Phillies Showed Some Promise In Spring Opener

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Blue Jays Defeat Phillies 5-3

Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman is expected to be the Opening Day starter in April, and he took his first step toward that in Tuesday's Grapefruit League opener at Bright House Field. Stroman allowed three hits and two runs in two innings in a 5-3 victory. "My body felt unreal, my knee felt great," said Stroman, who missed most of last year following surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. "My arm felt pretty good, too. My body is in a good position to go out there every fifth day now and get my work in." Blue Jays shortstop Darwin Barney, who is expected to be a backup infielder, went 3-for-3 with a pair of two-run doubles in the game's first three innings and he drove in a fifth run with a single in the fifth. Phillies right-hander Severino Gonzalez, who is expected to open the season in the Minor Leagues, allowed a two-out double to Barney in the first inning to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz tied the score in the second with a two-out single to center. J.P. Arencibia went 2-for-3 and homered in the fourth to make it 4-3. "He's swinging the bat well," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Ruiz. "He's trying to stay on top of the ball. He's been having some good swings lately. It was good to see."

NEXT GAME:

The Phils will take a short drive to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, Fla., to play the Blue Jays on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander David Buchanan gets the start as right-hander Vincent Velasquez and left-hander Brett Oberholtzer also are scheduled to pitch. The Phillies acquired Velasquez and Oberholtzer in the Ken Giles trade with Houston.

PHILS PHACTS:

Looking To Nail Down The Ninth – Phillies right-hander David Hernandez does not remember why the Orioles asked him to close against the Yankees on June 10, 2010. Hernandez had made just 34 career appearances to that point. But he does remember facing a talented lineup and picking up the final out of his first career save on a groundout at Yankee Stadium. It turns out Hernandez's memory is pretty good. He walked a batter with one out in the ninth before getting Derek Jeter to fly out to right field and Nick Swisher to ground out to second base to end the game. "Ever since then it's like, wow, that's pretty cool," Hernandez said after pitching a scoreless inning on Tuesday afternoon in a 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays in the Grapefruit League opener at Bright House Field. Hernandez, 30, hopes to have more of those high-adrenaline moments this season. He entered Spring Training a favorite to be the Phillies' closer with Ken Giles traded to Houston in December. Hernandez signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract shortly before the Giles trade became official. The Phils told Hernandez that he would be their setup man, but he also could have an opportunity to close. Obviously, the Phillies knew they planned to trade Giles. It is an opportunity Hernandez has wanted for some time. He has 19 career saves, but he has never held the closer's job on a full-time basis. "That's always been one of my goals once I got thrown into the bullpen," Hernandez said. "I've had the stuff. It just comes down to helping your team and doing what you can with whatever role you have down there. It's something I look forward to." Manager Pete Mackanin said earlier this spring that not every pitcher in camp wants to close, but Hernandez is not one of them. "It's the anticipation of the phone ringing," said Hernandez, explaining why he loves to close. "That gets your heartrate going. And if you're the closer, you know it's for you. Everything turns up a little bit in the ninth inning. The fans get a little louder. The batters are locking in a little bit more because it's their last at-bat. They're trying to make a push to take the lead or tie the game. That brings the best out of me and I'm pretty sure other closers that go out there." Hernandez's competition to close includes non-roster invitees Andrew Bailey, Edward Mujica and Ernesto Frieri. Luis Garcia is on the 40-man roster. Garcia has closer's stuff, but he could be better suited as a setup man. But Hernandez is the favorite because he is the only free agent the Phillies signed to a Major League contract in the offseason. Interestingly, Hernandez told his agent beforehand that he preferred to play for a West Coast team that has Spring Training in Arizona. Hernandez also said he preferred to play for a postseason contender He clearly didn't check off those boxes with the Phillies, but he said he is happy with his situation. "We've got a lot of good, young players," Hernandez said. "Coming up with the Orioles, we struggled. I was just told by veterans, one day you may be on a team that may struggle and you've got to make sure the rookies and younger guys don't get too down on themselves. It's such a learning curve. It's such a process to find success. "You have your [Mike] Trouts, who hit .330 right away. But it's not always going to be like that. It's something you have to reinforce to the younger guys. You're going to take your lumps, but you have to have the mentality to bounce back and work to get better." Hernandez hopes to pass along that knowledge to the team's younger players during the season. And, if he gets the opportunity, he will pick up some saves along the way.

Showing Some Defensive Promise – It is the little things that Phillies manager Pete Mackanin noticed in the Grapefruit League opener on Tuesday at Bright House Field. Odubel Herrera made a nice catch on a sinking line drive in center field in the fifth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays. Aaron Altherr threw out a runner at the plate to end the fifth. And Maikel Franco showed some hustle and reached second base on an error by Blue Jays left fielder Jon Berti in the sixth. The Phillies are keeping Herrera in center, despite the offseason arrival of Peter Bourjos. Altherr is trying to earn regular playing time as one of the corner outfielders. And the team simply wants to take advantage of any opportunities it can on offense. "That's the kind of thing we're looking for and get everybody to do," Mackanin said of Franco's play. Go the distance: The Phillies want to be careful with their young starters this season, but they don't want to baby them either. Mackanin said starters like Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and possibly others could pitch 200 innings this season, if necessary. No, the other J.P.: Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford is not the only J.P. in camp. J.P. Arencibia has played 467 games and hit 80 home runs in his six-year career. He went 2-for-3 with one home run on Tuesday, providing much of the Phillies' offense. The Phillies signed Arencibia to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training in December. He figures to provide catching depth in the event something happens to Carlos Ruiz or Cameron Rupp. Arencibia served as the DH on Tuesday. "It's funny," Mackanin said, "when we were exchanging lineups, [Blue Jays manager John] Gibbons came up to shake my hand. Gibby looked at [Arencibia] and said, 'You're DHing?' Yeah, he swung the bat well." Asche still mending: Outfielder Cody Asche remains sidelined with a sore oblique. Mackanin said Asche is day to day and could begin some outfield work on Wednesday. "He needs to get in there and start swinging the bat," Mackanin said. "He's kind of down in the dumps right now because he can't get on the field."

The Dangers Of The BP Homer – The Home Run Derby is still a full four months away, but MLB's biggest sluggers have been showcasing their extreme power early in Spring Training by belting home runs into stadium parking lots and dinging up cars. Nelson Cruz did it. Russell Martin did it. Kyle Schwarber did it twice. And now Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco has gotten in on the fun, but Freddy Galvis probably isn't so thrilled about that ... considering it was his windshield that was smashed. "Franco got me," Galvis said with a smile, referring to his teammate Maikel Franco. Fortunately, he also said that insurance will cover the damage. This isn't the first time a baseball has wrecked a vehicle parked outside the Phillies' clubhouse. Parking is a hazard as balls from Bright House Field and from the Carpenter Complex can land there easily. But parking there is a practice started long ago by veterans. "I don't know, man," Galvis said when asked why players park there. "We'll have to move down, all the way to center field. You've got to." The kicker here is that Galvis wasn't even parked in his designated parking spot.

The Dick Allen Debate Continues – During the 2014 Winter Meetings in San Diego, the Golden Era Committee met to consider a list of candidates for the Hall of Fame. When the results were announced, Dick Allen (and former Twins great Tony Oliva) had fallen one vote short. That brought renewed attention to one of the most prodigious sluggers in history. Also one of the most complex, enigmatic and controversial. "God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen" by Villanova law professor Mitchell Nathanson is the first biography of the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner and the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player Award winner. It's also a work of impressive scholarship and gracious prose that attempts to untangle the myth from the reality and, even more ambitiously, to explain why such a magnificently talented player clashed repeatedly with front office personnel, managers, the media and fans throughout his career. Even the title hints at the paradox. At first glance, it appears to be a description of Allen's formidable skills. Instead, it is a quote from one of his vexed managers, George Myatt of the Phillies: "I believe God Almighty Hisself would have trouble handling Richie Allen." Nathanson begins by establishing a counterintuitive fact, that Allen was shy and, in some ways, insecure. What was often viewed as moodiness by those who didn't know him well was simply a function of being uncomfortable in the spotlight. Partly as a result, Allen developed a reputation for being lazy. Even his managers and coaches didn't know he often got his work in early in the morning or even away from the park because he was more at ease when nobody was watching. Circumstances exacerbated Allen's troubles. He signed with the Phillies, the last team in the league to integrate, an organization that had never had an African-American superstar. In 1964, Allen was farmed out to the organization's Triple-A affiliate in Little Rock, Ark., which was in the throes of early integration. Along the way, Allen became distrustful of the entire structure of pre-free agency baseball. It's probably not surprising that he discerned a plantation mentality. In fact, there's a remarkable passage in which Phillies owner Bob Carpenter attempts to negotiate with Allen by explaining that players were property controlled by management. What didn't register at the time was that he viewed that as an issue for all players, black and white. Allen was also an individualist at a time when conformity was the norm, both in baseball and society at large. And he never forgot a slight. His relationship with the Phillies began to sour even before he made his Major League debut, when the team left him vulnerable to a waiver claim. That, the constant position changes and the contract battles represented disrespect. When Allen stood up for himself, he was fined and suspended, which only reinforced his sense of being treated unfairly. It's all here. The race riot outside Connie Mack Stadium in North Philadelphia in August 1964 that turned many fans against Allen, even though he was largely apolitical. The fight with teammate Frank Thomas that stoked resentment when the older white player, who hit him with a bat, was released. Writing cryptic messages to booing fans in the infield dirt. Allen's willingness to push the limits by skipping batting practice or even games, the disappearances, the resulting trades, the turmoil that seemed to follow wherever he went. Was Allen a malcontent or just ahead of his time? The tendency here is to view the carefully collected anecdotal evidence as an explanation rather than an excuse for his behavior. Allen certainly could have helped himself by being more willing to get along. Instead, he remained true to himself and stoically accepted the consequences. There's a certain nobility to that. Unsurprisingly, Allen declined to be interviewed for the book, just as he refused to campaign for the Hall of Fame. But he wrote an autobiography, and there is a mountain of source material, all buttressed by followup interviews with dozens who followed his career closely. It's worth noting that one of those, respected former Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stan Hochman, pushed hard for Allen's election by the Golden Era Committee. Allen is eligible to be considered for the Hall of Fame again in 2017. The hunch here is that if each of the electors reads this book, he will make it easily this time.

Today In Phils History - Time to return from the winter slumber. On this day, the Phillies have opened camp in three separate locations throughout their history In Hot Springs, Arkansas (1911), Leesburg, Florida (1922), and Miami Beach, Florida (1946) the latter of the three being the last year that they would hold spring training somewhere other than Clearwater. Today is also the birthday of two former All Stars who played for the Phillies in Jim Konstanty (1917) and Ron Gant (1965).

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have begun the spring with a 0-1 record (1-1 if you include the exhibition game against the University of Tampa). With the Phillies having finished the 2015 season with a spectacularly awful record of 63-99 it will be interesting to see what kind of team new President Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak put on the field. At the same time I am definitely looking forward to the games against Boston with former GM Ruben Amaro on the field. Given the departures, lingering contracts, a history of injuries, bipolar performances, and unproven talent, it should, at the very least, be an interesting season for the Phillies. Who knows, maybe they can avoid 100 losses... hopefully by more than one game!

DR Updates And Spring Training Invites

PHILS PHACTS:

Adding Depth To The Competition – The Phillies on Wednesday announced they had signed five players to Minor League contracts with non-roster invitations to Spring Training. They signed infielders Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Jackson and right-handers Frank Herrmann, Chris Leroux and Reinier Roibal. Burriss, 30, spent last season in the Nationals' system. He hit .279 with a .341 on-base percentage with Triple-A Syracuse. Burriss played five games for Washington. He has played 282 big league games, spending 2008-12 with the Giants. Burriss has a career .578 OPS in 806 plate appearances. Jackson, 27, appeared in 22 games last season with the Angels. He has 39 plate appearances in 42 games in parts of three seasons with the Cardinals and Angels. Herrmann, 31, has appeared in 95 big league games with the Indians, but none since 2012. He went 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA in 44 appearances last season with Triple-A Salt Lake and Indianapolis. Leroux, 31, spent the majority of last season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Colorado Springs. He posted a 3.90 ERA in 85 1/3 innings. Leroux has a 6.03 ERA in 65 career appearances with the Marlins, Pirates and Yankees. Roibal, 26, had a 1.64 ERA in 31 games with Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. He is 11-6 with a 2.62 ERA in his four-year Minor League career.

DR Updates – In the future, the Phillies imagine a hulking corner outfielder in the middle of their lineup, hitting home runs like Ryan Howard in his prime. But Jhailyn Ortiz is a long way away from the Majors. The Phillies signed Ortiz to a $4 million signing bonus in July. He is 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and strong. But Ortiz also is just 16, which means he is several years away from reaching Philadelphia. Phils player development director Joe Jordan recently visited the Dominican Republic and got another look at Ortiz, who MLB.com ranked as the eighth-best prospect in this year's international free-agent class. "I believe we saw a lot of what our scouts saw and liked," Jordan said. "He had a really good week. I really believe that the kid has a chance to be a good hitter. He's 16 years old, but he did some things that I thought were a little advanced. He had a good two-strike approach. He really hit some balls hard. "Balls just come off his bat differently than almost all of the kids down there. It was a very impressive week, but we've got a lot of work to do." Of course, handing a $4 million signing bonus to a 16-year-old kid is a considerable risk. But former Phillies president and general manager Pat Gillick frequently said teams cannot be afraid to take such risks. Can't win big without occasionally betting big. "We just need some time with him," Jordan said about Ortiz. "He can really throw. He's got an above-average arm. He's going to have accuracy. He's athletic for his size. Over the next couple years, we're going to reshape him a little bit, reshape his body. He's just a young kid that we've got to firm up, but he is athletic for his size. I saw a lot of good things." Alfaro ready to go: Catcher Jorge Alfaro is scheduled to leave Clearwater, Fla., this week and head home to Colombia for a few days before heading to Venezuela to play winter ball. The Phillies acquired Alfaro, 22, in July in the Cole Hamels trade. He is considered the Phils' No. 4 prospect and the No. 59 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. Alfaro spent most of the season recovering from surgery on his left ankle, but he is ready to play. "He looks good," Jordan said. "He is ready to go. We need to get him on the field. He needs to play for a while and knock off some rust. Physically, he has everything you're looking for, but we need to see him play."

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 Fall To Frat Boys

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Phils Fall To Spartans 6-2

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg downplayed the end result Sunday afternoon at Bright House Field. The Phillies scheduled an exhibition against the University of Tampa, which is the No. 1 Division II baseball team in the country. The club wanted to give its younger players and non-roster invitees some work against the wide-eyed kids before opening the Grapefruit League season Tuesday against the Yankees. Philadelphia lost to the amateurs, 6-2. "Well, you know," Sandberg said, asked if it was embarrassing to lose to a college team, "it kind of shows where we're at as far as seeing players and workouts and seeing the work that needs to be done. I think it just emphasizes that." Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and other Phillies veterans never touched the field, but the youngest player on the field for the Phils (Odubel Herrera, who was born Dec. 29, 1991) was older than every player on the Spartans. They also have years of professional experience in the Minor Leagues. In a twist, the Spartans took the lead in the seventh inning with a big assist from Andrew Amaro, the nephew of Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. The Spartans first baseman worked a bases-loaded, two-out, nine-pitch walk against right-hander Nefi Ogando to score the tying run. "It was one of my coolest baseball games ever," said Amaro, who is from Bensalem, Pa., and attended Penn Charter. "Obviously my name means something in the Philadelphia area. It was just cool to go out there and compete and have a pretty good game against my favorite hometown team." Amaro said there was no trash talking with his uncle leading up to the exhibition. "My uncle said he didn't even know about the game until four days ago," he said. Right-hander Hector Neris replaced Ogando, but served up a grand slam to Giovanny Alfonzo to give the Spartans the four-run lead. "That was awesome," Amaro said. "Giovanny is on Cloud 9. He said that was the coolest experience of his life." It wasn't for the Phillies. "You just get some of the cobwebs out," Sandberg said. "It kind of shows after some practices where we're at on certain things."

TUESDAY’S EXHIBITION GAME:

Phillies take on the Yankees at home.

PHILS PHACTS:

Utley Out – Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will not be in the lineup for Tuesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Yankees at Bright House Field. Utley sprained his right ankle in January and has not fully recovered. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said the Phillies are going to "ease him in a little down the road." Sandberg declined to say if Ryan Howard or any other regulars will be in Tuesday's lineup.

Beat The Clock – For the first time in Major League Baseball, when the Phillies faced the University of Tampa at Bright House Field on Sunday, the time between innings and pitching changes was timed. There was a large clock immediately to the left of the batter's eye in center field and a smaller one on the façade behind home plate. The goal is to improve the pace of play by eliminating time between the end of the break and the resumption of play. It is one of three major initiatives MLB has announced for the 2015 season involving the tempo of games. Immediately after the third out of each half-inning, the countdown began from 2:25; it will be 2:45 for nationally-televised games. With 40 seconds remaining, the next batter is announced and his walkup music begins. With 30 seconds, the pitcher throws his final warmup. At 25 seconds the batter's walkup music ends and the batter is required to be in the box and the pitcher ready to deliver with between five and 20 seconds. At least, that's the way it's supposed to work. And, for the most part, it went pretty smoothly Sunday. "It kind of went unnoticed for the most part," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "I really didn't notice it that much at all. When the time was right for the hitter to walk up there, it kind of happened naturally. So I don't think there was a lot of stress about it. It just kind of flowed." Which, of course, is the goal. Since the actual time devoted to commercials between innings is 2:05 (2:25 for national games) the goal is to have the first pitch of the inning delivered before the clock actually runs out. And that was the case going into the bottom of the first when University of Tampa right-hander David Heintz's first pitch to Phillies leadoff hitter Odubel Herrera came with 15 seconds to spare. Not every changeover went as flawlessly but there weren't many snags considering that details of the changes were made public Feb. 20. Phillies starter Paul Clemens said he had no problem with the new rules. "I've always gotten to the mound quickly," he said. "I want to get on there and go. That way the opposing team isn't able to sit there and settle in. So I've always -- after the third out is made by my offense -- I've always gotten right back out there." Two other pace of play adjustments stipulate that batters must, under most circumstances, keep one foot in the box between pitches, and managers will no longer come onto the field to issue challenges. Those changes had little impact in this game. Since the umpires were not a standard MLB crew -- behind home plate was Gary Glover, who works on the Bright House Field grounds crew -- Sandberg didn't remind his hitters that they aren't supposed to step out between pitches. He'll do that before Tuesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Yankees. Also, since instant replay was not used, the tweak on how challenges will be issued wasn't a factor, either. That, plus the fact that there were 10 pitching changes, makes it difficult to read anything into the fact that the time of game was 2:57. Still, it was the first step on the latest significant update in the way MLB games will be played.

Rotation Competition – Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez said pitching is pitching and he will pitch happily anywhere. Of course, he would be especially happy in the Phillies' rotation. Gonzalez, 28, wants to start, and the Phillies are giving him a chance this spring. They open their Grapefruit League schedule Tuesday against the Yankees at Bright House Field, and Gonzalez will be competing with David Buchanan for the fifth spot in a rotation that figures to include Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams. "I've always been a starter," Gonzalez said through a translator Sunday. "That's important. I'm used to that. I've always been one." Gonzalez makes his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., and there will be plenty of eyes on him. He is in the second year of a three-year, $12 million contract, which has not yet panned out. "It didn't go as well as I wanted last year," Gonzalez said. "This year I'm much better prepared, and much more mentally focused on what I have to do. The setbacks last season … I thought I was physically ready and I'd have a setback. If it wasn't one thing it was another. This year, all that stuff is out of the way." The Phillies and Gonzalez originally agreed to a six-year, $48 million contract in July 2013, with the Phillies expecting him to immediately jump into the 2014 rotation as a legitimate No. 3 behind Hamels and Lee. But Gonzalez lost $36 million in the deal following a physical, which revealed shoulder issues. Those issues popped up last season, which precipitated a move to the bullpen. The club felt Gonzalez's shoulder would hold up better there. Gonzalez pitched pretty well in relief. He had a 3.14 ERA in 11 appearances with Double-A Reading and a 1.65 ERA in 12 appearances with Triple-A Lehigh Valley before he joined the Phillies in September. He allowed nine hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings that month. But Gonzalez believes he can be a better starter, and he expressed those desires to the Phillies after the season. They could use the help. The Phils have pretty decent bullpen depth, but should they trade Hamels or Lee at some point, they are remarkably thin in the rotation. So Gonzalez's health and durability are important. He said his shoulder is finally 100 percent healthy. "Hard work," he said about his offseason regimen. If Gonzalez can stay healthy and throw well, he could work his way into the rotation, although Buchanan enters spring as the favorite based upon a solid rookie season. But certainly the Phillies and Gonzalez hope he eventually lives up to the hype he brought with him in 2013. "I don't have to prove anything to anybody," Gonzalez said. "I just have to go out and play my game and not worry about what other people think."

Bringing Confidence To Bullpen Competition – Paul Clemens is not afraid to say he has a great arm and two "hellacious" pitches. But he will need to pitch well this spring to make the Phillies' seven-man bullpen, which has three openings behind Jonathan Papelbon, Ken Giles, Jake Diekman and Justin De Fratus. Clemens, who signed in the offseason as a non-roster Invitee, will need to improve upon the 5.51 ERA he posted in 48 appearances the past two seasons with Houston. It is not impossible for Clemens, who pitched two perfect innings in Saturday's 6-2 exhibition loss to the University of Tampa, to make the team. Jeff Manship made the Opening Day roster last season as a non-roster invitee and Manship does not throw nearly as hard as Clemens, who hit 96 mph on the radar gun in the first inning. "Some pitching coaches tell me how incredible my arm is and that I could play for a long time, so I think I've been showing some guys what I bring to the table," Clemens said. "I had a couple really good conversations with front office and some guys around here, so it's definitely motivating. "I feel like I've got two pretty hellacious pitches -- my fastball and my curveball. I feel like I could do a multitude of things in this game." So where has Clemens fallen short? "Command in both of [my pitches] all the time," he said. "You don't get away with much and I feel like if you go watch video of me, you go see some of the better hitters in the game, I've punched tickets on three straight pitches. I've proven to the guys who need to be proven to what I can do. "Sometimes I think I get too overzealous with my fastball and I just pound it and pound it and pound it. So picking my spots more, being smarter. You can't really challenge guys at this level. Once in a while you've got to pick your spots, but you can't challenge too many guys, even the guys you don't really know their names as much. You've still got to pitch."

ON THE RECORD:

The Phillies will look to rebound this season from a 73-89 record last year. While uncertainty abounds, there is little question that the franchise is in rebuild mode based on the moves and statements that have been made during the offseason. The only question that remains is whether or not the young and veteran talent on the team can work together to disprove Gillick’s predictions either this year or next.