The Phillies’ Before and After Test
At a crucial juncture despite the competition and the standings, general manager Matt Klentak of the Philadelphia Phillies is paying close attention to the last seven contests before the All-Star break and will heavily monitor the six games after the downtime.
Upcoming Outcomes Magnified:
When you appear to have nothing to lose and everything to gain, a look into your situation may change another’s perception of you.
Since the Seattle series, the Phils are 4-3 with just five games remaining before the mid-season intermission. And then the front office will do an organization-wide evaluation of all players, but the parent club will receive the most scrutiny. From, however, a performance standpoint, producing a 4-3 record or better against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres is important psychologically because it will amp up the regulars for the first contest of the second half. Winning does that.
Wanting to know how the Phillies will do after the break, Double D, a poster from another site, seemed to overlook the influence these two series will have on the hurlers and hitters during their brief vacation. Ben Lively, Jeremy Hellickson, Nick Pivetta, Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff will each have one last start before the All-Star break; and each – especially Eickhoff – wants an outing to build on. Additionally, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco and Cameron Rupp have a similar goal: seven games to put up good numbers and show management they are heading in the right direction. Meanwhile, the skipper and his coaches also need some victories to gear up for the second half.
While Pittsburgh is competitive, their decline is noticeable, but being a small-market team with limited financial resources will probably mean rebuilding. Lately, the Pirates, Double D, came to Philly on a three-game losing streak and will then travel to Chicago for three contests with the Cubs. But they also have struggled on the road with a 17-24 mark. And they are seven games behind the division-leading Brewers in fourth place. But because both Wild Card berths will probably be from the NL West, the Bucs must win the NL Central to make the playoffs.
Leaning on the dugout railing, Nola and Eickhoff talked about the scouting reports regarding San Diego. They’re only hitting .227 and are last in the majors in average and runs scored. Yeah, but we can’t take them lightly or we could regret it. And Eickhoff also pointed out he’ll watch them on Saturday when Nola pitches.
As a franchise, the Padres acquired expensive stars for 2015: some by taking on another team’s bad contract to add the piece they desired. Then, their GM made trades last year with partial medicals provided to other organizations, which led to his 30-day suspension. And now they’re going with younger players.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: “Life is like the baseball season, where even the best team loses at least a third of its games, and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. The goal is not to win every game but to win more than you lose, and if you do that often enough, in the end you may find you have won it all.” – Harold S. Kushner
When the Philadelphia Phillies return, it will be in Milwaukee on July 14, and franchises with October aspirations will begin their stretch drive. Basically, the Chicago Cubs of the world pace themselves in the first half, and playing .500 ball puts them in a position to turn it up a notch. So, Double D, don’t let anyone fool you based on a contending team’s record after the mid-July hiatus. Because if they try to give a max effort for the entire campaign, they’d burn out in August.
Getting off to a solid start for the six contests against the Brewers and the Miami Marlins, the Phils will need to go at least 3-3. And if they sweep Miami, it could boost them to an extended run of excellent baseball and a winning record for July. But keep in mind, these red pinstripes had sustained runs in 2015 after the mid-summer intermission and again last April and May. Would you really mind, Double D, if they didn’t get the first overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft? Be honest. But not too honest.
When it comes to the Brew Crew, they planned to rebuild, but they still have some high-priced veterans on the active roster. And they have an interesting dilemma: They’re in first place but the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals are closing in on them. Buy or sell? Presently, they are 25-23 at home and 21-17 on the road.
Next: Phillies' Plans After Seattle
While the Fish have lost five of their last seven decisions, they are a .500 club at Marlins Park. However, they have already traded their shortstop and are willing to swap another regular or two; clubs like Miami aren’t waiting until July’s end. A Phillies sweep?