- After a sloppy start, the Phillies came to life and crushed San Diego last night, winning 11-5. The Padres put up 4 runs in the 1st inning, as the Phils committed a pair of errors along with several walks and a passed ball. It was almost as if the team had a letdown after Manny Machado ended up with the Dodgers instead of Philly (Machado went 2 for 3 with 2 walks in his debut with LA).
Jake Arrieta again looked shaky, as he only went a little over 3 innings. Sorry, but he isn't living up to his $30 million paycheck this season.
- With the win, the Phillies stay 1/2 game ahead of Atlanta ( the braves beat the Nationals in D.C., sending the Nats 6 1/2 games behind).
- GM Matt Klentak held a press conference before the game. He has such a loser's mentality, saying the front office "made a strong effort" to get Machado. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. They failed..period.
Klentak is too conservative and not aggressive enough. He talks about the "young players developing "yet he signs Santana over the off-season and takes away plaiyng time from his young players. He sayd a "competitive team" will help increase attendance and lure future free agents to Philsdelphia, yet he does notihng to help the team remain competitive.
Klentak didn't sound too postive about improving the team before the July 31st trade deadline. He feels the offense is OK, he likes the shaky bullpen, and doesn't want to get into the starting pitchers market. I would've loved the fun, excitement and skill that having Machado on the team would've brought this summer. But I want Klentak to improve the team more. Chances are the Phils will sign Machado long-term during the off-season. I want some help for the current squad that is clinging to first place. Escobar, Happ, Hamels, Britton, Castellanos- any combination of those names would give the Phillies a much better shot at holding off the braves and making the playoffs.
If the front office doesn't care, why should the fans?
- The Phillies' bench sucks. Valentin, Poullfe, Walding- are you kididng? Escobar and Castellanos would not only give the starting line-up extra pop, it would trickle down and addd epth. Even Cozens and Quinn later in the summer would add to the weak bench.
- I have tickets for Game 2 tonight vs the Padres but I don't think it will happen. Heavy rain is predicted for this afternoon and tonight. It was also Photo Night, a chance to meet many of the new players. That looks like a wash-out as well. Hopefully the Phillies call the game early before fans head down to Citizens Bank Park.
Since San Diego only comes into South Philly one time, would they play a doubleheader on Sunday? Or do the Padres come east again later in the season? Sunday looks stormy too. So does most of the week. Wednesday- the afternoon game vs the Dodgers ( and Chase Utley's final game at CBP) may be dry. Otherwise it's going to be a soggy, humid week at the ol' ballpark.
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