PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES, TRIPLE CROWN

- The Phillies get destroyed again by the brewers. I'm tired of  Manager Gabe Kapler  and his unemotional, robot-like  demeanor that everything is peaches and cream and will be fine. Get real! I would love to see him get mad and keep it real.  Yes, every baseball team goes thru rough spots. but do you really think this team will get any better this summer?

This team plays terrible defense. Think of the great Phillies teams in the past. The World Champion Phillies of 1980s had Manny Trillo, Larry Bowa , Mike Schmidt and Garry Maddox- all Gold Glove caliber-like players.2008 players Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino played superb defense. The current club will never contend until the defense gets better.

The season started out frustrating, then turned fun, now is confusing, boring and again frustrating. As stated previously, they strikeout too much. They don't play small ball- no bunting, no steals, no moving base runners. They have no acknowledged closer or set-up guy. They have too many players playing out of position, which has effected their defense ( the worst in baseball) and their offense.

It's more frustrating than last year. This season there was hope of meaningful game sin September, whereas in 2017 the rebuilding process was still on. Management had to think they would contend this summer by signing Arrieta and Santana.

Speaking of Santana, He has been a bust. He walks too much and doesn't drive in big runs, especially when hitting in the middle of the order. I thought he was a Gold Glove first baseman>? Instead, he has been shaky and tentative at best in the field. Plus he has forced Rhys Hoskins into left field. He has been disappointing and he wasn't needed.

With Franco sitting against a left-handed pitcher, looks like the Phillies are giving up on him, finally. That's a shame, seeing he is still only 25-years-old. But Franco has had chances to seize third base for good and he has failed, inconsistent in the field, flailing at the plate. He still has enormous potential but for whatever reason, it has not translated to the field.

If the Phillies turn out to be seller sin July, both Kapler and Klentek need to go. Santana, Franco, Hernandez need to be traded. Young players need to play in their more comfortable positions. Returning to fundamentals should be a key. Analytics may always be in play now in this modern age, but analytics should not be the major factor in building a team and managing a ballgame.

With Herrera dipping below .300, the Phils have no ,300 hitters on their team. They have a general manager who is afraid to make bold moves to improve the club, both now and in the long-term. Klentek's talent evaluation is flawed  ( see Mickey Moniak and Michael Saunders). They have lost 10 of 13 games since they spent one brief day in 1st place. And now, their top pitching prospect ( and the 23rd prospect in all of baseball), Sixto Sanchez, is on the DL with right elbow inflammation. Serious, concerning but the Phillies are cautiously optimistic, with Sanchez resting for several weeks.

What else can go wrong?

After the finale with the Brewers this afternoon, the Phils continue their home stand with a three-game set with Colorado before playing in Milwaukee next weekend.Don't forget, before June ends, the Phillies will also play the Cardinals, Nationals and Yankees, so things don't get easier.

- It was thrilling to see Justify win the Triple Crown yesterday. Horse racing fan or not, it's something special to witness a Triple Crown winner, Justify being only the 13th horse in history to win the rare honor. I do remember Secretariat and Seattle Slew while growing up, then the long drought in-between winners, before American Pharaoh broke the ice in 2015. I also thought of great horses I never saw but heard about, like citation, War Admiral, even Man O' War and Seabiscuit.