Typically, around this point in the season, you'd be expecting the Philadelphia Phillies to spontaneously inherit the momentum of an entire Roman army. Without warning. But 2024 is different, because the Phils have sported this kind of momentum repeatedly throughout the season, and are back to it for the umpteenth time. No longer do teams have to be careful around a Phils team that could be unstoppable; now it's a Phils team that is unstoppable, and aspires to continue to be unstoppable.
The last week or so has been an upgrade from the usual pre-October tomfoolery. The Phils won important series against the Royals, the Astros and the Braves, three teams with serious postseason aspirations. While the Astros did silence the Phils on one occasion, to the point of Spencer Arrighetti nearly no-hitting them, they still dropped two to them, making this the second time in recent history that the Phils have embarrassed Houston a month or so before the postseason. And then the Phils took two from the Jays, including a tour de force performance by Kyle Schwarber, who's once again reminding us all what a wonderful move signing him has been. And now they're just having fun against the Marlins, who really don't have much left save for the lingering possibility of a fuller Edward Cabrera in 2025.
And it's important that the Phils are still rolling, because we're coming upon some foibles that could have stopped past Phillies teams. Today Alec Bohm hit the IL with a hand injury, while Bryce Harper has been held out recently with a small injury of his own. Losing these two this soon before the playoffs could have been debilitating before, but with the possibility that both would be back by October, and the existence of Edmundo Sosa and Kody Clemens as excellent fill-ins this year, it's not an especially worrying development. Clemens has been hot as hell recently, notching 15 RBIs and 4 homers this season alone. Weston Wilson's hitting .322, with the cycle under his belt, as well as 19 hits, 7 RBIs and 3 homers in 26 games. And Sosa covering third is still a very good thing, as his defensive excellence, and his .264 average, have been crucial to the Phillies' continued success this season.
Really, the only point of weakness the Phillies have right now is that fifth starter position. The top four, all of them are excellent. Wheeler's chasing Cy again, which...Sale's got him on the ropes but it could be a photo finish, Nola's having another excellent year, Suarez seems to be back to normal, and Cristopher Sanchez is proving his worth, with a 10-9 year with a 3.45 ERA and 131 Ks. But both answers at the 5 spot have been upsetting so far. We've established Taijuan Walker doesn't work, and now Tyler Phillips has been pretty cooked ever since his complete game appearance earlier in the year. I guess the next best option is Kolby Allard, he's been a decent enough seat-filler. But...y'see, there's this guy the Phils got from Baltimore named Seth Johnson, and he's been impressing people this year all-around, and...I think it'd be cool if he got a shot. I know, we're doing this for September's sake, we've got starters for October, but it'd be good to start figuring out options going forward. It'd be great if we had Andrew Painter right now, I know, but Johnson could be something too.
The Phillies look...incredibly good right now. They're filling with me with confidence, despite the worry that their status as a top seed could spell doom for their playoff prospects. Hopefully the momentum won't be able to handle any oncomers, and hopefully this is the team that brings something home, after the last two came so close.
Coming Tomorrow- Cleveland is the land of excellent MLB nicknames. 'The Human Rain Delay'. 'Cookie' Carrasco. 'Pronk'. And now, this guy, who's already been dubbed 'Big Christmas.'
No comments:
Post a Comment