Phillies: 3 Uncovered gems in 2018

First line of attack: 

Old perceptions slowly die away because only major changes jar the faithful’s thinking. As for Cesar Hernandez, fans are down to a one last gripe. He doesn’t steal bases.

While Chase Utley was part of the double-play combo, Hernandez saw limited playing time in 2013 and 2014. But locals quickly pigeonholed Hernandez as a reserve, even if it was subliminal. Naturally, moving Utley was not a popular decision because a placeholder –they thought– was the new second sacker.

Hernandez had batted .272 in 2015 with Utley on the Phillies’ disabled list and with the Los Angeles Dodgers but then averaged .294 in 2016. And how did supporters react? Trade him! However, he again produced a .294 mark, and then they upped the return to a solid rotation piece.

Now he faithful are critical of his base running, his lead off first base, his pickoffs and his utter lack of stolen bases. Last summer, he had only swiped 15 bags out of 20 attempts (75 percent), and the locals have yet to see improvement. Sound about right?

For naysayers, unfortunately, he has pilfered 10 bases out of 12 chances (83.3 percent). He has stolen 10 in 57 games for a projection of 28 bags. Roughly double last year’s tally!

"WORDS OF WISDOM: “Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.” – Gary Zukav"