- Manager Gabe Kapler claimed his Phillies 'showed a little fight' in their 5-3 loss to the Rockies Thursday afternoon, completing an 0-8 road trip, their worst trip since 1883. They are now 3 games under .500. They need to sweep the Braves this weekend at home just to finish with a .500 record. For the 7th straight year they will not have a winning record, although they were 15 games over .500 as late as August 5.
Yet Kapler says the team has not quit.
We have yet to hear from the team president or owners. GM Klentak flew to Colorado earlier this week and proclaimed that his manager will be back next season, and makes a case for each player on his roster having improved. Plus Kapler himself jumped the gun and announced that his entire coaching staff will return in 2019.
I have tickets for the season finale on Fan Appreciation Day this Sunday. My tickets were upgraded to the Diamond Club, which is good because of the food in there plus they may have the Eagles game on at the same time.
The Phillies are undefeated the four other games I've attended this season, so I hope they win the meaningless game against the NL East champion Braves. The great Ranger Suarez will be pitching for the Phils.
Otherwise, let them continue to lose, although since these are meaningless games, Middletons' mind should be made up by now on whether to keep Kapler, Klentak, both or neither for 2019.
To me, both need to go. It would mean starting over again, but this is a crucial time for the Phillies franchise. They have aimed for this off-season and this collection of free agents on the open market for years. I really don't trust the current front office to get anything significant done, nor do I have faith in the analytical-crazy manager, who says already he won't change next year. So, what's the point?
Making changes now would show fans that management is listening and cares and this total, historical collapse is unacceptable. But the poor talent evaluation, the poor drafting, signing of free agents and trades have been going on for a while now, not only during the last seven weeks of shitty baseball, as Kapler himself put it.
There's got to be a better blend of the old and the new. Analytics are here to stay, like it or not. But old-time baseball common sense and values should not be thrown away in the process.
Give the fans reason for hope. Give the fans reason to buy tickets next season.
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Instead of rehashing another loss, this week I have been reviewing and previewing members of the 2018 Phillies. Here are three more:
Tommy Hunter-
A bust free agent signing. Had a few good moments during the year, but did not pitch like he did in the past for Tampa Bay's bullpen. Not to be trusted, Kapler used him in too many key situations where Hunter failed. D
Nick Williams-
When he played he was inconsistent so we really don't know if he can be an everyday player or not. He is an RBI-machine at times and plays decently in the outfield. But is he a building block for the future? We don't know because Kapler didn't keep the same line-up everyday and Hoskins was forced to play left field ( because of the Carlos Santana signing) which took up an outfield spot. I think he is a part of the future if given a chance to play. B
Andrew Knapp-
Proving this season he is not an everyday big league catcher. A switch-hitter, he will get a job somewhere in baseball if not with the Phillies. Poor defensively, the club can't have two weak defensive catchers on the team. He neither hits for average or consistent power and seems to have changed his minor league swing to a more analytical- uppercut swing for home runs. Maybe it's the current hitting coach? D
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