Can MacKanin and Franco Carry Spring Success Into The Regular Season?

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: Phillies Tie Blue Jays 4-4

Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada is rounding into form after opening Spring Training with a lower back injury. He pitched 3 2/3 innings Friday night in a 4-4 tie with the Phillies in a Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field. Estrada, who made his second Grapefruit League start, allowed two hits, one run, two walks and struck out six. He allowed the run in the third inning when Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco hit his eighth home run of Spring Training. Franco leads the Majors in homers this spring. "Hurry up and get to April," Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson said about Franco's latest homer. "I don't think he'll stop, but hurry up and get here." "I felt good," Estrada said after throwing 59 pitches, 39 strikes. "I still have to catch up a little bit, my body felt pretty good, it's just a comfort level that I need to get to. It's not quite there yet, especially early on, and I felt the same way the first time out ... but the more pitches I threw, the better I felt." Blue Jays first baseman Casey Kotchman hit a two-run homer to right field in the fourth inning against Hellickson, who was recently named the Phillies' Opening Day starter. Blue Jays outfielder Darrell Ceciliani belted a solo shot -- his third home run of the spring -- off Daniel Stumpf in the sixth inning. The Phillies tied the game with a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh against left-hander Brett Cecil, with outfielder Peter Bourjos delivering a two-run homer.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Bourjos hit a two-run home run off the tiki bar in left field in the seventh. It was his second homer of the spring.
• Left-hander Daniel Stumpf allowed a solo homer to Darrell Ceciliani in the sixth. Stumpf is a Rule 5 Draft pick and is fighting for a bullpen job. He has a 4.35 ERA in eight appearances.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies are using Saturday afternoon's game against the Tigers at Bright House Field to get a longer look at some of their relief pitchers in camp. Left-hander James Russell (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will start. A slew of relievers are expected to follow. Russell is in camp as a non-roster invitee and has a chance to win one of the final jobs in the Phillies' bullpen. 

PHILS PHACTS:

Herrera Returns – The Phillies are breathing a little easier about their outfield situation. Odubel Herrera played Friday night in his first Grapefruit League game since March 12 because of a bruised left middle finger. He went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in a 4-4 tie with the Blue Jays at Bright House Field, but made a nice catch at the center-field wall in the first inning. Still, Herrera needs to get his timing down at the plate before Opening Day on April 4. "I felt fine," Herrera said through an interpreter. "The swings that I made were perfectly OK. They didn't hurt. I was a little behind in timing. That's the only thing I have to admit." Herrera's return to form is important. He hit .297 with 30 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 41 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .762 OPS in 537 plate appearances last season as a rookie. He hit .326 with an .834 OPS from May 29 through the end of the season. The Phillies have nobody to replace his bat in the lineup. The projected Opening Day outfield is Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel. Cedric Hunter, David Lough and Emmanuel Burriss seem to be the top candidates to take two bench jobs as outfielders. The Phillies are shorthanded following injuries to Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche. "I believe that as time goes by I'm going to get better," Herrera said. "I still have one week until the season, so I'm good." Herrera said he hopes to play in as many games as possible before Opening Day to ensure he is ready.

Hanging Around – Phillies general manager Matt Klentak first approached Pete Mackanin this week about a new contract. Negotiations, if they can be called that, moved briskly. "He wanted to give me a few days to read [the contract] and make sure everything was in there that I liked," Mackanin said Friday afternoon at Bright House Field. "I only needed about 10 seconds. I said I'm good without reading it." The Phillies announced Friday that Mackanin agreed to a two-year contract that carries him through the 2017 season. The deal includes a 2018 club option. Mackanin, 64, had been working on a one-year contract with a 2017 club option, which he signed in September after replacing Ryne Sandberg, who quit in June. "This contract rewards a manager who has been in baseball for 47 years and has earned this opportunity," Klentak said. "Pete and I have developed a very strong working relationship over the last five months, and I'm absolutely confident that he's the right person to lead this organization as we grow forward." It says something that Klentak tore up Mackanin's old deal and handed him a new one before he had the opportunity to watch him manage in the regular season. The Phillies signed Mackanin to his original contract in part because they did not want to immediately burden Klentak with a lengthy managerial search. Many believed Mackanin could be one and done. After all, GMs often like to have their own manager in the dugout. Klentak also could have simply picked up Mackanin's original option through 2017 and evaluated him from there. "We could have," Klentak said, "but I thought he earned this. We wanted to make sure it's clear that the one-year deal he signed before it's done, it's ripped up. This is a commitment we're making to the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, at least through the 2017 season. This is a clean start between Pete and I. What happened before, that is done." Mackanin got that clean start because Klentak immediately took to him. "I had never met Pete until the beginning of the [organizational] meetings my second day on the job," Klentak said. "We spent the offseason, we talked a lot. At times he was in Philadelphia we'd get together. We spent a lot of time on the phone talking baseball philosophy, baseball strategy, players we either had acquired or were considering acquiring, talking about the way Pete was going to run Spring Training and our relationship has evolved over time. ... What I wanted to see was how that played in a real life setting here in Spring Training with a camp full of players. Really, Pete couldn't have shown me anything more. He and I are very much aligned on the culture and the environment that we're trying to build. So we could have waited into April, or into May, or whenever, to make the decision, but I didn't really see any sense in waiting." Mackanin has been a good fit for a rebuilding team full of young players. He has an easygoing personality, which makes him approachable and relatable to players. He communicates well, which had been an issue with Sandberg. But Mackanin can be firm when needed, too. "I'm going to be who I am," he said. "I feel I have the right amount of discipline and the right amount of energy and the right approach to handle it, especially the younger players. So far up until this point in time I think everybody is on board. In fact, I know everybody is on board. Things have gone extremely smoothly this spring. I don't want to look at it as if I have the hammer, but there are times when you have to lay down the law. And there are times you have to encourage and pat them on the back. That's what managing is. Managing is more than X's and O's during the game." Mackanin served as an interim manager with the Pirates (2005) and Reds ('07), but he never got the full-time gig until Phillies president Andy MacPhail signed him to the deal in September. Mackanin often said he had given up the dream of being a full-time manager until the Phillies made it happen. "I couldn't be more grateful," Mackanin said. "This is a great opportunity. Now that I'm the captain of the ship, I want to keep the guys pointed in the right direction. So this is a great day, a great moment for me, and especially for my wife who has hung around with me for 40 years. I think she's very deserving of this opportunity."

Out Clauses Approaching – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has a new contract, so the only thing left this spring is, well, to finalize the 25-man roster. The biggest battle remains the No. 5 starter, which is between right-hander Vince Velasquez and left-hander Adam Morgan. But there are bullpen and bench jobs at stake, too. Phillies general manager Matt Klentak, Mackanin and others are talking regularly about how the roster could look come Opening Day on April 4. "We have some decisions coming up in the next week, and we know it," Klentak said. "We talk about communication. I think the important thing is, whichever way we end up going as we break camp, it's going to be something that's been talked about for weeks among many people. There will not be any surprises." The Phillies will have to make a few decisions within the next few days. Right-hander Edward Mujica has an out clause for Saturday. Right-hander Ernesto Frieri has an out clause for Thursday. Other veteran relievers in camp have out clauses during the season: Andrew Bailey (May 1) and James Russell (June 1). If the Phillies do not add Mujica to the 25-man roster by the end of the day Saturday, he can request his release. The Phillies have 48 hours to add him to the roster at that point, but it looks like Mujica has a strong line on a job anyway. He allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings in Friday night's 4-4 tie with the Blue Jays at Bright House Field. Mujica has a 2.45 ERA in six appearances. He has allowed four hits, two runs, two walks with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. "I feel pretty good, my arm, my body," Mujica said. "I don't know anything yet. There's some nerves because this is the first time in my career I'm in this situation. This spring I've tried to show them what I can do. They know what I can do, whatever situation in the bullpen. I'm healthy and ready to go." Frieri's status is not nearly as certain. He has a 7.94 ERA in five appearances. He has allowed eight hits, six runs (five earned), two walks and has struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. "We have to submit the rosters by that Sunday, the day before the opener," Klentak said. "We'll take as long as we need to make the right decisions."

Focusing On Small Ball – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin had his team successfully execute three squeezes in four games recently. He said the Phillies need to do those things to compete with more potent offensive teams. So he had to like what he saw in the seventh inning when Freddy Galvis scored from second base on an infield single from Cesar Hernandez. The run tied the game, 4-4.

Today In Phils History - Phillies manager Red Dooin had to intercept federal marshalls on this day in 1914 to convince them to serve catch Bill Killefer with a summons (stemming from a federal league case over his services) at the team hotel after the exhibition double header. 70 years later, the Phillies parted ways with the playoff hero from the previous season as Gary Matthews was sent to the Cubs. 

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have an impressive record this spring… 14-7-3 (15-7-3 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!

Cubs Shock The World, Dodgers Force Game 5

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

History was made last night as the Cubs continued to win, eliminating a Cardinals team that won a MLB best 100 games during the regular season. The right pieces seem to be falling into place and performing… how far can this team go? In the other game of the night, Clayton Kershaw dominated the Mets forcing a decisive game 5 matchup to determine who will be facing the Cubs in the NLCS. This postseason is just starting to get interesting.  

Cubs Eliminate Cardinals 6-4

For the first time in the history of Wrigley Field, the Cubs clinched a postseason series at home, edging the mighty Cardinals, 6-4, in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. The Cubs now can party as they wait to see whether they'll face the Mets or the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series, which opens on Saturday. "We beat the Cardinals -- these guys are like our older brothers and they've been kicking sand in our face for 100 years," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. "There's a lot of similarities to when [the Red Sox] knocked off the Yankees in '04. This one just gives us a nice date on Saturday." Javier Baez joined the young Cubs power corps with a three-run home run, Anthony Rizzo delivered a tiebreaking solo shot with two outs in the sixth and Kyle Schwarber nearly reached Lake Michigan with a leadoff blast in the seventh to spark Chicago to victory and a 3-1 Series win. Despite posting the best record in baseball, St. Louis, which had reached the NLCS the last four years in a row, now heads home. "It's disappointing," said Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, whose comeback season ended with two scoreless innings in relief on Tuesday. "We don't set our sights in Spring Training for getting in the postseason just [to] go home in the first round. That's never what we aspire to do or be. It's painful when you lose, for sure. I can't get away from all the things we overcame this year to even get here. But losing is losing. It's never easy. There's nothing we can do. We have no regrets. We absolutely went about this thing the right way. We left it all on the line, and we got beat." Baez was filling in for injured shortstop Addison Russell, and all manager Joe Maddon wanted was solid glove work from the 22-year-old. Baez added some punch as the Cubs became the first team in postseason history to have four players 23 or younger hit home runs, joining Kris Bryant, Schwarber and Jorge Soler, who each connected on Monday in Game 3. Baez's blast came off Cardinals right-hander John Lackey, who was starting on short rest in the postseason for the third time in his career. "He hit a tough pitch, especially that time of the day with the shadows," Bryant said of Baez's blast. "I couldn't see the ball my first at-bat and he goes up there and hits a three-run homer." Rizzo's home run came off an 0-2 pitch from Kevin Siegrist, and was his second in as many games against the Cardinals' lefty. Rizzo is the first player in Cubs postseason history to smack a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning or later of a series-clinching game. "You can't pitch like that in the postseason," said Siegrist, who had kept Rizzo without an extra-base hit in 22 regular-season plate appearances. "There's no excuse for that. I'll learn from it. I'll be better next year for it." This was only the third time the Cubs have won consecutive postseason games at home. They also did so in 1907 in the World Series against the Tigers and again in 1984 against the Padres in the NLCS. Chicago entered this postseason 0-11 all time in any series in which they lost Game 1. "This is a team that was as impressive to watch from Day One as any team I've ever been around, and just a collection of skill and fight and character and just all the way across the board from the veteran guys leading to the young guys figuring out a way to contribute," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It was a special group." Both starting pitchers -- the Cubs' Jason Hammel and Lackey -- completed just three innings, and this marked the second time a team has clinched an NLDS in which the starter hasn't completed more than three innings. Wainwright exited after 2 1/3 innings in 2012 as the Cards defeated the Nationals in Game 5. Chicago scored 14 runs combined in Games 3-4, and all but one came on a home run. The other was courtesy of pitcher Hammel's RBI single in the second inning of Game 4.

Dodgers Dominate Mets 3-1

Desperately needing a win to stave off elimination, Clayton Kershaw thrust his postseason troubles aside with a brilliant performance Tuesday in National League Division Series Game 4, firing seven innings of three-hit ball in a 3-1 Dodgers win over the Mets. "I don't think anyone was going to outpitch Clayton Kershaw tonight," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "I wish we could have won here, obviously so that we could prepare for the next round and do it in front of our fans. But Kershaw was just a beast tonight. It was going to be tough to beat him when he was on like he was. Hopefully we can take care of business in L.A." Pitching on three days' rest, Kershaw battled early before settling into one of the better postseason grooves of his career in the middle innings. After Daniel Murphy homered with one out in the fourth, Kershaw did not let another runner past first base. He struck out six of seven batters during one stretch, snapping his five-game postseason losing streak.

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

American League Division Series

Kansas City and Houston tied 2-2

Game 5: Wednesday, October 14, at 8:00 PM

Toronto and Texas tied 2-2

Game 5: Wednesday, October 14, at 4:00 PM

National League Division Series

Chicago Eliminated St. Louis 3-1

NLCS Game 1: Tuesday, October 13, at 4:30 PM

New York and Los Angeles tied 2-2

Game 5: Thursday, October 15, at 8:00 PM

National League Championship Series

Chicago at TBD

Game 1: Saturday, October 17, at TBD

American League Championship Series

TBD at TBD

Game 1: Friday, October 16, at TBD

PHILS PHACTS:

Breaking Ground – Four months after the Phillies dedicated four new and renovated baseball fields at FDR Park, there was a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday for the next phase of its Urban Youth Academy: an indoor-outdoor facility in South Philadelphia. A 7,500 square foot extension will be added to the existing building to create a new training facility. Parts of the existing Marian Anderson Recreation Center will be renovated to create space for fitness training, educational and vocational programs. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Mayor Michael Nutter, Major League Baseball's vice president of youth and facility development Darrell Miller, Phillies chairman Dave Montgomery, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and Deputy Mayor Michael DiBeradinis. "This is an incredible example of the city partnering with community organizations and the private sector to renovate a recreation center in the community that lacks abundant public play spaces. The new classrooms, fitness center and equipment at the [center] will benefit 8,000 players receiving free baseball and softball instruction on a regular basis," Nutter said. "The city supports the Urban Youth Academy's mission to use baseball and softball to teach young people about teamwork and responsibility, all while teaching them to be active and healthy in these spaces. By providing our young people with a fun and fulfilling environment in their own neighborhood, we're also giving them the tools to learn, to connect and to grow with successful, caring adults who give back to the community on a regular basis." Philadelphia joins Compton, Houston, New Orleans and Cincinnati as cities with UYAs. A facility in Kansas City has also been announced. Montgomery noted that leftfielder Pat Burrell, who last played for the Phillies in 2008, contributed seed money and that current first baseman Ryan Howard and his wife, Krystle, stepped up when additional funding was needed. Also contributing was the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, a joint effort between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association. "These projects take time, and Philadelphia was no exception," Miller said. "We wanted to do something here in the baddest way. You have to understand, the Phillies have been in the trenches 20 years. They've been committed from the very beginning to make sure kids have an opportunity to play baseball. "We now have the opportunity to take it to the next level. We're not doing anything different. We're just going to do it bigger and better and we're going to have a lot of fun with it. The facilities are going to be big league." Montgomery also introduced Dr. Mahlene Duckett, whose father, Mahlon, was a Philadelphia native, a Negro League star and the last surviving member of the Philadelphia Stars. When he passed away at the age of 92 this summer, the family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Philles' Urban Youth Academy. Miller became passionate when discussing the impact these academies can have. "Major League Baseball wants to make sure every child who wants to pick up a bat or a ball or a glove and wants to play catch, or play the game of baseball or girls' softball, gets an opportunity to play," he said. "Our youth deserve tremendous facilities. They deserve the opportunity to play the game at the highest possible level. They deserve great coaching. They deserve mentoring. They deserve the opportunity to play the greatest game ever created. It's a hard game to play. It takes a tremendous amount of time and dedication. It's all about work. It's all about individual determination. It's the fabric of what our great nation has been built on. And that's hard work. That's what makes great baseball players. That's what makes great softball players. That's what makes Major League contributors to our society." He caught himself, stopped and smiled. "I'm preaching," he noted. "But the Pope was just here and I'm following his lead. We have a lot to do on this field and on this front throughout America."

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 season, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.