Philadelphia Phillies: Nothing wrong with Gabe Kapler yet
The conversations surrounding Philadelphia Phillies new manager Gabe Kapler are getting ridiculous.
Is it January yet? OK then, it’s probably time to move past the silly discussions of the new Philadelphia Phillies manager, Gabe Kapler. It’s time to stop commenting on his physique or what he might use coconut oil for, and take a look at his early preparation to manage his first major league team.
Since he was hired, we’ve known that Kapler is an analytics guy in the modern way that goes far beyond old practices like charting pitches, but what else can we glean from his being on board in Philadelphia now for a couple of months?
First, the Phillies manager is a person who likes to talk about “environment” and “culture” as in both of those terms with the word “healthy” or “positive” in front of them. He isn’t a rules guy, but apparently feels he won’t have any qualms talking to a player about raising “expectations” to help the club. Some of Kapler’s interviews will remind Philadelphians of Eagles coach Andy Reid’s mantra regarding the need to “put his players in a position to win.” If Kapler wins, it’ll all be good; if he doesn’t, we already know how annoying such talk is.
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Next, the new skipper is likely to shuffle his lineup more than a little although that doesn’t mean he won’t have “everyday players”: “First and foremost,” he has said, “they do play every day. It might not be 162 (games), but nobody plays 162.” He will try to steer players away from their nemesis pitchers, whom he’ll know, of course, because of analysis.
Finally, Kapler has spent some time in what seems a very professional attempt to get to know his players. As Matt Breen reported, last month he met Rhys Hoskins for the first time and came away impressed with Hoskins’ detailed memory of a very long at bat and his potential for leadership. Kapler also made sure to contact Hoskins quickly after the Carlos Santana signing. This, of course, is something of a no-brainer, akin to being the manager of Ted Williams, Willie Mays, or Mike Schmidt and making sure your big gun is a happy camper.
However, Kapler has also had face-to-face meetings with J.P. Crawford, Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera, Hector Neris and Luis Garcia. It is an interesting list. Hoskins and Crawford were first, and Breen suggests they could now be tagged as Kapler’s leaders, although he didn’t quite use that language. Meeting with the other four players involved travel to the Caribbean and may say something about how much the Phillies manager values hard-throwing relief pitchers, as well as his centerfielder and second baseman (who has led everyday Phillies in batting average the last two years).
There isn’t much to criticize yet, it would seem. As Gabe Kapler puts it, “Most of what I’m trying to accomplish is building connections and relationships with all of our players, like independent of what part of the world they come from.”