Philadelphia Baseball History

Live In the moment.  You hear that advice from a lot of self help gurus. Don't dwell on the past.  Don't worry about the future. Be happy with the now. This is advice that Phillies fans need to take to heart.  In the second month of the season, the Phillies are seven games above .500.  Sure, there have been a lot of games where the Phillies have been blown out.  But there have been an awful lot more of really exciting games where the Phillies have eaked out victory. It has been fun to watch young players trying hard to keep their spot on the major-league roster. It has been fun to see a starting rotation that has performed above expectations.  It has been fun to see a bullpen that has become consistently reliable.  It has been fun to see those who made allegations of tanking be proven wrong. Is this pace sustainable? Are the Phillies playing above their heads? In the long term can they compete with the Nationals and the Mets for the whole season? ...

In last night's game with the Braves, Phillies outfielde, Tyler Goeddel went 1 for 4 with a single. While his sixth hit of the season was encouraging, his other three at-bats, despite being outs, were equally encouraging. That is because he put the ball in play all three times.  Goeddel came into the game last night having only played in 17 other games, and striking out 11 times. Early in the season, Goeddel was only being used in games against left-handers, which severely limited his playing time.  More recently, Pete Mackannin has given Goeddel more playing time, including the last game against the Marlins, where Goeddel had a double and 2 RBIs. Goeddel is hitting .167, and for a team that is having its offensive struggles with outfielders, it may seem strange to say he needs more playing time. But the Phillies picked up Goeddel in this winter's Rule 5 draft, and he is still a player in development.  In the Rule 5 draft, any team can pick any player from another team's ...

At 18-14, this Phillies team has been fun to watch.   Some might even say surprising.   Although, for those who were paying attention in Spring Training, this early season success isn’t that surprising.   This was a team that, according to some pundits, was supposed to be tanking.   Yet the Phils sprinted out to a 10-3 record in the early Spring, and it looked like they didn’t know that they were supposed to lose.   Now, just as the early Spring Training success signaled cautious optimism, so too should this early season success.   There are still over 100 games to go in the regular season.   Nonetheless, watching the pundits react with surprise has been amusing.   Sportswriters, quite frankly, are not known for original thought.   Pre-season prognostication of gloom and doom appeared to be nothing more than lazy group think.   Many of the predictions were based on the dismal 2015 season.   Indeed, ESPN in one article noted...