Philadelphia Phillies: Ace’s Trade Under Review

While all eyes were on receiver Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Nick Williams, Eickoff immediately surprised fans after his arrival to the majors. Yes, Double D, he has consistently made adjustments and is completely coachable. In fact, he was the only other starter eating innings besides Hellickson in September. But what was the one thing Eickhoff did not need? A second opportunity.

After dominating the International League with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Jake Thompson struggled in his first four outings, like he did with Lehigh Valley last April. But, Double D, he and Alec Asher were inconsistent, and manager Pete Mackanin didn’t hesitate to relieve them before they could become vulnerable. For instance, the frames averaged below indicate the confidence level in the dugout after August.

Average innings per start:

• Thompson: 5.4 for 10 appearances and 5.8 for his final six outings (all numbers include August).
• Asher: 5.5 for 5 starts.
• Eickhoff: 6.3 for 5 appearances excluding his rain-shortened outing.
• Hellickson: 6.3 for 5 starts excluding his precautionary removal in his final appearance.
• Thompson and Asher did not have early exits due to other factors.

"IN OTHER WORDS:     “I learned a lot from not having success, and realizing when you do have success, how hard it is to maintain it, and what you have to do to maintain it.” – Randy Johnson"