I wasn’t beating them up and said they deserve credit for beating up the teams they should beat. My point is let’s see how they do when the schedule toughens.
2024 Phillies Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Really enjoying the hot start for the Phils in 2024. It's tempered by who they've played, but still, .700 ball is .700 ball. And they've continued it without the hot hitting Turner and the below the Mendoza line Castellanos. Topper probably is waiting until June to make a decision, but Pache may start getting starts in right instead of the occasional platoon in LF with Marsh.
And how in the heck did the Bravos accumulate SIX games in hand on the Phils? Without looking at their schedule, they might have a few doubleheaders coming up that will challenge and tax that staff without Strider. They are still only one game back in the loss column. No team in MLB has played fewer games than ATL.
And how in the heck did the Bravos accumulate SIX games in hand on the Phils? Without looking at their schedule, they might have a few doubleheaders coming up that will challenge and tax that staff without Strider. They are still only one game back in the loss column. No team in MLB has played fewer games than ATL.
The NL has 5 teams over 500 including the 25-21 Cubs. So basically you’ve had the three division leaders and the Braves. So, everyone has played bad teams, the Phillies have just beaten the bad teams more often than the other teams beating bad teams.
I heard all spring on Sanchez adding velocity. He will be a real handful if the velo and cutter can complement his change. Some good baseball people had Sanchez on their radar for this year. If Sanchez is taking the next step this season, the Phillies are a real handful.
I’ve been told by too many baseball people for too long that ST games are meaningless and to not attach importance. But if you go back, I do think you’d see that I posted that I thought Wheeler would win the CY and that two of the top three would make the AS team. I said 2 of the 3 and didn’t say Wheels and Nola because of how Ranger looked.
There were interesting snippets about each. Ranger had a full spring which was viewed as being HUGE. Some people said Nola was impacted by the pitch clock last year and had to work through that. Dont discount Wheels reaching agreement, something many did not see getting done. He’s comfortable now and he’s Wheeler so you feel he wins every time he pitches. But I did post that the split could be a lethal addition to his arsenal. I still believe that if the split comes along that it makes it almost unfair.
You then get to 4/5 and like I said above a number of people were very interested in Sanchez. He didn’t have a full spring so you couldn’t get any read. But a lot of people were talking about him physically and what 2-3 + miles on his fastball would translate into the difference between sinker and change. His change is that good. He doesn’t feel his cutter right now, if he has three, he will be very good. We will see with Walker but he competes and if Sanchez and Walker are your 4/5, they can be VERY productive.
There was enough to like in the spring for sure given that the top 3 gave up NOTHING but they have to execute. They have done just that. I’m ecstatic but not shocked.
BUT, the pen is a work in progress and still bears watching. They need Soto or Dominguez to be a big contributor and it will be interesting to see the development of Kerkering. The one thing I did mention is that they messed around with Strahm last year (by necessity). I did say that I hoped they would just leave him alone and they have done that. He’s a critical piece to this puzzle in my opinion.
So, this level of starter success can never be guaranteed but it doesn’t totally surprise me. There was enough there. BUT, this wont end in a big dog pile around the mound unless the pen pieces step up and settle down. I can still see a trade deadline move for a hammer.
One last thing. I heard all spring how they were angry about last year. It’s cliche to say that but don’t discount it. They prepare and execute at a high level.
Hate being the IF guy .... but just thinking about Painter and if he had not had the injury what this staff would look like this year. Hopefully he heals and next year comes back strong. 1 other thing I think I see is them making a move/trade for the outfield. They could use some additional depth and production out there.
I took my family down for Saturday night’s game. What a fun ending.
I was going to mention him as well as Abel. I think it actually works out well for both of them. Barring a disaster neither of these guys HAVE to produce early. They can be brought along slowly and managed. The last thing you need is for these guys to have that adrenaline rush making them wanting to do too much. At some point, they will move Walker to not impede Painter. But that might not be until 2025 or 2026.
I know what you mean that Painter could have been a monster and challenged for a spot in the top 3. This has allowed Sanchez to blossom and you might get BOTH of them long term now as a result. Fully seeing what they actually have in Sanchez is a good problem. If Sanchez is good, then you have a great problem on your hands with Painter and Abel.
He’s such a dude. Guy called 94 and said he met Harper at the barber shop. He brought his two boys in for a cut and hung out like any other bro. If 2 doesn’t start wearing the 3 jersey I bought him I’m stealing it back
