by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Yeah, they got some problems.

Now, two series into the 2018 Major League Baseball season, the Phillies are 1-4 and look every bit the part of that record.

They’re disjointed, disappointing and many among them are well on their way to being disgruntled if they’re not already.

They have no offense, so-so defense, a mediocre rotation and a brutal bullpen.

No doubt the new manager has not shown a midas touch with any of this. He, in fact, has proven to be a big part of the team’s problems, appearing overmatched, if not incompetent, in his first week writing out the lineups at this level.

Reality is, with so many in Philly frothing at the mouth at the idea Gabe Kapler gets soundly booed at Thursday’s home opener against Miami, the guilty culprits for both bringing Capt. Cocoa Butter to town and supplying him with an oddly conceived roster go largely unnoticed.

Matt Klentak, Andy MacPhail and their ilk deserve most of the, uh, "credit" here for …

3) Hiring Kapler

It’s early in the season, sure, but for thus of us who questioned the decision to bring in what appeared to be an all-show, no-substance talking head to run the club, it’s already too late. The presentation isn’t even all that slick. Kapler often can bumble along with his words, seeking whichever prepared response he has practiced fits, but he has a certain charm, an almost endearing quality, to him, not to mention a physique that would put most active pro athletes to shame, that helps his cause.

Ultimately, he may get torn to shreds – especially with his uber-reliance on analytics that won’t play well with the old-school crowd, or even his players. But he leaves you wanting to give him a chance, hoping he will change, even as he tells you he won’t.

The dude is who he is: a walking, talking statement to a trend whose own thoughts and beliefs likely have gotten lost in pursuit of the cause. He is an advertising campaign based around a character that he didn’t even necessarily create.

That overachieving slant most pitch about his bio? To a point, he was that guy. Low draft pick. But then he was one of the hottest major-league prospects around before becoming an all-show, no-substance player in the bigs.

Expect nothing more, or less, of him as a manager at the same level as he trots out one hollow statement of ownership in the Andy Reid vein after another.

2) Signing Carlos Santana

If ever a tribute to analytics and the movie “Moneyball” were made by an MLB front office, this was it. Sorry, the guy is a solid-field, middling-production first baseman – at best. Giving him the type of money worthy of front-line free agent and pushing prodigy Rhys Hoskins into the outfield for the foreseeable future to make room was nothing short of stupid.

Santana doesn’t make the team stronger. He weakens it at two spots – the one he plays, which would be far more valuable with Hoskins there, and left field, which has the makings of being an absolute disaster as Kapler plays musical chairs on who handles it. Not just in his starting lineup, but from inning to inning.

Ridiculous. It was a waste – AN ABSOLUTE WASTE – of money, and will, without question, play havoc to some degree with Hoskins’ development, not to mention that belonging to others in the outfield mix.

1) Trading Freddie Galvis

Hands down the dumbest decision of the organization in years. The Phillies are so hellbent to prove that they didn’t make a mistake with J.P. Crawford that they were willing to sacrifice sanity and the obvious for years to come. Regardless of what any of the purists think, Galvis was an other-worldly defensive shortstop who, frankly, was better than the brilliant Jimmy Rollins at the same position in the field.

He also produced runs. In the clutch. We’re not talking a guy who would have a high batting average or on-base percentage, but he came through so often the last few seasons when it mattered, and overall his offensive numbers, particularly in getting feet to touch the plate, weren’t far off from what Rollins did before him.

Crawford? The kid may be five years younger than Galvis, but he’s a serviceable defensive player at shortstop and we’ve seen enough at this point to realize that he’s never never going to hit at an acceptable level in the big. He just isn’t.

It was a disastrous move to get Galvis outta town, and the Phillies are going to pay for it each and every time Crawford steps to the plate with a chance to make a difference.

So, boo Kapler all you want. My ire is saved for those in higher places.

They screwed up. Bad.
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by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Feel for Phillies fans. Really do. Seriously.

Just one game into the 2018 season and already it appears to be “abandon ship” for many.

The object of ire: new manager Gabe Kapler.

The reason: too many kooky in-game moves and analytics-based nuances to keep track.

From pulling Aaron Nola after the right-hander had recorded an out in the sixth and tossed just 68 pitches to yanking left fielder Rhys Hoskins for defensive purposes in the eighth, Capt. Cocoa Butter had his hands all over the team’s 8-5 Opening Day loss in Atlanta.

It was tough to watch, tough to hear, tough to swallow as it seemed Kap almost systematically erased a 5-0 advantage and paved the way to the Braves’ offense coming alive with his misguided, “the bullpen is the strongest part of our team” beliefs.

No wonder so many were fed up with the guy by night’s end.

Just wish it took me that long to get there.

First pitch hadn’t even happened Thursday and Kap had lost me. Probably for good.

No Odubel Herrera or Scott Kingery in the starting lineup … are you kidding me?

Nope.

OK, am out.

With no apologies to the baseball purists out there, Herrera is the team’s best player, and the one with the most tools to affect a game in the most ways – yes, even positively. His absence from the 1-9 listed on Kapler’s card handed to the home-plate ump was over-managing of the highest order … before a single pitch was even thrown.

Kingery? What the hell are the Phillies doing with locking the kid down to a long-term deal recently, bucking tradition, both their own and that belonging to the sport, making the rookie a linchpin for the organization for years to come, and then sitting him – with not even a pinch-hitting opportunity offered – once the lights hit the stage?

Holy mackerel. Enough with the over-thinking. Play your best guys. Get the season started off the right way. Guns blazing, ya know.

Not with some convoluted ode to being – gasp – different and authentic. Different, at times, ain’t necessary … and authentic? Hardly. Kapler came across like a teen trying to stand out from the crowd. Gee, how original.
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Yawn.

Frankly, the in-game moves didn’t bother me so much. Albeit seeming to be unnecessary, ones such as those may pay off at some point during the next six months – at least Phillies fan can hope for that.

But, to me, the lineup and how it is ordered is everything. You get too cute and “clever” with that, you’re asking for trouble … and more of the same by Mr. Tan Line will burn the Phillies.

Bad.

Not just this season, but possibly years down the road … with talents such as Herrera opting to leave and Kingery having his growth stunted.
 

by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Frankly, it's gotten to an irresponsible level.

Yeah, yeah, got it. We're all grown up here (supposedly), and we're just talking about non-important stuff (supposedly) with football. But, push comes to shove, it's a highly impressionable group that those in the Philly sports media try to reach on a daily basis, and what they write or say, especially en masse, has a large impact on emotionally charged brain waves attached to those listening or reading or watching.

Put simpler ... a lotta “pack” mentality involved, especially when it comes to the Eagles, and things related to them, particularly the quarterback.

Did you know Carson Wentz, all 17 games into his NFL career, is the bridge between Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers? Did you know he's a match to Michael Vick on elusiveness and quickness? Did you know he's already the equal, at minimum, of Donovan McNabb?

Well, if you live in and around Philly, or pay any attention to the Eagles regardless of location, you must. That's what you've been told ad nauseam, if not from the day he was drafted back in April 2016, then certainly by now after a Week 1 performance that saw the team's record improve to 8-9 under Wentz's watch.

Oh, they're not saying he's a Hall of Famer ... they're just saying he's a Hall of Famer. Just to be clear, you know. It's a fait accompli, after all, that his bust will make a permanent stop in Canton, Ohio, after a few Super Bowl wins.

Yo, got no issue with the kid himself. He's a good athlete with a decent, but not particularly accurate or strong arm who has shown a nice propensity to make things happen at times and an impressive ability to lead in short order. No doubt, he made a couple “plays for the ages” this past Sunday, but he still gave a pretty flawed performance – can this guy ever be “money” on a deep ball, or better than “in the vicinity” on any ball?

Thing is, he ain't Roethlisberger, he ain't Rodgers, he ain't Vick, and he ain't McNabb, and those drawing any corollary line between him and them – right now – is, well, yeah, being irresponsible.

No question. It's creating false hope, and unnecessary pressure. All on Wentz.

Roethlisberger and Rodgers are surefire Hall of Famers. Vick was a Hall of Fame talent, and McNabb was borderline on both. Wentz is NOT faster than Roethlisberger in his prime, as fans are constantly, albeit “oh, just to mention” subtly, told. Big Ben clocked in at 4.75 seconds at the 40-yard dash when he was at the combine. Wentz checked in at 4.77. He can't throw with Rodgers (few can), and he can't throw or run with Vick (again, few can).

McNabb? Well, considering the franchise's best QB all time takes a hit for “never winning the big one,” get back to us when Wentz reaches five NFC championship games, as McNabb did. Or even one.

We even got the city's ringleader of pomp, circumstance and “E-A-G-L-E-S” hype himself, Ang, taking his “authentic ... mmm, maybe not” act from the airwaves to the Internet this week to “now, now” disapprove of the public for not praising Wentz enough – yes, that's right, the most praised pro athlete already in the city over the last 40 years, just not enough – and criticize it for allowing any crossover allegiance to new Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins.

Umm, not for nothing, but when Wentz does anything even remotely comparable to what Hoskins has in just one month, please wake me.

With Hoskins, we're talking historic actions that already have occurred courtesy of his swing. With Wentz, we're talking hope and potential. What Is Vs. What Could Be – that's a major difference.

All for getting excited about possibilities, but it would be wise to hold off actually crediting them before they actually happen.

Not convinced that things are being overstated, irresponsibly overstated, about Wentz at this point? OK, consider this: the dude Howie Roseman ditched to make room for the kid to start immediately last season not only trumped Wentz's initial effort to this 2017 campaign, he blew it away ... and he stinks, remember?

Sammy Sleeves, we hardly knew ye ...
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