Philly Front Office

ITS OPENING DAY IN PHILADELPHIA!!! Here are two random 40-somethings who I definitely didn’t go to school with making me look bad by being at Citizen’s Bank Park while I’m at home.

The Phillies just wrapped up a 2-1 series win over the Nationals in Washington and have the Rockies coming to Philly for the home opener today at 3.

Series Win In Washington

It was a weird one that’s for sure. I actually feel better about the 3rd game which we lost than the first game which we won. In Game 1, the Phillies struck out 19 times in ten innings. There was a lot of excuse making about the shadows that regularly play havoc on 4pm games, but we were striking out just as much post-shadows and against worse pitching. Mackenzie Gore is a good pitcher, but we made him look like Roger Clemens.

At least Game 3 we were going against a lefty and without 2 regular starters who both happened to be right handed. The whole game we were just a hit away from taking the lead. We had 12 base runners in 9 innings. That’s not terrible. We had 9 in the first 9 innings of game 1. The big hits came in Game 1 but not Game 3. That’s the difference. Well, that and Aaron Nola.

One thing we can all feel good about coming from the first series is the pitching. Other than Jordan Romano having jitters and Aaron Nola getting punked by the Rav 4th Inning, we have some guys that can deal. Jesus Luzardo struck out 11 of his 15 outs. Excuse me? They weren’t cheap either. He was mostly around 97 with his fastball and his other pitches were moving everywhere. That’s a serious compliment to this rotation.

As for injuries, JT Realmuto missed yesterday but is back in the lineup today after taking a ball off the foot. Trea Turner will likely be back tomorrow after missing three games with back spasms.

Coming Up at Home Against the Rockies

The Rockies are the Rockies. You don’t lose 100+ games in back to back years by being just bad. That’s institutionally bad, something older Phillies fans are well aware of. The team can’t develop talent, spends money in the wrong places, and isn’t marketable. There most expensive player, Kris Bryant, is also one of their worst. His -1 WAR in 3 years in purple is obviously not what his $100m+ contract was for.

Brenton Doyle is a solid MLB regular. Ezequiel Tovar is a curious cocktail of solid contact and unbelievably bad plate discipline. He had 45 doubles and 26 homers last season while walking 23 times with 200 strikeouts. That’s hard to do.

Monday – 3pm – Christopher Sanchez v. German Marquez

Marquez is 30 now and coming off two completely lost seasons. He is right handed and somehow has spent his whole career in Colorado. That’s not normal.

Wednesday – 6:45pm – Zack Wheeler v. Kyle Freeland

Kyle Freeland gave up 2 hits in the opener on 67 pitches and was pulled after 6 innings. The Rockies deservedly lost this game. He’s a lefty, so Turner better be back for this one. Wheeler was Wheeler on Opening Day and should be able to carve up the Rockies offense.

Thursday – 1:05pm – Taijuan Walker v. Antonio Senzatela

The game we’ve all not been waiting for. Ideally the Phillies can light this righty up early and get Taijuan through about 4 innings with minimal damage. The Dodgers are coming next so you don’t want to tax the bullpen. Senzatela is 30 and has been mostly hurt through the last few years. He gave up 9 hits but no runs in 4.1 innings on Saturday against Tampa. Walker is Walker. Not much else to say but pray.

Next up:

The Dodgers come to Citizens Bank Park for a 3 game set.