PHILS PHACTS:
Translation Please – Commissioner Rob Manfred
visited every team in baseball last spring and noticed something. His words
were lost to many of the Spanish-speaking players in camp. "I noticed a
problem in terms of language," Manfred said. "I had a lot of senior
people in the organization with me on those visits and they noticed a problem.
I think it pushed forward an issue that had been sort of on the table for a
long time to make sure that we did the very best job we could allowing our
players to communicate as effectively as possible with the press." It is
why every team is required to have a Spanish-speaking translator on staff. The
Phillies recently just hired their translator: 28-year-old Diego Ettedgui, who
is from Venezuela. "I think it's going to help," Phillies third-base
coach Juan Samuel said. "Sometimes it takes us from what we need to do as
a coach, even though we welcome the idea of helping these guys. A lot of times
you have to juggle coaching with personal stuff, and maybe sometimes this guy
feels more comfortable talking personally about something strictly to a
translator." Last season, Samuel and veteran utility infielder Andres Blanco
translated for players uncomfortable speaking to reporters. "It will be
more comfortable for everybody," Blanco said. "Everybody will have
their own space. Spring Training is Spring Training, but during the season it's
a little bit different. People feel tension. They get mad, frustrated. It's
good to have better communication." But Samuel and Blanco both hope it
does not stop players from improving their English. "Now you have a
tendency of seeing all the Spanish guys being together because, 'I only have to
speak Spanish,'" Samuel said. "Then you have the rest of the team
over there. If they learn the language it'll bring the team even closer together
off the field. You don't see the Latinos out, going shopping with Cody Asche. They go
with Cesar [Hernandez] or Blanco." Cordero is getting close:
Hard-throwing right-hander Jimmy Cordero has not
thrown a bullpen session this spring because of soreness in his right biceps,
but he said he could throw off a mound as early as Monday or Tuesday. Cordero
said he does not consider the injury serious and expects to make up for lost
time.
Alfaro Turning Heads – Unofficially, the
distance from home plate at Ashburn Field at the Carpenter Complex to second
base on the half field at Bright House Field is about 545 feet. A service road
separates the two. But Phillies prospect Jorge Alfaro had no
problem recently launching balls from Ashburn Field to second base at the half
field, which caught the attention of Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa. He had
been working on the half field at the time. "It's just a different
sound," Bowa said about the ball leaving Alfaro's bat. "It doesn't
matter that it's BP. Where these balls go, it's different. The kid has
strength. He's got some tools. Big time." It is just batting practice and
it is just the first few days of camp, but Phillies coaches have been impressed
with Alfaro's raw power. Of course, the trick for Alfaro will be harnessing
that power at the big league level. But if he can, the Phillies will be
ecstatic they got the 22-year-old catcher in the Cole Hamels trade with
the Rangers. Good catching is hard to find. Good catching with power is a
dream. The average big league catcher had a .682 OPS last season. Only three
catchers hit more than 20 home runs. "BP-wise, I haven't seen a guy on a
consistent basis hit a ball that far to right-center field, opposite field,
ever," said Matt Stairs, who is in camp as a guest instructor before
returning to the Phillies' broadcast booth next week. "I've played with
[Jose] Canseco, [Mark] McGwire. Sammy Sosa had great power in BP, center field
and pull power. But Alfaro has the thunder off his bat. When you see a center
fielder not move in BP, just turn around and watch, you know you've got
tremendous power." "He reminds me of Dick Allen," Hall of Famer
Mike Schmidt said. "He's got the 28-inch waist and the shoulders
three-feet wide. But I'm one of those guys that gets infatuated with young
players early. I've pitched to him in the cage, worked with him a little bit.
You can just see it. He has a very quiet, confident stance and presence in the
batter's box. Everything about him exudes confidence." Alfaro has hit .261
with 52 home runs, 250 RBIs and a .758 OPS in six Minor League seasons. He
missed much of last year following ankle surgery. Finally healthy, he played 13
games in winter ball in Venezuela, hitting .262 with one home run, no walks and
16 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. "I felt a little lost," Alfaro said
about winter ball. "I started feeling better the more I played." The
key for Alfaro will be refining his approach at the plate. He has walked 95
times and struck out 492 times in his Minor League career. It would be
advantageous to close that gap. "We've been talking about my stance and
trying to be more athletic," Alfaro said. "I just want to be more
consistent at the plate. But I also need to get better at calling games."
"He better learn to hit the ball inside," Stairs said. "When you
watch a guy taking batting practice and he has tremendous power center field to
right-center field -- because that's what his swing is -- now it's an
adjustment of how he can react to pitches inside. Can he turn on pitches? It
will be interesting to see what adjustments he makes." The Phillies are
hopeful the hitting and catching comes -- Alfaro's throwing arm is as
impressive as his power. The club has another highly regarded catching prospect
in the system in Andrew
Knapp. If both make it, one of them could change positions.
Alfaro has some experience at first base and has worked out in the outfield.
"He's young," former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He
still needs some experience to finish him off, but he has a chance to be a good
hitter, a power hitter in the big leagues." "He's a strong kid,"
catcher Carlos
Ruiz said. "He can swing the bat. He's a guy you have to
keep your eyes on."
A Strong Foundation – Mike Schmidt has lived
through the good times and the bad with the Phillies. He was in uniform when a
young team won three consecutive division titles in the 1970s, and in 1980 when
they celebrated a World Series title for the first time. Schmidt played in the
'83 Series loss to the Orioles. And during the Hall of Famer's 18 seasons, he
was around when the Phillies were losing a ton of games, like 97 in 1972 or 91
in '73 or 82 the following summer; a combined 191 his final two years, 1988-89.
By my count, Schmidt was with the Phils for 1,398 of the franchise's record
10,650 losses. The team has finished last 33 times. Michael Jack has seen this
team torn down and rebuilt more times than he can remember, so there's really
no one better to ask of what the current construction project reminds him.
"The Kansas City Royals four years ago," Schmidt said the other day
without hesitation. "And I think we're closer to the World Series than the
Royals were then." Kansas City, building from within with young players,
lost 90 games in 2012 and, of course, rose to beat the New York Mets last year
to win its first World Series championship in 30 years. "Just say I'm very
impressed with the young talent here," Schmidt, a Spring Training
instructor, added after a workout on a cold, windy day at Bright House Field.
"There's a lot of energy." Ask baseball lifer Pete Mackanin what his
youthful band of virtually unknown players reminds him of, and the manager chews
on the question for only a second or two. "Right away, I think about the
Montreal Expos with a lot of young guys when Warren Cromartie, Andre Dawson,
Ellis Valentine and Gary Carter came up," he said. "I was part of
that mix [1975-77]. Those guys did a little better than I did over the long
run. "It reminds me, in that respect, we've got a lot of guys who're not
necessarily on the Major League team, but on the verge, knocking on the door. I
consider Freddy
Galvis, Maikel
Franco and Cesar Hernandez
prospects as well. Those guys did well enough last year for me to expect much
more from them this year." Mackanin, 64, took over on an interim basis
when Ryne Sandberg resigned on June 26, and he was given the job permanently
after the season, his first full-time managerial job. He received enormous
praise for his handling of and communication with the young roster. Once
prompted, Mackanin was on a roll, oozing superlatives about the players who are
rebuilding the Phillies' future. Once again. "I think [center fielder] Odubel Herrera
has a chance to be a batting champion," the manager gushed. "I don't
know about this year, but he's got a real good idea at the plate. He's shown
adjustments. We need Galvis and Cesar to adjust and Maikel to get 500 at-bats.
We have a bunch of prospects -- good young guys who have a chance to make a
name for themselves." Herrera batted .297 in 147 games last year, while
Franco hit .280 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs. Right-hander Aaron Nola, who was 6-2
with a 3.59 ERA in 13 starts, is the top pitching prospect, and shortstop J.P. Crawford, one of baseball's
best prospects, is considered a big piece in the
club's future. I first arrived in Clearwater to cover the Phils in 1958. For
the first four years, they lost 377 games, including 107 in '61. And they only
played 154 games in those seasons, all last-place finishes. When I look back
over the years, I can never remember so many changes -- from top to bottom --
within the organization, as are taking place now. To say 2016 is a new
beginning is an understatement. Longtime respected executive Andy MacPhail is
now the club president, 35-year-old Matt Klentak is vice president/general
manager and Mackanin is the new field general. Klentak is the youngest GM in
Phillies history. There's an entirely new analytics department. Change was
obviously necessary. It's been eight years since the Phils, under manager
Charlie Manuel, won the World Series; seven years since they lost the Series to
the Yankees in 2009. Their run of five straight National League East titles
ended in 2012. They finished last the previous two seasons and lost 99 games in
2015, their third straight losing season. An upbeat Klentak has been talking
this spring about building a firm foundation, but is quick to add "a lot
of the pieces are already here." The Phillies waited too long to rebuild
and were saddled with expensive long-term contracts awarded to players who
helped win those five consecutive division titles, but whose skills were on the
downside. Jimmy
Rollins is gone. So is Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Roy
Halladay, Cliff
Lee, et al. Only 36-year-old former NL MVP Award winner Ryan
Howard and 37-year-old catcher Carlos Ruiz remain from
the team that helped sell out Citizens Bank Park all those great years. Most
preseason forecasters are picking the Phils to finish last again, and they're
near the bottom among the 30 Major League teams in early power rankings.
Because they had the Majors' worst record in 2015, the Phillies own the overall
first pick in the Draft for the first time since 1998, when they selected Pat
Burrell. This is an enormously valuable asset to a rebuilding team. "These
young guys are pretty good and have a lot to prove," said Mackanin.
"I hope they make very difficult decisions for us on when to bring them up
here. A lot of the guys -- especially some of the pitchers -- have to be
thinking they have to show improvement this year or one of these young guys
will take their jobs. "If that's pressure, so be it. That's what this game
is all about. If you can't handle pressure, how do you expect to win the game in
the ninth inning -- or the last game of the World Series?" As the workout
continued this day at Bright House Field, the overriding thought was that the
painful teardown of the Phillies is complete. And the words of Schmidt
comparing the rebuilding to the journey that the Royals followed were
encouraging.
Getting Fit For Special Needs – It's not just Phillies
players who are getting preseason workouts. Back at Citizens Bank Park in
Philadelphia, the Phillies front office and NovaCare Rehabilitation trainers
recently hosted a Major League workout for elementary students with autism and
an adult aphasia group. This unique Phillies
Phitness "WorkOUTshop" was held in
partnership with AccessSports Experiences, which provides sporting experiences
to those with special needs. There were approximately 50 participants,
including volunteers, with their day beginning in the Diamond Club for an introduction
to what it means to be fit and why it is important, followed by a warmup to get
the blood pumping. Bobby DiLullo of NovaCare and Troy Sattin, who oversees the
Phillies Phitness program, made sure the group was prepped and ready for the
workout. "To be fit means living a healthy lifestyle through working out,
being active and maintaining a nutritious diet," Sattin said. "We are
trying to create habits that make being healthy easier. It does not matter if
you have disabilities; it is all about what can be done now to live a long,
healthy life." Alyson Harris of AccessSports Experiences agrees
wholeheartedly. "In our group today there is a range of participants, from
little kids to adults, showing that sports allow for an equal playing field for
individuals to come and be connected," she said. "Whether it's
children with autism or adults who have had strokes or traumatic brain
injuries, all of a sudden the differences are no longer there because everyone
is cheering for the same team and for each other." From relay races to
hitting in the batting cages, there was plenty of cheering to be had by all
participants. And that is important, as some members of the group have regained
speech and mobility through events like this. "One of our aphasia clients
actually learned to regain her speaking voice by cheering at a game,"
Harris said. "It's something everyone can identify with, the experience of
rooting for a team, or even each other, can transform someone's life."
Activities at the Phillies Phitness WorkOUTshop were all health related,
covering everything from exercise to nutrition. The younger group started in
the media room, where they learned about nutrition and healthy options through
a "healthy food race," with the children running to pick out healthy
food items to put on their plate. Meanwhile, the older group participated in
relay races, during which the batting cage netting was lifted to reveal an
indoor field. Smiles were everywhere, as participants cheered on teammates
running back and forth with Major League uniforms to dress up a member of the
team. The most important goal of the race was not to win, but to encourage one
another. At the end of the activity, the group exchanged compliments and
high-fives. The groups then switched places and took part in the other
activity. All participants learned the importance of being active, through both
exercise and everyday activities, as well as the importance of making smart
food choices. "When you're young, you can pretty much do anything you
want, but as you get older and you don't have some balance in your diet, things
like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol have a greater risk of
occurring. It makes the ability to be active and productive more
difficult," DiLullo said. "We want to stress that if you maintain a
healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet, you live longer. It's something you can
start at any age, and you can have fun while staying healthy." To finish
the day, everyone headed to the Diamond Club for a nutritious lunch. As the
group enjoyed the meal, the best mascot in baseball charged into the room for a
big surprise. The children cheered and the adults clapped as the Phillie
Phanatic greeted each person individually. It was no doubt a great day for all
to get fit with the Phillies.
Today In Phils History - First, look to see how this spring compares to 2013. Second, be sure to wish 2008 NLCS legend Matt Stairs a happy birthday!
THE BEGINNING:
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!
