Wednesday, April 3, 2019

PHILLIES PHODDER

- Bryce Harper returned to Washington on Tuesday night and it was a memorable game, both on the playing field and off.

Lost in all of the booing and hype was the fact the Phillies won again, 8-2 over struggling Washington. The Phils are now 4-0, still the only undefeated team in major league baseball. Overlooked is that, with their hot start, the team is beating their fellow National League East rivals in the braves and Nationals. These games count just as much as the game sin September. Building an early lead in the division while the team gets confidence can't hurt.

Also lost in the Harper hoopla was the brilliant five innings tossed by Zach Eflin. # hits and 9 strikeouts in those 5 innings. He probably could've gone another inning if not for the need to pinch-hit for Eflin in the top of the sixth inning. Eflin looked like he did last June and July, throwing strikes and using all four of his pitches. The race to win the division and beyond will go a long way if the young starters- Eflin, Pivetta and Valasquez- begin to transition from potential big league pitchers to solid starters.

Remember how bad the Phillies' defense was in 2018? So far through four games they have zero errors. They have made mistakes on the base paths, but being aggressive is good. Playing smart baseball is key as well. With Hoskins back at first it's clear how much better the defense is.

If you have Odulbel Herrera on your squad you got to accept the good with the bad. He made a bad blunder on Sunday night against Atlanta when he swung at the first pitch after the Braves; pitcher wildly walked the previous three Philadelphia batters. But then Herrera strokes three doubles vs the Nats, and especially ace Max Scherzer.

Speaking of Scherzer, he is now 0-2 despite not pitching badly. Could it be a frustrating season ahead for the nationals- and the end for mediocre manager Dave Martinez?

The Phillies don't play boring baseball. They are must-see now, with the possible home run with the next bad. I love their fun attitude too, almost cockiness, with the numerous celebrations and handshakes. Harpers' pronounced bat flip after the crushed a titantic homer against his former team, may probably cause retaliation but who cares? After striking out two times and hearing loud boos during his first two at-bats, Bryce had the last laugh and sent Washington fans home angry and disappointed when he launched a bomb into the right field upper deck when the Phils needed runs badly and to minimize anyway Nats comeback.

Maikel Franco is off to a tremendous start with three homers ( tied with Harper for the club lead). Good thing the Phillies didn't deal him to San Diego as was rumored. Could a contract extension be in the future if he has aa hell of a season?

Manager Gabe Kapler is starting off on the right foot so far this season. His job could've been on shaky ground if the team didn't get off to a good start in April. Even last night he made a few questionable decisions that worked out. First, he elected to pitch Eflin over Aaron Nola  ( who would normally pitch on his regular turn). Now Nola can go after the sweep this afternoon in D.C.

Second, he allow left-handed Alvarez pitch to right-handed Anthony Rendon with the team up 6-0. Rendon hit a homer to left and Kapler immediately came out and gave Alvarez the hook- one out too late. He brought in the right-hander Nicosio to end the inning. Luckily that mistake didn't come back to haunt the team.

The Philadelphia Phillies  have never gone 4-0 to start a season. They have a chance to sweep the rival Nats and go up four games early in NL East. Minnesota, playing good ball invades Citizens Bank Park this weekend before Washington comes in next week for a three-game series.

With their superstar status and celebrations the Phillies are now the team to beat and hate in baseball. I'm looking forward to match-ups with the Mets soon. Imagine when they play in San Francisco ( another city Harper snubbed) and Los Angeles. For pure baseball reasons, I'm also intrigued by a matchup with the Brewers in middle May.

Last season we had a summer where our baseball team was in first place much of the time. This year feels different, like the Phillies are supposed to be in the lead.Maybe this September we will have a true pennant race. Maybe this October we will be going form an Eagles home game to a home baseball playoff or even World Series game. Like the old times.

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