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OT: 2018 Phillies Thread.....

@mrtailgate

I enjoyed your take on things all year, as well as all the contributors to this thread. I don't know much about Klentak but I do recall in January I was at a coaches' clinic in PGH (I was an asst HS coach) and Bob Boone was there. After he spoke there was the informal stand-around BS session and somebody asked Boonie what he thought of Kapler. I may have mentioned this... Boonie said he didn't know him but heard a lot about him and none of it good. I was taken aback by that kind of frank evaluation from a guy who is in the Nats' Front Office but now that the season is over, I see where he was coming from.

I'm not a fan of Kapler's style either, it's simply not stood the test (other than a month and a half) and although I guess I'm OK with giving him another season, I agree that these young players are over-valued, there are a lot of issues with the defense, the baserunning, the use of the pen, the catching is awful, and the lack of star talent so yeah, I guess I'd give him a little more leeway (They are 18% better than last year) but if they're 10 under .500 at the break or something akin to that, you have to scrap it. The Phillies' presence is sad right now.

It should be an interesting winter. I hope so, anyway.


My pleasure Victor! Have a great game day today!
 
Have to take issue with the comment on talent. I think you are overrating this talent greatly. The proof is right in front of you - they can't hit, they field badly, the bullpen stinks, the catching is atrocious. Is there one positional player that any team in the playoff picture would want? Hoskins is the only one and he's a major defensive liability. Otherwise, I don't think so.

I don't care for Kapler, I'm old and I prefer baseball before this analytics fad took over, but no analytics can overcome fundamentally bad players and that's what they have. And they don't play hard, IMHO.
I'm with you on Kapler. He thinks the numbers are he key.. but my experience in life has been that there is a human factor you can't quantify. The good managers look at the numbers, but look a the field, players and the chemistry, and they trust their gut.
 
I was glad to see Aaron Nola finish with a strong performance for another win. He ends up 17-6 with an ERA of 2.37 and 224 Ks in 212.1 innings. Impressive numbers, and with reasonable luck and run support, would have won 20+.
 
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Looking back at the flawed Santana signing. Christopher Yelich was available and signed 4 years for 44 million. The Phil's signed Santana 3 years for 60 million. PHILS had a 1st baseman (Hoskins) and needed another big bat in the outfield. Yelich 323 36 hrs and 109 rbi's. KAPLER LIKE KLENTAK ALWAYS DEFLECTS THE BLAME. FIRE THEM BOTH!!!
 
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Looking back at the flawed Santana signing. Christopher Yelich was available and signed 4 years for 44 million. The Phil's signed Santana 3 years for 60 million. PHILS had a 1st baseman (Hoskins) and needed another big bat in the outfield. Yelich 323 36 hrs and 109 rbi's. KAPLER LIKE KLENTAK ALWAYS DEFLECTS THE BLAME. FIRE THEN BOTH!!!

The Marlins traded Yelich to the Brewers. He wasn’t a free agent
 
TY always thought Phil's should have picked him up when the Marlins were selling off last year.
 
TY always thought Phil's should have picked him up when the Marlins were selling off last year.

I agree. I always liked Yelich, more than Stanton (given the money difference) and Ozuna. Yelich is a wonderful player. He is exactly the player they need, productive and a good average hitter. The perfect hitter for their lineup.
 
I live outside Baltimore so I don't get Philadelphia Radio till late. I really appreciate the passion, yet Kapler still needs to be open minded to learning on the job.
 
The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake, expecting a different outcome.

This is what they want. He has the backing from the suits, he's going to run it his way, this style is sort of a religion among some people in baseball. No amount of heat on the radio is going to change it, so there you are. If you watched the Dodger game tonight you saw a stud starter go to the wall and combined to shut out a division winner twice in a row in the playoffs. There is a sect that believes six pitching changes is a better way. I guess we'll see. I give him till the break next year. Somebody knows how to keep Freddie Effin' Freeman in the ballpark.
 
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This is what they want. He has the backing from the suits, he's going to run it his way, this style is sort of a religion among some people in baseball. No amount of heat on the radio is going to change it, so there you are. If you watched the Dodger game tonight you saw a stud starter go to the wall and combined to shut out a division winner twice in a row in the playoffs. There is a sect that believes six pitching changes is a better way. I guess we'll see. I give him till the break next year. Somebody knows how to keep Freddie Effin' Freeman in the ballpark.
Unless something has changed, I understand that the Dodgers invest heavily in analytics. Houston as well.
 
The Philadelphia Inquirer is in the midst of a 3-part series on Phillies minor league prospects. Below are the first-2 segments. @psulongago -- your thoughts on any of these guys that you've seen play would be appreciated.



 
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Analytics are great. They're a tool though, not an edict. Why pull a guy in the 4th inning unless he's getting clobbered because the sheet says to.

They don't need to hire a coach if 100% of analytics is adhered to, just need a computer to tell you what to do. I always thought what makes a great coach is knowing when to go AGAINST the analytics due to taking that risk, gut feel, etc...
 
Oddshark lists the Phils as the favorite to land both Harper and Machado. At what point of the off-season do these types of free agent signings normally take place?
 
At what point of the off-season do these types of free agent signings normally take place?

The MLB Winter Meetings take place Dec 9-13. While there are exceptions to any rule, that's when most big-ticket signings take place, and also when a lot of trades take place.

Some other dates in the cycle:

Nov. 3 -- free agency begins

Nov. 6-8 -- GM meeting takes place

Nov. 12 -- deadline for FAs to accept or reject the qualifying offer. If they accept, they sign that one-year contact and stay with their team. Players who reject can then sign with any team, but the rejected team then gets a draft pick, and the team that signs the player forfeits a draft pick and loses some international bonus money.

Nov. 20 -- deadline for teams to add minor leaguers to the 40-man roster. Once minor leaguers reach criteria (different for college drafted, high school drafted, or international signee), and are not added to the 40-man roster, they are available in the Rule 5 Draft.

Nov. 30 -- deadline for teams to offer their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players a contract for 2019. If the team does not tender an offer, the player becomes a FA

Dec. 13 -- Rule 5 Draft
 
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Oddshark lists the Phils as the favorite to land both Harper and Machado. At what point of the off-season do these types of free agent signings normally take place?

Who knows. It’s anyone’s guess.

There is the general line of thought amongst many in front offices that this off season could see some “next tier” players signing quickly since these players have been the ones squeezed recently and wind up accepting less by waiting. So, the thought is that these next tier players could go quickly in the process and certainly before Harper, Machado, and Corbin.

Boras has said that the team for Harper was already in place which made ZERO sense since only the Nats had the ability to talk to him. Unless Harper has indicated to Boras that he had a clear singular preference, no way that another team could have had discussions with him. Or alternatively, that Harper simply wants to stay in Washington. So who knows what Boras was attempting to do or mean by his statement.

I heard some say that they thought Harper would be Dec or maybe even early January. But that was clear speculation. I was reminded when JD signed with Boston last year as a point of reference.

I am fascinated by Manny. Manny did enough and said just enough to maybe make some teams hit the pause button a tad. I still believe he gets a monster deal but teams would prefer him at 3b as well so this might create some discussions before him signing.

My informed guess is that if the Phillies want one of the two, it’s Harper clearly over Manny.
 
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RAJ moving from the field to the Mets front office to assist their new GM
 
Don't want Harper or Machado. Talk about two unlikeable players. Really hoping they pass on these guys and look elsewhere for help.
 
I'm on the fence about Harper. I've read stories about him not being a great teammate. I certainly have no idea if the stories are true but the guy is only 26 years old. People can mature. Also, will he be one of those players who bursts into the majors and looks like a hall of famer for a few seasons then fizzles? Would the Phils be unlucky enough to sigh him just before the fizzle happens?

OTOH, the guy is only 26 years old. If he plays the next 10 years at a level even close to his 2015 form, the team who signs him will have a hall of famer locked into their lineup for the next decade. If it's the Phils, they could finally make some moves to solidify the lineup.
 
I'm on the fence about Harper. I've read stories about him not being a great teammate. I certainly have no idea if the stories are true but the guy is only 26 years old. People can mature. Also, will he be one of those players who bursts into the majors and looks like a hall of famer for a few seasons then fizzles? Would the Phils be unlucky enough to sigh him just before the fizzle happens?

OTOH, the guy is only 26 years old. If he plays the next 10 years at a level even close to his 2015 form, the team who signs him will have a hall of famer locked into their lineup for the next decade. If it's the Phils, they could finally make some moves to solidify the lineup.
I don’t follow the Nats closely, but I was surprised that Harper had a down season (for him) in his first contact year. I can see going cold for a month or two, but the story I remember on him is that aside from a burst in the second half, there was more not to like than like. At $400 million, that’s a risk.
 
Both are great talents (Harper and Machado). Both have a history of dogging it. This is an aspect of the game which the Phillies already have covered very well. We already have a sufficient number of guys jogging to first and loafing on defense. You saw Machado loafing in the WS and then saying he's not this big hustle guy. That's what you're going to open the vault for to sign these guys.

There's a price to be paid I guess. If you have a guy jogging to first in a WS game, I simply don't want him. Not at the boxcars full of money you're going to have to pay him. Hell I remember Billy Martin pulling Reggie in the middle of an inning for dogging it. Now some guys embrace lack of hustle as some kind of a special trademark.
 
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