According to the Phillies’ plan
By Tal Venada
Long before the Philadelphia Phillies began showing signs of renewed life, the front office under general manager Matt Klentak had continued with the rebuilding blueprint from 2015.
Hitting pay dirt and grass:
With April’s end ahead for the Philadelphia Phillies, many fans are expecting either slight or massive improvement in the W column. As for the past, they acquired a sought-after necessity, hoped for an ace to emerge from a stockpile of arms, and now realize the top of a 30-story skyscraper is within sight.
"IN OTHER WORDS: “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France"
To elaborate, the Cole Hamels trade was never going to bring back a young potential ace because no franchise will part with one. So, the next best piece was a catcher with frontline possibilities, and the execs weren’t going to sign off on a deal without one.
In 2018, Jorge Alfaro is learning on the job: Mission accomplished! But the higher-ups are anticipating the rookie to have ups and downs. However, the faithful might be expecting too much.
Regarding the most difficult undertaking, the organization wanted to draft a young stud to head the rotation after his minor league development and with a few 162s in the majors under his belt. Yes, and lucky! But Aaron Nola is the number one even with Jake Arrieta in the fold.
As the season evolves, Klentak and Kapler will experience more lows like the first five games of ’18 and highs like their recent winning. But they will continue being fun to watch and will be a step closer to sitting atop the 30-team MLB.
On Phillies sites, some negative comments included demoting Vince Velasquez and Alfaro to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. But another listed five players averaging below the Mendoza Line, and he stated they better start hitting. Additionally, he also questioned if they are even major leaguers.
On the positive end, one posted about a scary ninth inning but a vastly improved bullpen. And another local relished the thought of New York Mets fans crying after the Phils leapfrog over them for the division lead. Perhaps, a bit premature.