With symbolic renewal, young stars warm us up in March and take the diamond in April as the 2017 Philadelphia Phillies after an offseason of deals and signings to go with successful promotions and acquisitions from 2016.
Highs and Lows:
Before the old pro in any field can claim that status via experience, knowledge and wisdom, he must earn battle scars from earlier days.
On December 9, 2015, the news broke about the seven-player swap between the Phillies and the Houston Astros: Ken Giles and Vince Velasquez were the main pieces. The reaction here was surprise because Giles had only projected a promising future and required a hefty asking price. On the other hand, Velasquez had a big upside with some medical concerns but worked only 33 innings at Double-A and 55 2/3 frames with Houston in 2015. Speed bump! The Phils didn’t like the physical report of one player.
Living by the radar gun, Giles was to be the Astros’ dominant closer for many summers, but he struggled in his first two months there. Locally, the Philadelphia Phillies were off to a start of seven games over .500 before the league gave them serious consideration, and the news about Giles took a back seat to the hometown 25. One-hundred-miles Giles. Who? Perhaps, the pressure associated with playoff hopes affected his early outings, and it snowballed into three hurlers competing for those ninth-inning outs.
"IN OTHER WORDS: “Everybody has something to prove each year. Everybody has a responsibility in this game. Even the batboy.” – David Ortiz"
Reviewing the scouting reports, general manager Matt Klentak decided not only to pull the trigger on the Giles deal but also to slot him in the rotation if he had a solid spring. But while Velasquez and Adam Morgan were in a so-called competition for the final spot on the five-man staff, Klentak revealed his plans before their last outings. In other words, uniformed management said one thing and the front office did another. But the decision-makers all agreed to use the flamethrower only as a starter: He had previously worked in the rotation and the relief corps at Double-A and the majors.