The Philadelphia Phillies lost their second straight game on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Pirates 1-0. Their record drops to 15-26.
On The Mound
- Aaron Nola made his first start since returning from the disabled list, and anchored the team with seven strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks.
- Nola’s only run allowed came when he hit David Freese with a pitch with the bases loaded.
- Edubray Ramos got the first two outs of the eighth, and allowed a hit and two walks.
- Luis Garcia came on and got the final out of the eighth.
At The Plate
- The offense was shutout for the second time this season.
- The lineup generated only three hits, coming from the bats of Freddy Galvis, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco.
- Franco’s was the only extra-base hit, a double.
- Aaron Altherr went 0-4 with three strikeouts, dropping his average below .300.
- Michael Saunders hit out of the cleanup spot, going 0-4 dropping his average to .232.
- Brock Stassi started at first and went 0-2 with a walk.
- Andrew Knapp caught the game and went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
Final Thoughts
As the Phillies continue to bury themselves in the standings, at least there was a positive element to come out of this game with Aaron Nola looking strong in his return to the majors.
But man, what a brutal showing from the offense.
With so many guys in the lineup struggling, questions are going to start to surface about whether or not hitting coach Matt Stairs could be on the hot seat. And while its still too early for the team to seriously consider making a move, the early body of work by Stairs hasn’t been good.
Two key young players in the lineup, Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco have taken significant steps backwards under Stairs, with both guys hitting below .250 and performing so poorly that they had to be removed from the heart of the order.
Cesar Hernandez and Aaron Altherr got off to strong starts, but even both of those guys have cooled off over the last couple weeks.
On a positive note- im loving Scott Kingery in AA and believe he is the long term answer at 2nd. Couzens, Quinn, Alfaro and Hoskins at AAA as well. I would package some of the many younger contolable players on the big club, Herrera, Hernandez, Franco, Joseph and even althierr (Nice player that had a Dom Brown couple weeks) and prospects, the likes of Crawford Williams etc and see if we can’t get a legit young superstar and start calling up the higher pedigree prospects- watching this team as currently constructed is brutal.
I was watching Mack hollins spring game on YouTube the guy is a leader and makes it look easy beating defenders, love this pick even more
Z44, Mack Hollins is my favorite draft pick out of the 2017 Eagles draft class. Underrated player who will be a sold #2 receiver by next year barring injury. Has the athleticism and drive to be a number 1 down the road.
solid..not sold
EHL you are on to something bruh. I don’t watch as much college football as I use to, but I have two nephews who eat drink and sleep it. They believe we drafted two studs in Gibson and Hollins. One believes Hollins may push Torrie Smith for that starter’s spot opposite Jeffrey.
If Sixers can get back in 1st rd 10-15 range I really want og anubouy. He’s the perfect stretch 4 next to embiid and has a crazy motor
Who? assuming we dont get fultz i want smith jr!
He played at Indiana watch some highlights he’s super explosive, and plays great d with a good 3 pt stroke
he going in the mid 2nd according to mocks
Yea I’m on Smith jr train
cmon cliff come out of hiding. you skipped nfl draft dont skip nba draft because you are embarrassed.
bid deal you got busted by online people for having fake children, jobs and degrees. lets skip that and talk hoops
Henski are you serious that’s crazy he was a projected top 15 player, definitely want him now
Henski just saw like 5 mocks all have him on top 15
Weird nbadraft net my go to. They have him at 39. Draft express has him at 13. No clue
Draft express is my go to but either way I want him
If we trade back with kings give them 2 seconds and our 3rd for their 5th and the 10 pick I definitely want Isaac and Mitchell or dsj and lauri
Not me. Draft got can’t miss studs in
Jackson
Smith
Fox
Fultz.
I don’t think Isaac is can’t miss.
I like Tatum over Isaac
Think we sitting pretty if we got one of those 4 can’t miss
Fox doesn’t fit us at all
I can’t worry about fits zilents. Embiid could turn out to be oden. Who knows who or what Simmons is. Only sure thing we have is Dario and a poor mans enes kanter (oak) imo. Gotta take bpa. I don’t think I want fox I want Fultz jj or smith in that order
Is there a Team the 76ers could Trade Okafor & a Couple of their 2nd Round Picks to get back into the late 1st Round?? Is it even worth it to do..??
Who needs some Low-Post Scoring late First Round..
76ers Trade Alert
76ers Send the #3rd Overall Pick + Jahlil Okafor + 2018 1st Round Pick to the Sacramento Kings for their 2017 #5 and #10 Overall Picks
#5 – 76ers Select Guard Dennis Smith (6-4 NC State)
#10 – 76ers Select Center Zac Collins (7-0 Gonzaga)
Worst trade proposal u ever posted. Think u need an nba chart
I’ve had plenty worse than this..
Wheres’ Gloomy with my Damn Trade Charts … Send it Back Gloomy !!!
I think the 76ers are going to end up with Lonzo Ball somehow …
My Preference would be the 76es to Draft Josh Jackson or Dennis Smith if Jackson is gone with their #3 Pick — Smith will likely be there even if they Trade back a couple of Spots.. Get the Best Player on the Board
To all those that wanted to break up the phils a couple years back this is what you often get! Baseball you need several impact players. And prospects often fail.
Captains of that ship dcar and Paul man.
Lmfao. Dumbest shit I ever heard saying get rid of everyone and Rueben sucks.
Man Reuben went out and got every mother fucker on gods green earth that was attainable to win titles and yet people called him dumb. Literally gave up nobody like 0 prospects that panned out. But yet people cried booobin gutted the farm
Lmfao this is awful.
Phillies hung onto their Core of Players for 2 Years too long, if they started to replace 1 or 2 at each off-season starting in 2011/2012 then it wouldn’t have been a complete Overhaul all at once like it was in 2016..
That’s on GM Amaro trying to go all in when he didn’t have the Horses in their Prime to do it any longer, at the expense of a long-term competitive Team and now the Franchise and Fans reap what they have. He kept hoping that Utley,Rollins,Howard were still going to be 85-90% of what they once were.
and it just didn’t happen…
I look at all these Other Teams who are playing many of young Highly Touted Prospects, like the Yankees,Astros,Cubs and even the Rockies & Arizona and these Teams with Young Players are playing well and getting it done.
Then you look at the Phillies Stats and Guys are Batting .220 with an OBP of barely .300 .. The Phillies Young Starting Pitchers have ERA’s of almost 5.00 or even Higher now 2 months into the 2017 Season..
Lets face it, The Phillies Top Prospects still lag way behind other Teams Top Prospects at the MLB Level.. Is it the Phillies and Local Media just over-stating and over-hyping these Phillie Prospects to begin with coupled with Poor Instruction and Coaching at the Minor League Levels which doesn’t prepare these young Prospects to perform better at the MLB..
I would entertain Trading Herrera and Franco now before they lose even more Value. All 3-4 Young Phillie Starters (Eickoff,Nola,Velasquez and Eiflin) are not going to be any Top of a Staff Type of Starters Pitchers.. They are #4/#5 Types or long Relief.. I would move Velasquez to a Set Up Pitcher in the Bullpen (8th inning) and let him rip it from there as he only has 2 Pitches and cant get thru a lineup more than Twice but he does have a live Arm.
I would Fire this Pitching Coach immediately .. None of the Young Phillie Arms have improved and some have even regressed from last Year..
They are a good 3-4 Years away from contending at this point as this Season appears lost already before it even gets hot out … maybe they’ll play better once the Summer comes like last Season..
shit meet wall AGAIN! they had huge contracts of hurt players– that we all cheered when they acquired them. There was nothing you could do with them. Their young upcoming players most notably D Brown didn’t make it.. he should now be a 3-4 time all star and a staple in the line-up– with their salaries they had to try to compete.
Hahaaaaa I had to stop reading Paul’s essay after I read the phillies media overhype’s their prospects
LAUGHING MY FUCKING ASS OFF
I read all phillies news they don’t and didn’t hype anyone. Only thing I read with their prospect hype was from you saying they could contend this year. And YOU saying they had enough young talent talent to contend. Ha
Phillies Since 2012
2012 – 81-81 (7 Games out of the Wildcard Position)
2013 – 73-89 (17 Games out of the Wildcard Position)
2014 – 73-89 (15 Games out of the Wildcard Position)
2015 – 63-99 (24 Games out of the Wildcard Position)
2016 – 71-91 (16 Games out of the Wildcard Position)
2017 – 17-34 (Currently 16 Games out of the Wildcard Position only after 51 Games)
Totals Since 2012 Season – 378 Wins – 483 Losses for a .443 Winning %
This Franchise has been bad since 2012 (4 + Years Now), By signing old time Core Players like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and overthe hill Free-Agents like Pitcher Mike Adams, J Papelbon, Laynce Nix, Tye Wigginton,Aaron Cooke, Jose Contreras,Carlos Zambrano,Delmon Young,AJ Burnett, Aaron Harrange,Chad Billingsley, Grady Sizemore, during this time frame which only further delayed the inevitable and now we are seeing the results of that delay when hanging onto old players for sentimental reasons and by not having any quality prospects to replace them as many were traded away to acquire Pitchers so the Farm System was even depleted more….
Who Hyped up Domonic Brown as a 5 Tool Players.. They Guy couldn’t field worth a shit and had one of the worst jumps and reactions to Fly Balls that I ever saw in my 45 Years of Watching MLB… How about JP Crawford, who has a Batting Avg of .230 versus AAA Pitching and is hitting .205 this Season.. How can this Guy Currently be Rated as the #7 Best MLB Prospect in all of Baseball… It’s Complete Bullshit it must be the same people who listed Domonic Brown as a 5 Tool Player…
Former Pitching Prospects like Phillip Aumont, JA Happ, Vance Worley were all Hyped up as were Jason DeFratus, Trevor May, Jesse Biddle, Catcher Sebastian Valle, 1B Darrin Ruf and now add the Current Youngsters of Franco, Nola & Crawford who have been Highly Touted since the 2014/2015 Seasons
Developing Talent in the Phillies Organization has been a struggle for a long time now so a lot of this has to fall on the Scouts and Coaches/Instructors for most of these Young Players are not seeing any improvement as they progress..
Maybe with the New GM/Farm System and McPhail in Place it will take 3-5 Years to rebuild the Famr System, but to say Reuben Amaro was a Good to effective GM, i beg to differ, yes He signed a lot of Free-Agents with an open Checkbook, but he depleted the Farm System, stayed with too many Players for too long and left the Organization high and dry in terms of M:B Ready Prospects
actually they ended up getting decent prospects for byrd and papelbon in an effort to rebuild…
in 2012 the cubs lost 101 in 2016 they won the WS– it all depends on players develop–
In 2012 rollins hit 250, won a GG, hit 23 HR and stole 30 bases…. they had a young hamels and 2 ?$20 million pitchers. a first baseman on the mend at $25M– you can’t rebuild– I know you just enjoy being the contrarian but use a little logic.
Who did Reuben deplete from the farm? Kyle drabek? Carols carasco? That drug addict they sent to Houston ? Dom brown ? I was under the impression we got lee doc werth pence lidhe for nothing
I would say Domingo Santana is the best piece he lost- and that was apparently a clerical error which he ultimately has responsibility for but still…. I remember even the most NEGATIVE fans praising the pence deal – i remember them praising the Halladay deal for not even having to trade Brown…. the nature of fandom i guess.
And who did they Draft and more importantly, who did they Develop during this Time of Amaro ? A GM’s Job is more than Signing Free-Agents, Anyone can do that with an Open Checkbook that Amaro had from 2009-2013
Who Oversee’s the Draft and the Minor League System and the Coaching Staffs from the Rookie Leagues up to the Big Leagues ?
The Phillies peaked in 2011 and started their Decline in 2012, why did it take 3 Years to finally cut the Chord with certain Players and start re-focusing on Young Players… Boston recycles Players every year and will have a down Season here and there and then boom, right back into being a Competitive Team, Look at the Yankees who have shedded tons of Payroll, playing their young Players who are ripping it up the MLB Level so far.. St Louis just re-tools year after year..Dodgers retool while remaining competitive. Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers and Twins have complete rebuilds and have surpassed the Phillies in half the time.
Phils are a Joke in the weak NL East where playing close to .500 Ball gets you 2nd Place
You do realize they didn’t have a number 1 pick in most years? and when they did it was late?
point is you don’t know a thing about how an organization runs- that you have to stick to your guns- there is no way you go through the moves they did and then scrap it because a couple things go wrong– that is knee jerk b.s….. you have an organizational plan and you stick to it… you make minor adjustments when thing goes wrong but you can’t blow it up.
Altherr, Joseph, Franco, Herrara, Hernandez, quinn, williams, alforo, thompson, lively are a few and we shall see how they work out.
Bro u said he gutted the farm but won’t say high
Now ur saying he didn’t draft the right guys. Ok tell me which guys he shouldn’t have drafted and who he should’ve took instead. Lmfao. Can you literally ever back up anything u say?
Why do I bother.
But won’t say how he gutted the farm…
The beauty of debating a schizophrenic is that they eventually win the debate for you…behold:
paulman
July 29, 2011 – 11:53 pm
Profile photo of paulman
This is the happiest day of my life (outside of getting a B for Business Statistics in a Summer School Session at Rutgers Camden back in 1985)
That the pence deal? Man I hated pence from day 1, knew he was a bum but didn’t hate it because we traded nobody. Singleton and cossart were probably MLB top 50 prospects but where are they now? They nobodies
Pence played about a whole season for the Phils: 155 games
Stats: about .289 BA, 27 2B, 28 HRs, 94 RBIs
The problem was that everyone wanted him to be Ryan Howard and he wasn’t. I was ok with them trading him,
hollow numbers. bobby abreu without the walks
henski 94 runs and 94 RBI– that is not hollow.
yea nice numbers. just never got it done when it mattered or in the clutch
oh and scored 102 runs and drove in 68…yikes
Its like debating a liar…their lies are eventually dug out!
Hunter Pence’s Career Stats after 10 Seasons
A Career .283 Hitter who has averaged 26 Doubles, 20 HR Average with 80 RBI’s a Season while playing a Solid to Above Average RF
How many RF’s have the Phils had since 2012 ?
How many Championship Rings with the SF Giants does he have 1 or 2 ?
so paul I can’t keep you straight…did they GUT the farm system for him? it was 2012 you supported getting him but you also say they should have been rebuilding…. confused man.
I supported Tradingfor Pence for he was still young and the Phillies were still competitive early in 2012 and stated so many times, I did not like Amaro trading him for basically nothing in 2013 when it became apparent that the Phils needed to get younger and that the core 2008-2012 were all getting older, injuries and past their primes, so the young traded away their younger better Position Player and gave extensions to Over-the-Hill Players , this is what I didn’t agree with and now they pay the Price 4 Years later