Breaking From A Busy Offseason

PHILS PHACTS:

Quick Start – Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has been on the job fewer than two months, but he has packed plenty into it. Klentak made his first big trade Dec. 12, shipping closer Ken Giles and Minor League infielder Jonathan Arauz to the Astros for right-handers Mark Appel, Vincent Velasquez, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz and left-hander Brett Oberholtzer. Since Klentak got the job Oct. 26, the Phillies also have made three other trades, signed one free agent, selected two players in the Rule 5 Draft, claimed four players off waivers and signed 11 players to Minor League contracts with invitations to Spring Training as they build for the future. Here is what Klentak told MLB.com this week about his experience so far: Have these first few weeks been a whirlwind for you? I would say the early stages felt like a whirlwind. I think probably in the last few weeks, things have gotten down to a bit more of a normal pace. But I've been very pleased with what we've been able to accomplish in a relatively short period of time. Some of those are more apparent, just in looking at the way our roster has taken shape. I've also been pleased behind the scenes with some of the subtle adjustments we've been able to make to our process and just getting to know the group and the way that the group has rallied together. Has the job been what you expected, or have you learned anything new? I think we're all products of our environments and our backgrounds, so naturally having had several different bosses and mentors over the years I've been able to see the industry through a few different lenses. I think the job is definitely different sitting in the GM chair because ultimately the final decision comes down to you. That is certainly a difference from what I'm used to, but it's not something that was unexpected. That's obviously part of the job and I knew that coming in. You mentioned being exhausted after the Winter Meetings, where you worked on the Giles trade. What was that week like? The Winter Meetings are exhausting no matter what you do or don't do. And then when you add on working all week to make a pretty significant trade, yeah, there's very little exercise, you're eating bad food, you're not sleeping very much, there's tons of meetings. I came down with a pretty nasty cold by the end of it, but I think that's the way the Winter Meetings go more often than not anyway. But when you add on a fairly big trade as we were working on with Houston, that seems to shift things even further. So it was exhausting, but I was very pleased. Not only with the outcome of the trade, but with the way that our group gathered together and rallied together to allow us to make an informed decision and make the best deal that we were able to make. When you're in the moment, do you feel any pressure of it being your first significant trade as GM? Not on a personal level. I think we all recognized that this was an important trade for us, whether we made it or not. If we had kept Ken Giles, that was going to be important to us as well. In the moment when you're working on a big trade or a smaller transaction, I think you have to strip out the emotion of it. You have to strip out the significance and just execute a plan. We knew from the very early stages of the offseason that trading Ken Giles was going to be a possibility. We knew what the interest was throughout the industry. Ultimately, we knew generally speaking what we were going to demand in player return if that was going to play out. We maintained our discipline. We worked through it and ultimately we pulled off a trade that we feel really good about. Are you pretty pleased with the way you've executed your offseason plan? I have been pleased with that. The two keys for us heading into the offseason were pitching and balance. And I think we've been able to achieve both goals. We've added pitching both of the veteran variety and some younger arms -- some with higher floors and some with higher ceilings. And I feel as though going into 2016, but likely heading into '17 and beyond, we've helped to build the foundation of pitching in our organization. I've said this before, but if you can pitch, you have a chance to win every single night. That's something we're going to be focused on for years. That's going to be critically important to this franchise as we move forward. Phillies president Andy MacPhail said recently he believes the Phillies will be able to find hitters when it comes time to add them. I assume you feel the same way? I think that's right. Hitters generally regard our park as a good place to play. I know that our ownership is very committed -- and will be in the future -- to bringing in the right players and the top-caliber players to help us. We need to make sure that we are doing our job by providing the foundation, particularly in the pitching department, that allows us to do the other things that we need to do.

PHILS HISTORY:

Christmas Eve is like the black hole of Phillies history!

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.

Phillies Moving Forward With A Plan

PHILS PHACTS:

On The Same Page – Matt Klentak and Pete Mackanin seem to be getting along just fine since they first met in October. The Phillies named Mackanin their manager in 2016 before they hired Klentak as general manager in October. General managers often prefer their hand-picked men in the dugout, but both said Tuesday they expect no problems next season. "I think if we're collectively doing our jobs the right way and communicating the way that we need to that there should never be an issue," Klentak said. "There should never be a time where I want something to happen that he's doing the other way. As long as we're communicating, which we will, there shouldn't be an issue." "We're always going to talk," Mackanin said. "I'm open to any suggestion. He gets the players for me, and I run the team with his input. And I give him input on which players I'd like to have, so he makes that final decision. Ultimately he ends up making my decision too. If he tells me he wants this guy playing a little bit more, I'm open to it. I get it. I might not agree with it, but in the end if he tells me to do it, I'll do it." Mackanin later discussed numerous topics during his media session at the Winter Meetings: Who's in center field? Mackanin called Odubel Herrera one of the better defensive center fielders in the National League, but he knows the Phillies just acquired Peter Bourjos last week. Bourjos is regarded as one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball. So who plays center? "In my mind right now, [Herrera] is the incumbent center fielder, which doesn't mean it won't change in the spring," Mackanin said. "As hard as he worked towards accomplishing his goals defensively last year, I want to make him -- I don't want to discourage him after doing such a good job for us." Interestingly, Mackanin also said Herrera could get some time at second base in Spring Training. Herrera played primarily second base in the Minor Leagues before joining the Phillies last season. But the Phillies have other outfielders coming through the system, so if they need to make room for somebody, Herrera could transition to second to keep him in the lineup. "It might come to that," Mackanin said. "I'm not looking to do that right now, but it may happen. But I don't want to. He had such a great showing defensively that I don't want to, like I said, discourage him from making him think it was all for nothing." Bourjos will play: The Phillies did not acquire Bourjos to sit on the bench. The Phillies believe he will perform better offensively if he plays on a more regular basis. "There's a lot of people that feel that he's better than the way he's played the last few years," Mackanin said. "I'm one of them." Franco's D: Third baseman Maikel Franco had a fine rookie season offensively, but he struggled defensively at times. He committed 10 errors in 75 games at third. "I think he got a little careless, and we're going to see a Gold Glove-type performance out of him defensively," Mackanin said. "He felt like he let himself down last year. We know he's better."

One On One With The Manager – At the end of the season, you kind of talked about how getting a full-time job, how you could maybe do some more stuff, implement some things and that you would take some time in the off-season to kind of think about what that would be. Have you given much thought about any specific things or adjustments? Well, I constantly find myself thinking of new things, things I'd like to do, but I keep fighting the urge. I'm trying to enjoy my off-season as much as possible before we start that grind of seven months. But I've got some good ideas about just the way we're going to execute drills. We're going to put a lot of emphasis on baserunning, for one, which is why I eliminated your typical coach who is an outfielder/baserunning guy. Juan is going to remain the outfield guy, and Mickey Morandini is going to take over strictly baserunning and we are going to zero inasmuch as we can. I know everybody talks about fundamentals and how we are really going to pay attention to those things, but this is one way I feel we can really do that. Defense is a very important part of the game, and I'm very happy that we've got some outfielders that can cover a lot of ground and they are sure-handed outfielders. That makes the pitching better which takes runs away. In a couple areas, I feel we've already improved in that respect. A few more things like that, we're going to introduce a few more different ways of going about doing things. You had talked at the end of the season about how you've been in different situations whereas part of scouting, whatever, you talked about you look at free agents and which one are we going to get and sometimes you have to flip the page to lesser guys. How much of a role have you had at the Winter Meetings and looking over free agents? We gather in that suite every day and just hash things out. We just talk about different players, who you run into. You kind of walk around and talk to people that you know and get a feeling of what other teams are looking for. You kind of have an idea, but it's just about schmoozing people and trying to get some information, and they get information from you. As I said, when I was with, for example, the Expos, we would go over in our group, we would go over the list of free agents. And by the time we would flip most pages to the back page, guys we can afford to get. But then when I was with the Yankees as a scout, it was anybody. We could look at anybody. The Phillies, and Matt, they have a certain way they go about doing things. So we are discussing more than anything. I can't really comment much on his attack, so to say. We just all give our input and they make the decisions. Given where the roster is in terms of rebuilding, when you get to Spring Training, how do you convince the players and the fan base, even, that there's any chance to be competitive? The first thing I want to get across to the players is that I'm looking for positive energy. I start with that. I tell them that -- I'll give you an example. Freddy Galvis hit .260 something and he showed some promise there, and I think he's capable of doing better. César Hernández started playing finally, and he showed a lot of promise. We always felt like these guys were going to play well enough and hit well enough to be part of the future, but now they finally have an opportunity to do that. Maikel Franco stepped into his role and showed us that he was going to be a solid middle-of-the-order guy. Now that being said, all I can do as a manager to keep these guys pointed in the right direction is make them feel like how good they are, reinforce how good they are, and explain to these guys that in baseball, it's not necessarily always going to go their way and when you get knocked down, you're going to get knocked down during the course of the season, it's how you get back up, rather than staying down on the ground. So my approach is just to remain positive; at the same time, demand results. How about the fans? The fans, well, let's put it this way: Somebody asked me how I was going to manage the team knowing that we weren't really at the place we want to be. Well, I manage -- I only know one way to manage. I just want to manage each day to win that game. And if I can convince the players to worry about how they compete on that given day, and let the fans know that we are competing and doing the best we can with what we have, I don't see how -- I think the way the players play will convince the fans that these guys are really trying and for real. What's the biggest thing you're looking forward to in terms of next season compared to last season where you had a lot of young guys and a lot of guys showing that they could do things, but what are you looking for in terms of a next step in terms of the guys that were on the roster last year? Well, you take a guy like Galvis and Hernandez and Franco, and Cameron made some strides late in the season, and he's a solid, strong-arm catcher, we've seen Odubel Herrera come out of nowhere to start off pretty good. He faltered a bit and went back to .250, .260, but then he battled back and hosed in right at .300. For me he's going to become a perennial .300 hitter. He's one of the better center fielders in the league in my opinion. That was a plus. Aaron Altherr, he made a good impression. He still needs a ways to go. But he made a great impression, as well as Cody Asche. We feel strongly that he's better than he's shown. We want these guys -- the next step is for Freddy to improve even more, for Hernández to improve. They have to incrementally have to get better. That's what we're looking for all of them to do, get better each year because we are counting on them to be part of the future. You mentioned Herrera defensively. Bourjos, I guess, arguably, is probably one of the guys that might be better than him defensively. How do you see those guys working and in terms of rotation, playing time? You know, I know that I've scouted Bourjos in the past, and I know that he's a premiere center fielder. I'm told, although I haven't seen them play that much, Aaron Altherr is an outstanding center fielder. What I saw out of Odubel this year was very impressive. He made some mistakes, but he outran his mistakes. He's flamboyant. He's not afraid to dive. He takes charge out there. To me a center fielder, my opinion of a center fielder is that he catches every ball that's hit in the air until he can't get it, and then the corners help him out. And that's how Odubel plays. You saw it. If they are all three close to being as good as Bourjos is, we have three center fielders, no matter where they play, it's going to cover ground and help the pitching and take hits away and we have improved that way. Do you see him playing more than Frenchy played last year? Well, under the circumstances with what we have, he's going to get a lot of playing time. There's a lot of people that feel that he's better than the way he's played the last few years. I'm one of them. I like Peter Bourjos. I think he's got an upside to him, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the spring and have Steve Henderson work with him and get him back on the right track. If he gets enough playing time, that's what players need in order to get some kind of a rhythm going. You made the deal for Hellickson from the Diamondbacks. What do you like about him? He's a solid strike thrower. He's going to give us some innings. He's got some experience. I know he started off extremely well his first couple years and hasn't been quite the same since, but, once again, we feel he's a guy that's going to pitch better than he has the last couple years. I thought Matt made a great deal getting him. When you look at Nola and how he kind of handled things last year, what do you expect from a second act from him going forward? The thing about Nola, a lot of young guys, especially Nola, I recall my first time in the Big Leagues, I was scared to death. When Nola pitched, it's like he knew he belonged there from day one. He never showed fear. He's got a great presence on the mound. He made some mistakes with pitch selection and/or location, but he knew it and he adjusted immediately. The guy, he's a cool customer. This guy really is an intelligent pitcher. The thing he's got going for him the most is his ability to command his fastball to both sides of the plate. And you can't teach that. If you've got that, plus you add in his other things -- and I think his changeup we didn't see as much; that he could have thrown it more. I think once we see that, he's going to become even better. I'm not by any way comparing him to Greg Maddux, but Greg Maddux became a premier pitcher because he figured it out. He read swings. He knew what he had to do to get hitters out, and I think Nola has got the capability of being that kind of a guy. What strides would you like to see Franco make in what will be his second full season? The one thing, the first thing that comes to my mind is, No. 1, he's going to be a solid, three, four, five hitter in my opinion. He's aggressive. He's a run producer. This past season, he did not play the defense we expected him to play. He made some careless errors, and I think the year before in AAA, he made -- it was something like five errors and they were all throwing errors. The guy doesn't miss. I think he got a little careless, and we're going to see a Gold Glove-type performance out of him defensively. He felt like he let himself down last year. We know he's better. Larry Bowa worked with him quite a bit and they both talked, which was a nice sign for Maikel to talk about it and say, I know I'm better than that. So that's the thing I'm expecting from him. How much time, if any, have you really gotten away from thinking about baseball? I'm sure when the season ends, you're thinking about what's coming up. I've been in the game 48 years and you never stop thinking about it because something always comes up. Especially nowadays, every time you turn on the TV, there's another media outlet, MLB and ESPN and all these sports channels and you can't get away from it. I try to avoid it because I'd like to have a week or two where I just don't have to worry about it, because, like I said, once you start that first day of Spring Training, it's all systems go for seven months, hopefully eight months. And you talked a little about Cameron Rupp, a guy that you saw improvement from offensively at the end of the year last year. Is he a guy that can catch a hundred games? What do you see? It's hard for me to project that, but let's put it this way: This guy can catch and throw, he's got plus power, above average power potential, and that's the kind of guy you're looking for at catcher; that cannot only do a good job handling pitchers but he can catch and throw runners out. He's got a bazooka for an arm and he's accurate with it. Now the next thing is getting his average where you'd like it, and he started hitting home runs later on in the season. I think with a few adjustments to his approach, I think he's going to be capable of hitting even more home runs and improve more as a hitter. Once again it, was his first full year in the Big Leagues, so you have to keep that in the back of your mind that it's not that easy just to jump in and hit .280 and 25 home runs and knock in 80 runs. There's an adjustment to be made. Getting back to your previous question, we are expecting these guys to get better than they showed they were last year. And how would you describe so far your relationship with Matt? Obviously it's one that's a very important relationship. How do you think things have gone and what have you learned about him? He's a genuine person. He's very easy to talk to. He's intelligent. And he's congenial. This guy knows how to relate to people. At least he and I get along very well. I can say what I feel to him, and we can banter back and forth. I'm being paid for my opinion, all of us in baseball, at some point or another, we're paid for our opinions, and he solicits those opinions and he makes his decisions based on knowledge of the game. When you first saw him -- Everybody wants to be liked. At some point you like -- you like me, don't you? (Laughing.) Sure, there's always that little anxious moment, but at the same time, I know I get along with people very well, and it is what it is. He's my boss and I try to get along with him, which is easy. Being on the same page with the lineup, do you feel like you already have that understanding of what you guys are aiming for? He's been great. He has not sent me any mandates or made any demands from me or told me who I had to play. Once again, we talked about this earlier, I'm certainly going to discuss the team and what I'd like to do with them and he might have an idea that I might say, you know what, that's a good idea, we'll use it. So far as I'm concerned, I'm making out the lineup and until I'm told any differently, I'm going to continue making it out. There have been a few guys added for the bullpen, or at least potentially for the bullpen. Do you view it as kind of open competition or do you say, hey, I already have Gomez, Garcia, Giles, so now I have to fill in the rest? No question about it. It's open competition. As I said, we've got some speed in the outfield, which makes any pitchers better. Takes away hits. We've got more pitchers with some backgrounds to them, which is going to increase the competitive environment of Spring Training, and these guys are going to know that, hey, if you want to play at the Big League level, we are looking for guys who can help us win. You've got to be better than the next guy. You're going to have to compete to make the team. It's a great environment to be in. So these guys who maybe thought they were doing okay, might get a wake-up call. Are you thinking about Giles as your closer at this point, or is that still pretty much an open question? He's my closer right now. I like what he did last year. You talked about having three center fielders in the outfield potentially at the same time, to cover all that ground, is it Odubel's job or is it going to be an open competition as far as center field itself in Spring Training? We've just been discussing that, and I know as we said, I know how good Bourjos is and I know how good alter can be in center field. But I also saw Odubel play last year. In my mind right now, he's the incumbent center fielder, which doesn't mean it won't change in the spring. As hard as he worked towards accomplishing his goals defensively last year, I want to make him -- I don't want to discourage him after doing such a good job for us. But I'll talk to him. Juan Samuel and I will talk to him, and we'll talk to all three of those guys, and even Cody Asche will be in the mix, and Darin Ruf will be in the mix. I'm just going to talk to these guys. That's the best way I know how to manage is talk to them. Are you going to have Herrera get any reps at second base in the spring or use him solely as an outfielder? We'll probably work him out there. You never know, there's always guys coming up behind him, and, once again, as I said, when you're a three- or four-year player, there's always that young kid that everybody's talking about. So you've got to continue to compete and to keep your job. So let's put it this way: If somebody comes up that has to play center field for whatever reason, then we want -- I certainly want Odubel's bat in the lineup. It might come to that. I'm not looking to do that right now, but it may happen. I don't want to -- he had such a great showing defensively that I don't want to, like I said, discourage him from making him think it was all for nothing. With Matt coming in, he's going to bring more of an analytic angle to the club that's been there before. How will that impact you as a manager? I scouted for the Yankees in 2008 and 2013. We used a lot of the analytics, and really it was the scouting director. We used a lot of the analytics and I used them to write my reports. There was a lot of information in there. I, for one, believe that anything that can help you make a decision on a player and evaluate a player is invaluable. I believe in it wholeheartedly. That doesn't mean that instinct doesn't come in. For example, you can look on an elementary level, during the course of the game as a manager, you look at matchups and so-and-so is 15 or 20 off a pitcher. But your hitter might be in the midst of the worst slump of his career, even though he hits this other guy well, so you might choose not to let him hit for him, because he's in such a bad slump. So the analytics tell you you should use him, but your gut kind of tells you, you know, not right now, he's not going to hit him right now. That type of -- that's not a good example maybe. So you can combine the two. A follow-up on that, data shows that pitchers are far less effective a third time through the order and now there's a school of thought that maybe you shouldn't put most of your pitchers in that situation. That might appear to be a new concept, but over the years that I've managed, starting in 1985, you're always tentative when you get into that sixth inning. It always seems to happen late in the fifth or sixth inning where you have to keep your eye on your starter. It wasn't really one of those things that was written down or talked about, but that's always the time I, as a manager, would start getting a little nervous and be a little bit more -- and watch my starter a little closer and maybe get a guy up throwing. So it makes a lot of sense. It doesn't mean you'll always take your -- you will never let your guy face the lineup three times or four times, depending on how he's pitching. You've seen games where I think Nola went into the eighth inning, he could have thrown nine innings one night, he was just making adjustments as they came along. I think all of that is invaluable stuff, but it's nothing set in concrete for me.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.

Would Schilling Be Inducted As A Phillie?

PHILS PHACTS:

Once again, beat reporter Todd Zolecki answers Phillies fans' questions including whether or not the team should be fishing in the free agent pool or focusing on taking the floaties off of their young talent. The full Q&A can be read/watched here.

An Interesting HOF Ballot This Year – Under new voting rules established this summer by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the annual Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot was released Monday on the earliest date in recent history. Ken Griffey Jr. and his 630 homers and Trevor Hoffman and his National League-record 601 saves are the top candidates among a bevy of first-time qualifiers for the Class of 2016. Billy Wagner, who had 422 saves in 16 seasons for five teams, is another significant new name on the ballot. Mike Piazza (69.9 percent of the vote last year), Jeff Bagwell (55.7 percent) and Tim Raines (55 percent) are the returnees with the best chances of being elected this time around. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on July 24 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Griffey was selected first overall as a 17-year-old in the 1987 Draft and went on to play his first 13 seasons for the Mariners, ending his 22-year career with them in 2010. He batted .284 and produced 1,836 RBIs. Along the way, Griffey played parts of nine seasons with the Reds and part of one with the White Sox before returning to the Mariners for the final two. Griffey was a four-time American League home run champion, hitting 56 homers in back-to-back seasons in 1997-98, and he won the AL MVP Award in '97 and was a 13-time All-Star. Griffey would be both the first Mariner and the first No. 1 overall Draft pick to be inducted. "I am truly honored and humbled to be associated with these people here," Griffey said when he was inducted into the Mariners' Hall of Fame in 2013. "I may have sometimes been standoffish; I didn't mean to. I just wanted to play baseball. That's the only thing that mattered: playing and winning ballgames for this team. I want to thank all of you, and the Mariners organization, for letting me be part of something special. I just want to say thank you." Hoffman would be the third player to go into the Hall with an interlocking SD on his plaque. Dave Winfield and the late Tony Gwynn are the others. Hoffman had a 2.87 ERA and 61 wins in 1,035 games, plus a career-high 53 saves in 54 opportunities for a 1998 Padres club that lost to the Yankees in the World Series. "I know it would be a nice little bow tie if it would happen and to have the All-Star Game in San Diego the same year," Hoffman, who pitched 16 of his 18 big league seasons for the Padres, said in noting that the Midsummer Classic is to be played at Petco Park on July 12. "That would be amazing." Among the other newcomers on the latest ballot are Garret Anderson, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Luis Castillo, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell and Mike Sweeney. The BBWAA ballot announcement commences the Hall of Fame voting season that includes elections by the 16-member Pre-Integration Committee and nominees for the Ford C. Frick Award and the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, all slated to be unveiled at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., from Dec. 7-10. This year's version of the Veterans Committee will vote on six players, three executives and an organizer who were all active in baseball prior to Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. The Frick Award voters will pick a baseball announcer who was a pioneer during that same period. The BBWAA honors a writer with the Spink Award for meritorious contributions to the baseball writing profession. The new rules for the BBWAA ballot winnowed the rolls by about 125 voters, a Hall official said. While 625 ballots were sent out last year, about 475 were put in the mail on Monday. The ballots historically had been mailed just prior to Thanksgiving and had to be returned by New Year's Day. Voters will now have until Dec. 24 to mail their ballots. The results are to be revealed on MLB Network on Jan. 6, with a news conference involving any of the electees to be held the following day. In the past, all members of the BBWAA with more than 10 consecutive years of membership received a ballot. Under the new rules passed in July by the Hall's board of directors, members who have not actively been a member of the BBWAA for 10 years must apply every year for their ballot. The Hall then determines by the number of games an applicant covered in the previous season whether to issue a ballot. As always, a candidate must have his name written on 75 percent of the ballots to be elected, and the electorate can vote for as many as 10 players. In another change, the Hall will release a roster of all voters, but not how they voted. It's up to each individual whether to release his or her ballot. The BBWAA was established in 1908 and has been voting players into the Hall of Fame since elections began in 1936. It remains to be seen what kind of impact a smaller group of voters will have on the election. In the last election, 549 ballots were cast and a player needed 412 votes to be elected. Piazza, now in his fourth year on the ballot, fell 38 votes short last year. Bagwell and Raines fell 106 and 110 votes short, respectively. Returnees Curt Schilling (39.2 percent), Roger Clemens (37.5), Barry Bonds (36.8) and Mike Mussina (24.6) are much further out. Like Piazza, Schilling, Bonds and Clemens are in their fourth year of eligibility. Others who received sufficient support to remain on the ballot for 2016 are first basemen Fred McGriff and Mark McGwire; second baseman Jeff Kent; third baseman-designated hitter Edgar Martinez; infielder Nomar Garciaparra; and outfielders Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa. Another rule change seriously affects Raines, who is going into his ninth and next-to-last year on the BBWAA ballot. In the past, BBWAA eligibility was for as long as 15 years, but the Hall shortened that period by five years in 2014, grandfathering in three players who were already in the 11- to 15-year range: Don Mattingly, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell. It is also McGwire's final year on the ballot. Mattingly's BBWAA eligibility ended with the last ballot. On this one, Trammell is in his 15th and final year and Smith his 14th. Smith received 30.2 percent of the vote and Trammell 25.1 percent last time. A player must reach at least a five-percent threshold to be carried over to the next ballot until his 10 years of eligibility expires. The ballot: Garret Anderson, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Luis Castillo, Roger Clemens, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Glaus, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Hampton, Trevor Hoffman, Jason Kendall, Jeff Kent, Mike Lowell, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Mike Mussina, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Mike Sweeney, Alan Trammell, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker, Randy Winn.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.