2023 Phillies Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
3 Ks around Schwarber double in the top of the 9th ends the game for the Phightins.
6-5, Diamondbacks
The series is now tied, 2-2
6-5, Diamondbacks
The series is now tied, 2-2
They’re cooked, Tom. They aren’t resilient enough to overcome this. You saw that in Turner’s eyes in the 9th.
Even MUCH lower levels such as Little League can throw strikes...
A loss is never enjoyable, but it is just especially disappointing that this is more about what your own team did to lose than what the other team did to win...
This one will live in Phillies lore. Right up there with the ‘93 series and Mitch.Even MUCH lower levels such as Little League can throw strikes...
A loss is never enjoyable, but it is just especially disappointing that this is more about what your own team did to lose than what the other team did to win...
I don’t see how Kimbrel can pitch for them again in a big spot.
He pulled Ranger too early last night and Sanchez tonight. The results: two losses and a cooked bullpen. Thanks Rob, he was lucky in Atlanta game 1.
I'm not so sure. The DBacks looked cooked after game 2. Tomorrow is a different game, with different pitching matchups, etc. It's disappointing that the Phightins have allowed the DBacks back into the series. And I don't think anyone could legitimately argue before the series that the DBacks had the better bullpen. But it's not so much the overall 'pen that is important, as how each member of the 'pen does when they are inserted into the game.
Frustrating game, for sure. Now it's a best of 3 series, and the Phils have Wheeler and then Nola starting the next 2 games. No guarantees, but I like our chances.
Even the postgame "personalities" are talking about how the Phillies messed up as opposed to talking about Arizona "coming up clutch" or something similar. There is a nuanced, but significant difference between the two and their focus seems to be justified imho.
Poor situational hitting - a base hit will do in many spots
How many home runs have come with no one on base?
Over swinging (Stott & Castellanos to name a couple)
Mental errors (running themselves out of innings, not knowing how many outs)
Too many 2-1 & 2-0 counts from the bullpen
Hooked Sanchez too soon
Took away the advantage of burning Arizona's bullpen, exposed their own
Bullpen shell-shocked
Too many left on base
Too easy to pitch to
Will take a lot of character to bounce back from the last 2 nights.
How many home runs have come with no one on base?
Over swinging (Stott & Castellanos to name a couple)
Mental errors (running themselves out of innings, not knowing how many outs)
Too many 2-1 & 2-0 counts from the bullpen
Hooked Sanchez too soon
Took away the advantage of burning Arizona's bullpen, exposed their own
Bullpen shell-shocked
Too many left on base
Too easy to pitch to
Will take a lot of character to bounce back from the last 2 nights.
Good God baseball fans are so fickle. Three days ago, the phils were unstoppable. Now their cooked. Have some faith people.
Normally would agree, but Zac Gallen is a different pitcher at home. 12-3 @ home, 5-6 on the road. I hate analytics (I'm old), but the Phils need to break some trends tomorrow. 2.47 ERA @ home, 4.42 on the road. Normally, I'd like the pitching matchups for the next 3 games, but they just got skunked by a 3-9 pitcher.
I don’t think many thought they were unstoppable three days ago. They were living on solo home runs and a few clutch hits. Their bullpen walked a razor’s edge perfectly against Atlanta despite getting into numerous jams. They were more lucky with the bullpen than anything. This is the hard regression to the mean and they have a bad history with these kinds of slides.
Yep, in 24 hours there will be anywhere from a super high to a super low feeling for our eastern PA friends.
For those of us on the western side, a shorter wait with no potential split feeling.
I thought the bullpen was vastly overrated going into the playoffs. One of the TV guys (maybe Darling) said he was surprised by the combination of a low ERA and numerous men on base from the pen. That kind of thing is not sustainable in the playoffs.
Last year the pen was kind of shaky but in the playoffs they got a lot of strong 2-inning performances from one-time starter Zach Eflin. Too bad Walker or Lorenzen couldn't fill that role this year.
Last year the pen was kind of shaky but in the playoffs they got a lot of strong 2-inning performances from one-time starter Zach Eflin. Too bad Walker or Lorenzen couldn't fill that role this year.
Probably an unpopular take right now, but I like Thompson. I like Franklin, too. The thing about calling the shots is that you're dependent on others to execute. If, if, if … bullpen throws strikes, game stays 5-2, Kimbrel establishes the knuckle curve right off the bat, gets ahead in counts, Phillies win, Thompson is a genius. I don't like the way he's used the bullpen this post-season, but it worked against Atlanta. It's just failed the last two nights.
That’s a good way to describe the pen. They have been lucky that all the base runners hadn’t burned them until yesterday. That’s not sustainable and now there’s the hard regression.
We’ll learn a lot more about this club in the next 24 hours. Let’s hope PSU gets the positive mojo going in the morning.
No one knows if Walker or Lorenzen could fill that role. The genius won't use them. Lets put in Kimbrel to throw 45 pitches in 24 hours. Kerkering on consecutive nights for the first time ever. What a disaster. Hoffman in the 3rd inning? What could go wrong?
Or maybe they could if they tried. Walker has yet to pitch in the post season and Lorenzen has one whole inning under his belt. They couldn't be much worse than what we've seen in the past two games.
So Bad, hard to watch a 5-2 lead and 3-1 series lead go down the drain that way.
There is a lot to unpack.
For the Kimbrel haters, he has thrown more innings this year than in any other career year other than in his first full season. He has to be worn down a bit and this is when you see bullpen guys get washed every year. It’s a part of the post season I can’t stand. People like Andrew Miller, David Robertson, etc got cooked. Heck, the one year Chapman closed for the Cubs when they won, Madden was throwing him out there for 2+ innings in the WS like he was Elroy Face reborn (google it if you’re under 65). I don’t understand how you obsess over starting pitching all year long and then kick it to the curb as soon as the post season starts.
Still it was 5-2 late with Wheeler and Nola coming downhill. It’s hard to hammer Topper but I would have liked Walker to have piggybacked Sanchez and maybe saved the pen a tad.
The Phillies lived a lot this year with Stott and Bohm being major cogs. Stott looks tired and his bat seems a tad slow. He’s swinging out of the zone more too. Bohm isn’t making hard contact and doesn’t seem to be using the whole field. So many times he went to right/right-center, not now. When he has hit hard, it’s right at someone. Nick seems to be hunting fastballs middle in and swings hoping that is where the pitch is thrown right out of the pitcher’s hand. He has the one bomb in the blowout game, other than that an 0’fer for the series. Rojas is struggling so that is half your offense. Tough sledding.
The other factor that has come into play a bit is the roof being closed. That’s advantage D-backs. A couple of Phillies flyouts each of the last couple of nights would have found the seats if the roof was open. When the Phillies have to score without the home run, they struggle sometimes having to string hits together. The roof is closed for both teams but the Phillies play off their power a lot more than AZ. It will be closed again today for sure.
What’s coming? Who knows. If they get today coming back to Philly 3-2 would have been what you largely expected. Split at home than 2 of 3 in AZ would have you 3-2 coming back. Anyone would have taken that to start this series. The sky hasn’t fallen yet but a post or two back is correct about Gallen being very different at home. He will adjust. You are not seeing first pitch fastballs today to Schwarber and Bryce.
I’m still feeling good. This is the stage set for Harper today. I expect Bryce to go deep today.
Phillies win today. They have bounced back all year after tough losses, it happens again today.
For the Kimbrel haters, he has thrown more innings this year than in any other career year other than in his first full season. He has to be worn down a bit and this is when you see bullpen guys get washed every year. It’s a part of the post season I can’t stand. People like Andrew Miller, David Robertson, etc got cooked. Heck, the one year Chapman closed for the Cubs when they won, Madden was throwing him out there for 2+ innings in the WS like he was Elroy Face reborn (google it if you’re under 65). I don’t understand how you obsess over starting pitching all year long and then kick it to the curb as soon as the post season starts.
Still it was 5-2 late with Wheeler and Nola coming downhill. It’s hard to hammer Topper but I would have liked Walker to have piggybacked Sanchez and maybe saved the pen a tad.
The Phillies lived a lot this year with Stott and Bohm being major cogs. Stott looks tired and his bat seems a tad slow. He’s swinging out of the zone more too. Bohm isn’t making hard contact and doesn’t seem to be using the whole field. So many times he went to right/right-center, not now. When he has hit hard, it’s right at someone. Nick seems to be hunting fastballs middle in and swings hoping that is where the pitch is thrown right out of the pitcher’s hand. He has the one bomb in the blowout game, other than that an 0’fer for the series. Rojas is struggling so that is half your offense. Tough sledding.
The other factor that has come into play a bit is the roof being closed. That’s advantage D-backs. A couple of Phillies flyouts each of the last couple of nights would have found the seats if the roof was open. When the Phillies have to score without the home run, they struggle sometimes having to string hits together. The roof is closed for both teams but the Phillies play off their power a lot more than AZ. It will be closed again today for sure.
What’s coming? Who knows. If they get today coming back to Philly 3-2 would have been what you largely expected. Split at home than 2 of 3 in AZ would have you 3-2 coming back. Anyone would have taken that to start this series. The sky hasn’t fallen yet but a post or two back is correct about Gallen being very different at home. He will adjust. You are not seeing first pitch fastballs today to Schwarber and Bryce.
I’m still feeling good. This is the stage set for Harper today. I expect Bryce to go deep today.
Phillies win today. They have bounced back all year after tough losses, it happens again today.
You need a long guy in case you have a game where you need innings eaten or theoretically if you find yourself in extras where you have blown through your pen.
Sanchez was pulled in the 3rd inning. They needed innings eaten last night.
I agree that is why I said I would have liked to piggyback Walker behind Sanchez. But I can see the other side. If the Phillies won last night to go 3-1, AZ is done with 2of 3 in Philly and Wheeler and Nola being 2 of the final 3. So last night would have likely been the knockout punch if you won. These are tough decisions to say the least.
What shocked me most last night was Turner swinging through 3 93’s seemingly down the middle. I was completely shocked at that. It’s a crazy game.
Watching the Fightins my friends Elijah and Russell. Hopefully they, plus a win tonight, will help me get the taste of chit out of my mouth that the offense left there.
I heard Topper interviewed in the radio program. They asked him about the availability of the 'pen. He indicated that every pitcher in the 'pen indicated they could go tonight. That said, he mentioned that Kerkering has never gone back-to-back games so they'd be cautious with him, that Kimbrel has a lot of innings in back-to-back games, and that Hoffman has pitched a lot in 3 straight games. (Hoffman was interviewed separately, and indicated he was available.)
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