2019 Phillies thread
- Thread starter Delco Lion
- Start date
Waiting for the non Philly fans to come in to the thread and say he didn’t hit it that hard
Boy, you guys are really going off the rails.
New Yorkers are the biggest navel-gazing shitheads on earth. Give me a break. As if 90% of the players they’ve gotten in free agency haven’t gone there because of money.
Eh, not really. Philadelphia fans being happy is a bigger trigger to some opposing fans here than sugar water is to bees. They can’t let us be happy
Did you catch Odubel's BA with bases loaded?
It was .160-something if I recall. Very telling about his lack of plate discipline.
I'm a Braves fan and not trying to start trouble but tell me he isn't a spitting image of James Harrison with dreads.
And he actually catches the ball!!!!!
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Hoskins and Harper are going to feast this year off each other in the lineup. Harper (assuming he stays healthy) is going to put up monster numbers in the Phils hitter friendly park. Cutch and Frankel also I believe should have great years with all the focus on Hoskins and Harper. This team just bludgeons whatever pitcher is out there. Not a weak bat in the lineup. Scary for opposing pitchers. JT just has a gun behind home plate throwing out base stealers. Love the bow Harper does to the crowd in RF after hitting HR's. I think he is going to love it here once the weather warms up his numbers will be scary. His 1st last night I believe if its May or later is also a HR. Phils attendance numbers are going to be crazy good this year.
The last part is why I scoffed at people decrying the Phils paying “too much” for Harper. If a good product is put on the field Philly fans will come out in droves. Last time they were really good they sold out every home game for nearly three years. Beteeen ticket sales, jerseys, extra parking and concession money the contract nearly pays for itself. And it gives the Phils the ability to pull in better players who want to play for a winner in a town crazy for sports. The level of enthusiasm for sports in Philly is second to none.
Well, there's the guy occupying center field who didn't notice the pitcher walked the bases loaded last night, and proceeded to swing at the first pitch in the dirt, and then struck out on a similar pitch. I hope Kapler has him on a short leash. Getting rid of him would be addition by subtraction.
It was years ago, but the Phillies internally assigned $100 to each ticket sold figuring ticket price, parking, and concessions. That might be a little ambitious but it was their guide. They are anticipating an extra 1 million through the gates this year which is still TBD but if they draw that extra 1m, they will be printing money down there. You can do the math and compare to Harper’s $30m or whatever the number is for just this year.
I’ve long thought that Odubel might be a much better player on a team that contends. I’m not sure it’s fair, but at times he hasn’t seem focused which I can partly attribute to the grind of playing losing baseball. This is a big year for him. I expect him to be better simply given that the stakes are higher. We will see. It’s a shame Nick isn’t a CF’er as he’s LH so you maintain the balance you want 6-7-8.
The same center fielder who had the a great at bat that resulted in the game winning hit on opening day?
That is what is so frustrating about Odubel. He is undeniably talented. He is also a really dumb player. The routs he takes on balls, the base running errors and the lack of plate discipline is inexcusable for a professional. But he brings so much physical ability to the table the Phils put up with it. The trick with Odubel will be not having him under contract when he starts physically declining. I think he should always be trade bait, because you don’t want to be paying him when his physical skills wane.
Not defending as much as pointing out the fact that his production every season has ranged somewhere between a solid MLB starter and borderline all-star. I think almost all of the criticism Odubel gets is based almost exclusively on a subjective distaste for the “way he plays the game” or something similar. He’s not my favorite player, but the numbers say that he brings far more positives than negatives.
I would tend to agree with you and it points to how the game has completely changed.
When Odubel first came to the Phillies, I saw a batting title contender. Wondered how anyone could give him up. Hit down through the ball, spray it around, use his legs, etc. The exact attributes that nobody cares about now. Then I heard about Daniel Murphy changing his swing plane to get more launch and I thought he was crazy. Then EVERYONE started doing it and you have what you now have.
I see a COMPLETELY different Herrera now, a guy who wants to launch and drive everything as opposed to using his gifts. Odubel can drive the casual fan crazy but a part of you has to wonder if what you see sometimes is what they want and teach from an organization standpoint. I know with certainty that some of the old guys like Schmidt and Kruk don’t recognize the game anymore in certain respects. I would think a guy like Herrera is exactly the guy that makes them question the direction of today’s game.
Actually if you are going “by the numbers” than Odubel contributed a .2 WAR last year which means he accounted for .2 wins more than a replacement level player who could be acquired for minimal value.
Herrera's boneheaded plays on the bases and in the field were on full display last year with a mediocre team and a sketchy manager who always backed him up because that's what Gabe does. A rising tide lifts all boats, so they say. I was ready to launch him last year, admittedly, for two buckets of balls. Now there's a team around him.
