Competitions Should Be Interesting In Spring Training

PHILS PHACTS:

Interesting Group of Invitees – The Phillies signed five players to Minor League contracts on Monday, and one of them could pitch in the late innings next season. Right-handers Ernesto Frieri, Gregory Infante and Greg Burke; catcher J.P. Arencibia; and infielder Angelys Nina will be non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Frieri has closing experience, so he seems like a candidate to pitch in the eighth or ninth inning following the Phils trading Ken Giles to the Astros on Saturday. Of course, Frieri, 30, must first earn a spot on the 25-man roster. He went 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in 22 appearances last season with the Rays. Frieri has a 3.55 ERA in 298 appearances in his career, which includes 73 saves. The Phillies signed right-hander David Hernandez to a one-year, $3.9 million contract last week. Hernandez has some experience as a closer and might be considered the front-runner to close in 2016. Burke, 33, is from Marlton, N.J. He spent last season in the Blue Jays' system, posting a 2.63 ERA in 48 appearances with Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo. He has a 4.77 ERA in 80 career appearances in the big leagues, last pitching for the Mets in 2013. Infante, 28, had a 3.18 ERA in 51 appearances last season with Buffalo and New Hampshire. He made five appearances at the big league level with the White Sox in 2010. Arencibia, 29, hit .227 with 17 doubles, 22 home runs and 65 RBIs last season with Triple-A Durham, which is part of the Rays' farm system. He posted a .921 OPS in 24 games with Tampa Bay. Nina, 27, hit .300 with 21 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 18 stolen bases in 114 games during 2015 with Triple-A Albuquerque, which is part of the Rockies' system. He played second base, shortstop, third base and left field.

Pitching Was The Motivator – Phillies general manager Matt Klentak never said he wanted to trade Ken Giles, but he always said he needed to be opportunistic. Klentak sensed a chance to improve the Phillies last week, when the team finalized the trade that sent Giles and Minor League infielder Jonathan Arauz to the Astros for pitchers Vincent Velasquez, Mark Appel, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz. It was Klentak's third trade of the offseason, with each one geared toward boosting the team's starting pitching. "This was an opportunity we couldn't pass up," Klentak said Monday in a conference call with reporters. "We feel like we've made our club better, both in the short and long term. We hate to lose a player like Ken Giles. I've said all along that we're trying to add good players, but in this case, it's an opportunity for us to add five starting-pitching candidates to our system. And it improves the state of our organization moving forward. That's a very exciting thing for us." In the end, it simply made sense for the rebuilding Phils to trade Giles' 65 innings a season for the opportunity to develop two or three pitchers who could pitch 180-200 innings a season. "I don't think finding an elite closer is easy by any stretch," Klentak said. "I don't minimize that at all. We will do everything we can to make sure we are locking down the end of a game as well as we can. But the difficulty of putting together a rotation and gathering enough inventory to get through the season and multiple seasons that we can control for a long time -- that is really hard to do and that is a huge factor in this trade. You are able to turn one reliever -- albeit a really, really good one -- into five starting-pitching candidates." The Phillies certainly created some competition for the 2016 starting rotation. They previously acquired veterans Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton in a couple of trades for mid-level prospects. Those two will be in the rotation come Opening Day. Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Velasquez might be the favorites to earn the other three rotation jobs, with Oberholtzer, Adam Morgan, David Buchanan, Alec Asher and Severino Gonzalez in the mix. Top prospects Appel, Jake Thompson and Zach Elfin figure to top a talented and promising Triple-A rotation. "For us, it's all about balance," Klentak said. "I think no team ever gets through a season with five starting pitchers. That's just not realistic. So we knew we wanted to add to the inventory, both for the short term and the long term. And I think the balance component comes into play, because we've got two veterans in Hellickson and Morton, we've got some kids in Eickhoff and Velasquez and Nola that have gotten a taste of the big leagues, but haven't pitched a full season. We've got a stabilizer in Oberholtzer. And we've got several others, both on the 40-man and off, that are going to be competing either for jobs early on the season or later in the season as their development continues. "Organizationally, that's been a goal of ours. It will remain a goal of ours, to always have starting-pitching depth." Klentak praised Oberholtzer, who has a 3.94 ERA in 45 appearances (42 starts) in his big league career. It is worth noting that Oberholtzer is out of options, which puts him in a strong position to make the pitching staff. Klentak and Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow had been discussing a Giles trade for the past three or four weeks, and those talks intensified last week at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. They agreed to a 4-for-1 trade on Wednesday, but it became a 5-for-2 on Saturday (with Appel and Harold Arauz added to the Phillies' package with outfielder Derek Fisher subtracted) because sources said the Phils had concerns about a physical of one of the players involved. Of course, the question now is, "Who will close in 2016?" Internal candidates include the recently signed David Hernandez and Ernesto Frieri. But Klentak also hinted the club could sign a free agent in the near future. "We don't have to decide that in December," Klentak said about the 2016 closer. "We'll see. Every closer at some point was a first-time closer. Someone will be pitching the ninth for us. I'm going to be honest, since the news of the Giles trade broke, we've had a number of players and agents that have reached out to us to express interest in the opportunity."

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.

Marvel Superheroes Prevail In Gotham

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

The Mets returned to Citi Field and they looked comfortable being at home as Captain America came through at the plate and Thor dropped the hammer from the mound. The once lopsided series now looks to be a race to the finish but the questions still remain as to whether the Mets offense can have another night like they did last night or if the experience, grittiness, and textbook execution by the Royals will resurface in game 4? Seems like someone will have a trick and the other will have a treat tonight!

Mets Romp Royals 9-3

The largest Mets crowd in Citi Field history, 44,781, was already frothing, enthused by a pregame procession of Billy Joel, Mike Piazza and all the pomp and circumstance this postseason-starved borough could muster. The Mets may have been trailing at the dawn of Game 3 of the World Series, but they weren't dead. All they needed on Friday night was a spark. Noah Syndergaard provided it with a high-and-tight fastball that knocked Royals leadoff man Alcides Escobar to the ground, and over the next 3 1/2 hours, the tone of the World Series transformed. Charged by David Wright's homer and four RBIs, the Mets rolled to a 9-3 win that sliced the Royals' lead in the best-of-seven Fall Classic to 2-1. And Syndergaard, in teammate Michael Cuddyer's words, was the one who "woke everyone up." "Incredible … incredible," was how Wright described the atmosphere at Citi. "We knew what to expect coming into this based on playing here throughout the postseason, but this was at a different level. To be able to fight back the way that we did, we were relentless tonight. And it seemed like every time they had an answer, we had an answer right back. That's the type of baseball that got us here." Twenty-nine teams have won Game 3 after losing the first two, and 11 of them went on to win the World Series, giving the Mets plenty of hope heading into Game 4 here on Saturday, Halloween night. "We were so looking forward to coming back here," said Mets reliever Tyler Clippard, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning. "We didn't feel the pressure. We came in here expecting to win and got it done." Wright set the tone early with a two-run homer off Royals starter Yordano Ventura, who also gave up a third-inning homer to Curtis Granderson. Ventura allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. Syndergaard outperformed Ventura, but not without resistance. The rookie appeared shaky after what he admitted was a game-opening purpose pitch to Escobar. Six of the seven hits he allowed came during the first and second innings, with Eric Hosmer and Alex Rios driving in runs, but Syndergaard found his stride in the third, reeling off a run of 12 consecutive outs before getting in and out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. "I was able to stay locked in for the entire game," Syndergaard said. The Mets iced the game with a four-run sixth inning against Kansas City relievers Franklin Morales and Kelvin Herrera, with Wright's two-run single capping the rally. The Royals then spent their postgame hours vowing the only type of revenge that matters. "We have to forget about this," Escobar said. "The plan in here is to win."

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

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

World Series

Kansas City leads Series 2-1

Kansas City at New York

Game 4: Saturday, October 31, at 8:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

Unique Way To Celebrate – On Tuesday, grand mascot arbiter "Good Morning America" surveyed MLB and named the Phillie Phanatic the best mascot in baseball in 2015. It was a well-deserved title, earned on the backs of countless souvenirs given and Darth Vaders trolled. But true champions never settle. They know that there's always a furry green alien or giant mustachioed brewer coming for their crown, and there's no time for resting on mascot laurels. So, just days after his coronation, the Phanatic was back at it, knowing he needed to go bigger than ever. Like, "31-foot-skyscraper" bigger. The stunt was for a good cause, too, raising funds for the Outward Bound School. And while Sixers mascot Franklin may have made it down first, he also doesn't have a hot dog cannon, so we all know who's really the winner here. 

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, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.

Marlins Brought Hurricane With Them From Florida

GAME RECAP: Game Postponed Due To Rain…

The Phillies will play a double header on Saturday before the season finale on Sunday… can they finish with the worst record in baseball this season? Can they reach the 100 loss milestone? This final series will provide the answers to both of those questions.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies open their final series of the season tomorrow against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will play a double header with Aaron Harang taking the mound in game 1 and rookie Alec Asher finishing the day in game 2. This will likely be Harang’s final start in a Phillies uniform while Asher will look to make a final impression on the team in the hope of being on the opening day roster in 2016.

PHILS PHACTS:

Wanting To Return - Carlos Ruiz has slowly watched the Phillies rebuild, piece by piece. Injuries took the careers of teammates like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee earlier than expected. Trades sent Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Ben Revere, Jake Diekman, Marlon Byrd and Antonio Bastardo away. Only Ruiz and Ryan Howard remain from the Phillies' 2008 World Series championship team. "It's been tough," Ruiz said Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. "Being around teammates like Chase and Jimmy, we spent a lot of time together and we made some good memories. I feel like we're a family. It's tough to see them walk away and go to different teams. But at the same time baseball continues." But will the Phillies continue with Ruiz? It is likely, despite the fact he turns 37 in January and is finishing the toughest season of his career, posting a .585 OPS in 315 appearances. Ruiz will make $8.5 million next season and he has value as a backup, although Ruiz said he still views himself as a starter, despite the fact Cameron Rupp has started 54 of the team's last 89 games. "I believe I am still a No. 1," Ruiz said. "But at the same time they gave a chance to Rupp and I'm happy that he played well and did a great job." Ruiz has been one of the most respected and well-liked players in the Phillies' clubhouse for years. If he returns, he can continue to mentor the team's young pitchers and catching prospects Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp, who could be in big league camp in Spring Training. "I'm real happy here," Ruiz said. "I'm going to go home, rest a little bit and come back to work. I believe in myself. I feel great. I don't make excuses, but there were days when I felt great and days when I didn't feel good. That's tough." Ruiz cited the arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder last October. He said the shoulder felt weak at times. "I don't know if I'm going to be here or somewhere else, but hopefully it's here," Ruiz said. "I'm disappointed with the year I had, and I'd like to turn it around. I'm going to do everything I can. We'll see what happens next year. I think I'll feel better."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have returned to their lackluster ways and regained their grip on last place in the NL East with a record of 62-97. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this could still end up being the worst team in franchise history… at least that is something to hope for this year! All time, the Phillies are 23-20-2 on this day.