PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES

- Ugly.

That sums up the night for the Phillies, losing 13-2 in Milwaukee last night. The Phillies, already the worst defensive team in baseball, committed another 4 errors against the Brewers.One of the reasons why the team is so poor on defense is because most of the fielders are playing out of their normal positions. Kingery should be at second base, not shortstop. Hoskins should be playing first base, not left field. Crawford should be at shortstop, not at third base. Funny, in the 7th inning on Friday night, that was the defensive scheme ( along with Franco at third base).

- Jorge Alfaro has a terrific arm, but he is a terrible defensive catcher. Is he destined, in the long run, to play first base or the outfield?

- Jake Arrieta had another poor outing, dropping to 5-5. I called for his signing, and I'm still happy  he is on the staff, but he has been disappointing and not worth the $30 million he is being paid this season. Along with Nola, he gives the team a chance to win.

- On the other hand, the Carlos Santana signing was  a huge mistake from the start. I didn't understand it then, as Rhys Hoskins is the first baseman of the future. Why force Hoskins to left field, where he is below- average defensively?  Santana walks too much, his average is low and even defensively he has been disappointing.  If the organization sells instead of buys in July, could they trade Santana and put Hoskins back on first?

- I want Manny Machado in the off-season, either at third or short. I also want Bryce Harper in the outfield, and the Phillies will be able to afford both. Williams, Herrera and Altherr are proving they are not worthy to play for a championship-contending club.

- Other than Siranthony Dominguez, you can have the rest of the inconsistent bullpen. Pat Neshek should help whenever he does return. But I don't trust Morgan, Ramos, Garcia, Neris or the rest of those bums.  GM Klentek will need to again rebuild the bullpen after the season.

- Even with the loss, the team stays 4 games behind Atlanta, and 2 1/2 games in back of Washington ( they both lost on Friday night).Again, the next few weeks will tell a lot about this current team. After the brewers, they face the cardinals, Nationals, Yankees and Nationals again before the end of June. July brings an easier schedule, with the Padres, Reds, Mets , Orioles and Marlins on tap. Hopefully  management doesn't buy into the Fool's Gold  of an easier schedule and sees the team for what it is- for better or for worse.