If you are going to be a Philadelphia Phillies Phan, you have to be able to tolerate misery. Lots of it. Terrible, agonizing, soul sucking misery. It's in their DNA. Sure every once in a while they are actually good. The late 70's- early 80's, the miracle of 1993, 2007-2011. All joyous times.
The last five seasons the Phils have averaged 69 wins. They stunk up the entire National League. It was brutal to watch. But this year there is a glimmer of hope. Exciting young talent has finally made it to the big leagues. Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery, Aaron Nola, J.P.Crawford, Jorge Alfaro. A nice core of talented young players you can build a pennant winner around. Maybe we are about to see good times returning to Citizens Bank Park.
It was with this feeling of hope that the Phillies are actually going to be competitive this year that I watched today's season opener against the Atlanta Braves. Staff ace Aaron Nola pitching against a dumpster fire of a lineup (except for Freddie Freeman, he deserves better). Wouldn't you know it, five and a half innings in the Phils are winning 5-0 with Nola cruising. What could go wrong?
Then new manager Gabe Kapler screwed it all up. If today is any indication of how he plans on running the club this year, we might be lucky to see 69 wins.
Kapler is part of the new breed of managers who relies on charts and computers to figure out mathematically the best way to win ballgames. Unfortunately common sense doesn't seem to be part of the equation.
Aaron Nola is undeniably the ace of the Phillies pitching staff. He is widely considered one of the best new young pitchers in baseball. He cruised through five innings today giving up 2 hits, one walk and zero runs. He entered the sixth with a five run lead. After giving up a lead off double to Ender Inciarte, he retired the next batter with a lazy flyball. At this point he threw 68 pitches. Next up was the Braves best hitter, Freddie Freeman. Freeman was 0-1 with a walk against Nola today. Our best pitcher against their best hitter. I liked our odds.
Gabe Kapler didn't.
Out of the dugout popped Kapler to pull Nola from the game. Our best pitcher. In the sixth inning. With only 68 pitches stress free pitches thrown. With a 5-0 lead. Why? "Because I believe in all of our pitchers." That's what Kapler said after the game.
Bullshit. Let me piss all over this weak excuse.
Kapler came from the Dodgers organization. Their front office has a theory that hitters are substantially better against pitchers by their third plate appearance. They would rather try to play matchups with the bullpen instead of letting their starters face a lineup for the third time. This kind of thinking led them to pull Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in MLB, early in the World Series. And they wonder why they lost?
So Kapler would rather see one of his middle relievers face the Braves most dangerous hitter than his best pitcher on the roster by far. I yelled at my TV. Of course Hoby Milner comes in and promptly gives up a two run homer to Freeman. And the Phillies no longer have the services of their best pitcher for the day. At least the Braves were happy.
"Once they took him out, it was kind of a jolt for us," Freeman said. "You wanted to come back. Once they took out a guy like that, it gave us a bolt of energy."
68 pitches from your ace and you go to the pen. UGH. There is a reason Nola is the staff ace. He is the best damn pitcher on the team by a mile. Why wouldn't you want your best pitcher to face Freeman? Because the charts and computers didn't think it was a good idea. Now the Phillies had to rely on their bullpen for the last three innings.
I know I'm getting older, but if you remember the heyday of Steve Carlton pitching for the Phils , how do you think he would have reacted to being pulled after 68 pitches in a game he was cruising? The manager would have never been able to make the move because Carlton's death glare would have killed him before he ever reached the mound.
I wish that was the end of Kapler's foolishness today, but it was just the beginning. In the eighth he pulled Hoskins from the game for defensive purposes. At that point the Phils were clinging to a 3 run lead. They were already deep into their bullpen. Doesn't it make sense to leave the best hitter on the team in the game? They could have moved him to first base and yanked Carlos Santana instead. Sorry Carlos, Hoskins is better than you. Oh, I forgot. Kapler believes in his pitchers. So the bullpen coughs up three runs and the game is tied headed into the ninth. Now the Phillies have also lost the services of their best hitter. Way to go Gabe.
No runs for Philly in the ninth, in comes Hector Neris to try and hold the fort. He gives up an infield single and the Braves sacrifice him to second. The next batter flies out. Here comes Freeman again. Two outs, why pitch to the most dangerous hitter? The Phillies walk him intentionally. Good move. His run doesn't matter, only the runner on second. At this point Kapler must have logged out of the computer because he got real dumb. Nick Markakis comes to the plate. Markakis is a mediocre hitter, but in his career he is Babe freakin Ruth against Neris. 7-14 lifetime. There is still an open base. Only the lead runner matters, one run and the game is over. There are two outs, a hit ends the ballgame whether the lead runner is on second or third. On deck is Peter Bourjos who came in the game earlier to pinch run. Bourjos is such a lousy hitter he can't crack the Braves crappy lineup. Why wouldn't you walk Markakis and face Bourjos instead?
Oh yeah, Kapler believes in his pitchers. Well not against Freeman because they walked him. But a guy with a .500 average against Neris? Sure, Neris must be due to get him out. Markakis promptly puts an end to this shit show by belting a three run homer. Game over.
After the game Kapler defended his decisions and said they will play out better over the course of the season. I think he honestly believes that. That's why I honestly believe the Phillies are in trouble with Kapler at the helm. No manager in America from little league on up yanks his ace in the sixth with 68 pitches thrown and one man on base with a five run lead. They let him finish the inning, pitch some more innings as long as he is in control and have the bullpen come in at the end to sew up a victory. Kapler pulls the pitcher, fiddles with matchups using five relievers over 3 and a third innings, and benches his best hitter as his team blows the game.
Gabe Kapler earns a F- in his Phillies debut. As the immortal Richie Ashburn always used to say "It's hard to believe."