpark and Freddy Galvis' pharmacist.) He's also responsible for the Phils winning their weekend series against Washington, providing a walkoff single yesterday afternoon. He's a small, tough, athletic, wiry guy that probably has a future, but not one with a whole lot of All-Star games in it.

Moving on, we have ... I've got to get back to work ... .

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Manning the left side of the infield, two guys who managed to wring just about no WAR out of a pair of 20-HR seasons: decreasingly-hot hot-cornerer Maikel Franco and [crossout]Dbol Wizard[/crossout] hard-working-gym-rat shorty Freddy Galvis.

Franco did put 25 balls in seats last year, but put far more in gloves, regressing more or less across the board in 2016(.255/.306/.427), popping up more last season than cocaine-addicted Whack-a-Moles, and starting off this year in Reyesian fashion (sub-.400 OPS). Galvis is capable (if not metric-loved) with the leather, and somehow put up 20 HR; he's off to a similarly suspicion-inducing start (2 HRs, .771 slugging, all sorts of weird rally-ignition) in his Rage Against The J.P. Crawford-Hype-Machine year. That said, Franco-- with potentially elite defensive skills and very good contact-rates for a "power" guy-- will likely be on the next good Phils team (closer than you think), but Lil' Freddy won't. He's the epitome of the Interregnal Phil-- he's like if Valdespin had been more of a "team player" and less of a "guy people want to hit in the face, given their first chance at cover." The guys staring at their asses include....

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Tonight's starting pitcher is Jared Eichoff, acquired as a piece of the Phranchise Phreeing Cole Hamels trade.

Eichoff is 1-4 career vs. the Mets and we beat 'em twice last year but I seem to think of him as a guy who gives us a rough go of it, he's got a variety of pitches, is capable of whiffin ya but could surrender a few bombs especially in his home park.

Tuesday it's 10-year Red Sox veteran Clay Buchholz opposing Matt Hovvey. Clay was beat up pretty good by the Reds a week ago in his Phillie debut, and at best is under pressure to hold off better talent waiting to come up, and to pitch well enough to get another contract or get traded at the deadline this year. We can't let this strategy work. Buchholz named his newborn son Jax Daniel Buchholz, so named I guess for his smooth-sippin breastfeeding technique.

Wednesday's finale is a matchup of impossible-to-watch pitchers Zack Wheeler and Vince Velasquez. The latter struck out 10 in his season debut but left having thrown 94 pitches in 4 innings, and is susceptible to the long ball, which portends more whiffs and less success against the Mets: I'm predicting 12 whiffs in 4 innings, but 6 homers. Either that or he no-hits us.

[Frayed Knot]

The Phils are apparently having closer questions this early in the season.
Titular closer Jeanmar Gomez has put up two bad outings in his three 2017 appearances [barely hanging on after a 2R HR opening day in a game the Phils led by 3 -- then a two-out/9th inning 3R HR to Ryan Zimmerman which tied Sunday's game before the Phils won it in the bottom half] and all this is coming off a bad second half of 2016: an 8.83 ERA post ASB which ended with 22 earned runs in his final 15 IP.

[Edgy MD]

There are no Phils-who-were-Mets on the 40-man roster, but it's Juan Samuel tasked with the crucial job of waving guys around third or throwing up the stop sign, and Bob McClure jogging out to the mound to check on his pitchers. Former Mets Extra guy Tom McCarthy is the Phils' lead play-by-play man.

[Lefty Specialist]

Is Bob McClure going to jog all the way to Cobb County? Just wondering.

[Edgy MD]

I'm not posting very well, am'n I?

Gotta get my head in the game.

[Edgy MD]

Phillies phans have passed over Placido Polanco and (far more surprisingly) Scott Rolen to elect Pete Rose to their Wall of Fame.

I know Rose supposedly taught the Phillies to win or something, but Scott Rolen gave that team 20 times the productivity. The first six seasons of his career with the Phillies were everything the first six seasons of David Wright's career was with the Mets.

[dinosaur jesus]

Edgy MD wrote: Phillies phans have passed over Placido Polanco and (far more surprisingly) Scott Rolen to elect Pete Rose to their Wall of Fame. I know Rose supposedly taught the Phillies to win or something, but Scott Rolen gave that team 20 times the productivity. The first six seasons of his career with the Phillies were everything the first six seasons of David Wright's career was with the Mets.

But he's not Mike Schmidt, so screw him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It didn't end well for Rolen in Philly. IIRC he was a Boras client and both sides engaged in the typical preening and advantage-taking around extension talks. All well and good for the player and the club but the collateral damage was Rolen's memory among fans.

[Edgy MD]

Still pissed about J.D. Drew, Phillie phans?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Speaking of Rose, this just landed in my inbox.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aqua-velva-celebrates-100th-anniversary-with-new-5-in-1-sensitive-after-shave-balm-300437536.html

[Edgy MD]

Edgy MD wrote: Lefty-swinging and blandly named Tommy Joseph is entering his first full season taking over at phirst. He's a big meaty Thome-ish white guy who probably went through the minors too fast, but the power is there. Not a huge strikeout guy either. He got off to a slow start this year, and I'm hoping he craps out, but he's better than Ruf on his worst day.

Looks like a statue on defense.

[dinosaur jesus]

Edgy MD wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Lefty-swinging and blandly named Tommy Joseph is entering his first full season taking over at phirst. He's a big meaty Thome-ish white guy who probably went through the minors too fast, but the power is there. Not a huge strikeout guy either. He got off to a slow start this year, and I'm hoping he craps out, but he's better than Ruf on his worst day. Looks like a statue on defense.

A statue of Greg Luzinski. That's a nice touch, actually putting it on the playing field.

[Edgy MD]

Phillies have cut loose outfielder Michael Saunders (signed to a one-year, $8 million contract this offseason, with a $1 million buyout on a second-year option) as well as reliever Jeanmar Gomez (on a one-year, $4.2 million contract).

Gomez is one of those mid-level relievers that 2017 is destroying (the Fernando Salas contingent) to the tune of a 7.25 ERA, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Mets consider a minor league deal for him.

Because if there's anything more brutal on a fringy reliever than 2017, it's 2017 in July in the Pacific Coast League playing for Las Vegas.

[bmfc1]

Edgy MD wrote: Phillies have cut loose outfielder Michael Saunders (signed to a one-year, $8 million contract this offseason, with a $1 million buyout on a second-year option) as well as reliever Jeanmar Gomez (on a one-year, $4.2 million contract). Gomez is one of those mid-level relievers that 2017 is destroying (the Fernando Salas contingent) to the tune of a 7.25 ERA, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Mets consider a minor league deal for him. Because if there's anything more brutal on a fringy reliever than 2017, it's 2017 in July in the Pacific Coast League playing for Las Vegas.

Agreed on the Mets going after Gomez. He was "highly touted" going into the season so perhaps they can "fix" him. I was hoping they'd try for Stephen Vogt but Milwaukee claimed him.

[Lefty Specialist]

Yeah, I'd snap up Gomez. Let Frankie V. work with him in Vegas. He has to be better than Neil Ramirez.

[Frayed Knot]

So if there's one thing good about this season going forward it's that we still have 13 games vs Philly
We took 4 of 6 from them in the opening weeks of the season but now haven't seen them since mid-April.

So what they been up to since we last crossed paths? Basically losing.
After a surprisingly "good" 11-12 April they've gone 15-39 since and they had to sweep a two-game series in Seattle on Tues & Wed this week just to get the record to look that good.

Injuries:
2B Cesar Hernandez went down so they pulled LF Howie Kendrick in to play 2B but now he's going to be DL'd
On the pitching side, Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, Casey Fein, Clay Buchholz will be MIA for this series

The usual cast of characters:
C -- Cameron Rupp (75 OPS+) and rookie Andrew Knapp (93) pretty much alternate behind the plate as apparently the team has a minimum 'P' requirement to play back there
1B - 2nd year man Tommy Joseph (99)
2B -- currently a combo of vet Andres Blanco (35) and ex-NYM Ty Kelly (56) in the absence of both Hernandez & Kendrick. Obviously neither one is hitting
SS -- Freddie Galvis (87) has started every single game this season, just not all that impressively
3B - Maikel Franco (73) is not quite turning into the star projected for him
LF - ex Red Sox Daniel Nava (112) is currently replacing Kendrick along with recent call-up Cameron Perkins because apparently they decided you can't have too many Camerons on your squad
CF - Odubel Herrera (81) is probably one of those guys who's convinced that his stalling tactics at the plate are a key ingredient to making him successful. The facts suggest otherwise.
RF -- the German born Aaron Altherr is the only regular keeping his OPS+ (130) in triple digits this season which, by definition, makes him the tallest midget in this year's Philly circus


Pitching Matchups:
Friday 7:10 deGrom vs Ben (not to be confused with Blake) Lively
This will be the rookie Lively's 5th ML start [1-2; 5.90]

Saturday 4:10 -- Wheeler vs Jeremy Hellickson
We somehow managed to miss Hellickson in both early series. He ended April 4-0, 1.90 in five starts ... so the fact that he's now 5-5, 4.40 tells you about how his recent outings have gone

Sunday 1:10 -- Montero vs Nick Pivetta
Pivetta is another rookie, one they snagged from Washington in the Papelbon deal two years ago. This will be his 10th ML start [1-4; 5.40]