You're going to see a lot of prognosticators assume the renovating Phillies will hold up the division in the 2016 standings after their MLB-worst 99 losses in 2015. But low expectations being the key to happiness, the scarred Philadelphia sports fan may be in for some joy.
Consider what the team paraded out for a starting rotation last year absent the now-departed Cole Hamels :
Three quarters of the team's starts made in 2015 (number of starts in parentheses):
*Aaron Harang (29) 4.86 ERA
*Jerome Williams (21) — 6.13 ERA as a starter
David Buchanan (15) — 6.99 ERA
Adam Morgan (15) 4.48 ERA
*Sean O’Sullivan (13) — 6.08 ERA
*Chad Billingsley (7) — 5.84 ERA
Severino Gonzalez (7) — 7.92 ERA
Alec Asher (7) — 9.31 ERA
*Kevin Correia (5) — 6.56 ERA
*Phillipe Aumont (1) — 13.50 ERA
*Dustin McGowan (1) — 10.80 ERA as starter
*Justin De Fratus (5.51) led the team in relief innings pitched.
Can they possibly soil themselves so badly in 2016? Sure. The steadying influence of Hamels is gone and Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.59) could stumble in his sophomore campaign. But everyone with a star before his name is gone; in their slots are replacement-level veteran Charlie Morton, middling rotation piece Jeremy Helickson, and many more innings for promising second-year hurlers Nola, Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff (3-3, 2.65 in eight starts).
NL foes may not quake in their cleats, but the results can hardly get worse. One positive surprise and Philadelphia is challenging Miami for third place in the East.
Likewise the lineup. The leading run scorer in 2015 was shortstop Feddy Galvis, who crossed the plate 63 times. Four of the Phillies' eight most frequent starters produced OBP below .300.
Besides flipping field managers, the added seasoning for Galvis, good-looking keystoner Maikel Franco, promising outfielders Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr, and the signing of defensive outfielder Peter Bourjos could pump life into the moribund franchise. It's not Murderers Row but it figures to provide some support for the pitchers.
On defense, moving out human statue Ryan Howard permanently from first will help, as will Bourjos and more innings for Herrera. The bench is actually a strength, as the Phils refuse to part with semi-failed former prospects like Cody Asche and Dom Brown.
In a place where the hockey team clings tenaciously to the formula that won the Stanley Cup just 37 years ago and the basketball team's tanking now enters its graduate studies, a 75-win baseball team or emergence from the cellar would be cause for celebration.
Go ahead and buy the noisemakers.
Showing posts with label Maikel Franco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maikel Franco. Show all posts
17 February 2016
24 August 2015
Don't Look Now But Here Come the Phillies
Phillie fans began realizing last year that they were in for an Astros-Pirates type of rebuild that hadn't even started yet. Their aging core of highly paid former stars was in deep decline and the team didn't have much in the pipeline. Worse yet, management didn't seem to recognize that the Everything Must Go! sale needed to begin ASAP.
The meritocracy of baseball has a way of steeling minds against cognitive dissonance. A GM can only deny reality for so long before the standings tell him objectively that his theory is faulty.
So, with the team well-positioned for oblivion, Ruben Amaro finally acknowledged what was obvious two-three years ago and has begun the sell-off. And -- surprise! -- he's reaped nice returns for some of the pieces.
The result suggests a condensed rebuild schedule: since the All-Star break, Philadelphia is 21-12 and has climbed out of sole possession of the NL East cellar. Another week of Atlanta losses and the Phillies could claw themselves into third place.
The best part is, it's not newly oiled rusting parts, but the young pieces that are carrying the team, which gives rise to hope. While Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz take to the bench, and Chase Utley and Cole Hamels have been sent to greener pastures.
The heart of the resurgence is under 25, led by slugging outfielder Maikel Franco (now on the 15-day DL), and buttressed by righty Aaron Nola, shortstop Freddy Galvis, speedster Cesar Hernandez at the keystone, promising center fielder Osdubel Herrera and catcher Cameron Rupp. Nola, a recent call-up, is 4-1, 3.59. Franco, the Phils' best hitter all season, has supplied on base and power production; Herrera offers speed, defense and a .294 batting average; and Hernandez has delivered 18 steals and a .345 OBP.
Add to that the haul produced by Utley, Cole Hamels, Ben Revere, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd, some of which will soon join the nubiles now exciting the faithful. Among the dead weights, only Howard and Ruiz are signed through next year, which means the roster has nearly completely turned over.
So here's where the Phillies stand: right now, they are the third best team in the NL East. Though that's damning with faint praise, it's still two notches higher than they were at season's commencement. With some more seasoning, the youngsters could be even better next year, multiplied by the next round of talented call-ups. The corner has already been turned, the bottom already hit. The team has spent all of 2015 looking up at their opponents in the standings. Now things are looking up for them.
The meritocracy of baseball has a way of steeling minds against cognitive dissonance. A GM can only deny reality for so long before the standings tell him objectively that his theory is faulty.
So, with the team well-positioned for oblivion, Ruben Amaro finally acknowledged what was obvious two-three years ago and has begun the sell-off. And -- surprise! -- he's reaped nice returns for some of the pieces.
The result suggests a condensed rebuild schedule: since the All-Star break, Philadelphia is 21-12 and has climbed out of sole possession of the NL East cellar. Another week of Atlanta losses and the Phillies could claw themselves into third place.
The best part is, it's not newly oiled rusting parts, but the young pieces that are carrying the team, which gives rise to hope. While Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz take to the bench, and Chase Utley and Cole Hamels have been sent to greener pastures.
The heart of the resurgence is under 25, led by slugging outfielder Maikel Franco (now on the 15-day DL), and buttressed by righty Aaron Nola, shortstop Freddy Galvis, speedster Cesar Hernandez at the keystone, promising center fielder Osdubel Herrera and catcher Cameron Rupp. Nola, a recent call-up, is 4-1, 3.59. Franco, the Phils' best hitter all season, has supplied on base and power production; Herrera offers speed, defense and a .294 batting average; and Hernandez has delivered 18 steals and a .345 OBP.
Add to that the haul produced by Utley, Cole Hamels, Ben Revere, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd, some of which will soon join the nubiles now exciting the faithful. Among the dead weights, only Howard and Ruiz are signed through next year, which means the roster has nearly completely turned over.
So here's where the Phillies stand: right now, they are the third best team in the NL East. Though that's damning with faint praise, it's still two notches higher than they were at season's commencement. With some more seasoning, the youngsters could be even better next year, multiplied by the next round of talented call-ups. The corner has already been turned, the bottom already hit. The team has spent all of 2015 looking up at their opponents in the standings. Now things are looking up for them.
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