Tanking has become all the rage. But are the Philadelphia Phillies following the pack?
As their current pitchers and catchers pack luggage for spring training, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to mull over the old adage “good pitching beats good hitting.” While they have strengthened their bullpen through the re-acquisition of Pat Neshek and the addition of Tommy Hunter, their starting pitching remains problematic.
This has drawn many comments. There doesn’t seem to be anybody definitively “good” behind Aaron Nola among the starters currently on the roster, and some have begun to think that perhaps the Phillies consider that saying above to be erroneous. They could be trying to convince themselves any pitching beats good hitting, or maybe, any pitching with four strong innings of relief is sufficient. (After all, a .300 hitter is “great” although he fails seven out of ten times he isn’t walked or hit by a pitch.)
Perhaps 2018 is actually something of a “tank” season for the Phillies (don’t expect it to be called that), a time to finally make firm decisions about the once “promising” starters on the roster. Maybe one will emerge. Maybe the Phillies can reach .500 again. Good enough. Get the new manager’s feet wet.
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Think “2019: A New Dawn,” but never say that aloud?
Now, of course, perhaps the remaining free agents and their advisors are just jockeying for maximum advantage before (or even after) spring training starts. Fine. Maybe the Phillies are just really doing due diligence on all of them, and basically getting away with it for the moment because of the distracting success of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Make no mistake about it, however. The Phillies need to give their already productive young position players somebody decent besides Nola to play behind for the first five or six innings. Those players must be able to look forward to at least two of five game days, or they may well not be quite so productive. Someone new must be signed to start.
Patience has never been high among Philadelphia sports fans, and fan impatience with the Phillies is likely already aggravated by the 76ers’ years-long tanking “process,” which has produced, finally…drumroll, please…a .500 team.
The batch of remaining free agent starting pitchers as this is typed includes Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, John Lackey, Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, and Chris Tillman. Chris Archer might be acquired for a reasonable return to the Tampa Bay Rays. Lynn, Cobb and Tillman should not actually cost too much in modern terms.
Next: Phillies prospects limit veteran chances
Memo to Philadelphia Phillies GM Matt Klentak: Pick one, or become Tanking Klentak, and stare at a lot of empty seats at Citizens Bank Park this summer.