Small victories, large defeats.
Over in Japan’s NPB, every team has a new slogan for the season. The slogans set out the team’s hopes, goals, and attitude. They hype the fans up. They’re fun. Thanks to the nature of the Japanese language, there’s also fun tricks to be had with the slogans, too: for example, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks […]
A player’s performance in Spring Training is not necessarily a sign of things to come. A strong performance doesn’t always portend a good season, and a poor performance doesn’t mean the season is lost. However, that doesn’t mean that a player can’t change the early narrative for his season in the spring. There are plenty […]
Spring training is officially here, and with it comes the unfortunate slew of new injury updates. Hamate bone fractures seem to be an epidemic around baseball already. Orion Kerkering has a hamstring strain that will cause him to be a little behind the other pitchers. Zack Wheeler is progressing well and has a rib in […]
Oh man, first I had to brush up on my low level catchers. Now, I have to research a guy that, prior to this prospecting season, I hadn’t really heard much of. Romeli Espinosa – 56Zach McCambley – 31Jean Cabrera – 28Keaton Anthony – 13Griffin Burkholder – 12Carson DeMartini – 9Yoniel Curet – 7Mavis Graves […]
Phillies pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater today, effectively ending one of the dreariest off-seasons since team president Dave Dombrowski took over as head of baseball operations prior to the 2021 season. Yes, he re-signed Kyle Schwarber, far-and-away the franchise’s primary goal over the winter, added free agent reliever Brad Keller to set up closer […]
The day is here. Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater today. The offseason is over: rejoice! Of course, there’s still a bit of time before the actual spring training games begin. But for the devoted (or, perhaps, obsessive) baseball fan, there’s still things to watch. Videos of pitcher workouts will hit social media. Interviews will […]
Man, yesterday was a bad day to report to spring training. Injuries, injuries, injuries. Guess we’re all officially holding our breath for when Rob Thomson actually gives an in-person interview next week in Clearwater. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
I read a lot of baseball writing, either by book or some online article that happens to catch my eye. Sometimes the writing will say something that makes me perk up a bit, particularly when it involves the Phillies. So when I read this article from The Athletic ($), there was a note here that […]
In our last match of the “Last Man In” tournament, Jeff Hoffman was victorious over Chad Qualls. Here’s the next showdown: 3. Jake Arrieta, 2018 The Phillies thought they might have a chance at playoff contention in 2018. They had emerged from the rebuilding process with what seemed like some key pieces in place, but […]
Dave Dombrowski spoke on Monday to reporters about a variety of topics. Discussing the state of the pitching staff, how top prospects are expected to get playing time and other things were on the docket, but one of the main things Dombrowski talked about was Nick Castellanos. The “right fielder” and his place on the […]
Over the past ten years the Phillies have had a lot of good, and even great, players who have since moved on either to other teams or to retirement. Many of those players would have provided a boost to this year’s roster. For today’s question of the day: Which player from the past decade do […]
Can you smell that? Yeah, that’s baseball approaching. Phillies News: MLB News:
The upcoming World Baseball Classic will have 15 active players scattered across all the tournament’s rosters. But let’s go deeper than that and take a look at everyone in the tournament who has ever worn red pinstripes or spent time in the organization. There are a lot of fun names below, along with probably some […]
The next guy up is….a catcher? Really? Alirio Ferrebus – 52Jean Cabrera – 31Griffin Burkholder – 13Yoniel Curet – 11Keaton Anthony – 11Carson DeMartini – 11Alex McFarlane – 3Mavis Graves – 2Seth Johnson – 1Romeli Espinosa – 1Zach McCambley – 1 I have to admit, this one caught me off guard a bit. The voting […]
Talking trades is one of everyone’s favorite pastimes. Making a theoretical deal for another player is just fun, something that shows depth of knowledge of both the opposition’s team and one’s own. Then comes the word “untouchable.” Everyone thinks there is at least someone on the Phillies that would be untouchable. Most of that time, […]
It’s still way too cold out for me, but it’s officially baseball season. In fewer than two weeks time, there will be games on our television and following that, World Baseball Classic games to follow. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
We are straight smack in the middle of some of the most exciting parts of the offseason: the release of different national prospect writer’s top 100 lists. It lends itself to some excitement because it is a glimpse of what the future may hold, not only for those teams that are contenders for a World […]
At some point in our lives, we decided to descend into some kind of loathing. We decided to pledge our undying allegiance to a team that would simultaneously break our hearts and fill them with love at the same time. We decided to become a Phillies fan. But when was it? What was the year […]
In 24 hours, the baseball season will be upon us. The NFL season finale will be complete and we will be able to watch grown men carry large bags around sun soaked skies. Glorious. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
The hits just keep on coming. Instead of being satisfied with their roster, the Phillies continue to add minor league depth to the bullpen. Trivino got into a few games with the team at the end of the season, so he’s familiar with the roster. But for all those that made jokes about the team […]
In our last matchup, we had yet another blowout (not surprising really considering how bad the lower seeds were), with Jose Contreras easily overcoming Ronny Cedeño. Here’s our next matchup: 4. Jeff Hoffman, 2023 Jeff Hoffman came up with the Rockies in 2016, and as most Colorado pitchers do, he struggled. After a couple of […]
The season is just around the corner with pitchers and catchers reporting this week and we’ve seen a few changes to the Phillies’ roster. For some, the changes have been too few; for some, the changes are just right. Everyone harbors opinions about the direction of the franchise, or else you wouldn’t be here talking […]
The Super Bo— I mean “Big Game” is tomorrow, which means as an Eagles fan, I can only say they are reigning champs for something like 40 more hours. Which is fine because I am ready for baseball season. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
Finally, a close vote! Cade Obermueller – 25Jean Cabrera – 23Yoniel Curet – 23Keaton Anthony – 11Griffin Burkholder – 10Carson DeMartini – 9Alex McFarlane – 3Mavis Graves – 3Romeli Espinosa – 2Cody Bowker – 1 It was quite interesting watching the Phillies’ 2025 draft unfold. Once Gage Wood was secured in the first round, the […]
Yesterday we opened the discussion about the Phillies impending youth movement by asking what your expectations were for Justin Crawford. Today, we’ll discuss another one of the Phillies top prospects poised to make a major impact on the big-league club in 2026. It’s been an unconventional path to the Majors for Andrew Painter to say […]