Philadelphia Phillies: Grades for Every Fightin’ Phils Player in April

When you were a young child in school, you probably had a favorite teacher. Someone who cared about you, who inspired you to reach beyond your pedestrian abilities and exceed even your most immodest intellectual goals.

Or maybe it was just a soft grader you were most fond of, i.e. someone who would take a paper you knew deserved a B- and give it a B+ just because she liked you.

In the moment, that indulgence feels good. But deep down, you know that that sort of coddling is far more likely to encourage backsliding than it is to inspire a better effort next time around.

That is why the following grades are going to trend toward ruler-wielding and belittling. Through 27 games, this Phillies team is more “juvenile delinquent” than “summa cum laude.”

This team needs to shape up fast.

 

Domonic Brown: Here we have a career .236 hitter who is hitting all of .241 at the end of April. He is loafing on defense—never mind David Murphy’s excuse-making, as yours truly was in the building for that debacle and Brown embarrassed himself with that display. 

Brown has no stolen bases. If his name was “Jack Smith,” he would already be at AAA Lehigh Valley. Here is hoping Delmon Young’s defense is not as bad as advertised. D.

 

Ryan Howard: The Big Piece’s start has been altogether adequate. Howard is on pace for about 20 home runs, 90 runs batted in and a .280 average. Is that worth $25 million? Of course not. But if he can play 155 games or so and produce at that clip, you would have to take it. B.

 

Ben Revere: Uh oh. Maybe the Minnesota Twins knew something the Phillies didn’t. A .200 average with one extra-base hit in 23 games is just not good enough. Revere hit ninth in the Phillies’ first interleague game against the Cleveland Indians. That was only because Charlie Manuel was not allowed to hit him tenth. F.

 

Chase Utley: Hard to ask for much more from No. 26 thus far. Utley leads the team in home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage and OPS. The five errors are a bit disconcerting, but few will notice the stray fielding miscues as long as Utley hits like this. A-.

 

Jimmy Rollins: For a guy who has played every day, Rollins’ opening month was quiet enough to drive a fan to distraction. May and June will go a long way toward deciding whether Rollins is still an elite shortstop or just another guy. C+. 

 

Erik Kratz: Tasked with holding down the fort until Carlos Ruiz returned from suspension, Kratz instead made a horrible turkey bacon commercial, had trouble handling the pitching staff and hit .191. If only Tommy Joseph or Sebastian Valle was showing anything in the minor leagues. D-.

 

Michael Young: If not for Utley’s fine play, Michael Young would be the only Phillies regular worth a damn. Which reminds me of one of the infamous backhanded compliment Dean Wormer laid on Robert Hoover in “Animal House”: “Mr. Hoover, president of Delta house? 1.6; four C’s and an F. A fine example you set!” A+.

 

Kevin Frandsen: Michael Young has been so good that Frandsen‘s opportunities have been severely limited. If the Phillies are telling the truth, that is just fine with them. Still, Frandsen has been ready when called upon, with a number of key pinch hits including a possible season-saver against the Kansas City Royals. B+.

 

Freddy Galvis: You know how everyone loves the backup quarterback in football? That is how Phillies fans feel about Galvis. “Give him a chance! He can really play!” Well, Galvis is out of the gate blazing hot as always, hitting .222 in limited action. Wake me up when he does something notable. C.

 

Laynce Nix and John Mayberry, Jr.: These two are graded together because (channeling Gary Matthews here) for me, they are basically the same player. Mayberry started off hot, then predictably cooled to his present .242 average. Nix is pinch-hitting like a world-beater…but that is all he does. If either or both of them were waived tomorrow, it would be okay. These guys are everywhere in Major League Baseball. C.

 

Cole Hamels: Your new consensus staff ace followed up his beguiling spring with a series of horror show starts. He got his first win this past week, but even in that game he walked six batters. Hamels needs to get his head out of and north of his posterior, like, right now. D.

 

Cliff Lee: Like the man himself, Lee has been almost entirely unnoticed thus far this season. His numbers (2-1, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) are all better than average, but he’s certainly no Matt Harvey. On this staff, though, he is the ace so far. B+.

 

Kyle Kendrick: Then again, maybe calling Lee the staff ace thus far is a touch unfair to KK. Kendrick will always be overlooked because he does not really strike anyone out. He relies on soft contact—when the contact is hard, he gets crushed. But a 2-1 record with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP is no joke, son. A-.

 

John Lannan: Two quality starts, one shelling and a disabled list stint. Sounds like a future valedictorian! Incomplete.

 

Roy Halladay: After so much hand-wringing through the spring, Halladay’s April has conclusively shown him to be exactly what he is at this point in his career. He has three quality starts out of six trips to the hill. He is 2-3. His ERA is presently almost seven.

As with Domonic Brown, if Halladay’s jersey said “Smith” on the back, he would be in the minor leagues. But the jersey says “Roy Halladay,” so he will get the ball until he proves he cannot compete in at least every other start. C-.

 

Jonathan Papelbon: For a 12-15 team, an eight-figure salaried closer is like a Maybach in the driveway of a double-wide. But Papelbon has been that Maybach, at least. A.

 

Mike Adams: On this team that cannot run away and hide in many games, Adams leads in appearances. He is called on so frequently because he either needs to hold a slim lead or keep the team in it late. Adams arrived with a big reputation, but he has only been decent.

He is better than what the Phillies had in setup roles last season. Talk about damning with faint praise. B.

 

Antonio Bastardo: Is he back to being an elite bullpen option? Is he just a left-handed one-out guy? It is too soon to tell. Bastardo has been quite effective thus far, though, allowing just one earned run in 10 appearances. That will do. A-.

 

Phillippe Aumont: For relief pitchers, won/lost records are often poor measures of their effectiveness. In Aumont‘s case, though, he is 1-3 on merit. Buy in to the decent ERA (3.52) if you like. For me (channeling Sarge again…sorry) it’s all about the WHIP over two and the 1/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Here is another guy who is not a competent major league player up at this level because the Phillies have no other answers. D+.

 

Jeremy Horst, Chad Durbin, Raul Valdes: None of these guys can pitch at this level, either. If at least one of them does not find something fast, this team is not going to finish above .500. F.

 

Jonathan Pettibone: Yes, the two starts have been sort of promising. But the major leagues are full of fifth starters who top out at five innings. Pettibone has been little more than that thus far. Incomplete.

 

Humberto Quintero and Ezeqiel Carrera: Neither had a single memorable moment. Incomplete.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies Activate Delmon Young, Have Full Lineup Intact

For the first time all season, the Philadelphia Phillies will have their full lineup available when the team begins its series with the Cleveland Indians tonight.

No, the Phillies’ most recent roster additions are not the same as last season’s, when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard returned prior to the All-Star break.

However, the arrivals of two right-handed hitting lineup options this year can still boost an offense that is slowly heating up as the first month of the season concludes.

The first option, Carlos Ruiz, returned from a 25-game suspension last Sunday and picked up a double in the Phillies win.

Just two days later, the Phillies have now activated Delmon Young from the disabled list according to Paul Casella on the team’s official website.  

Young’s presence means that the Phillies’ lineup has picked up two right-handed hitting options in three days, and gives the team its full set of roster options for the first time this season.

Casella also notes that Ezequiel Carrera has been designated for assignment. 

While the Phillies know what they are getting with Ruiz, Young’s arrival is a bit more intriguing.

For one, following the brief series against the Indians, Young will have to play right field in order to remain in the lineup.  He has not played right field since 2007, and only played 31 games in the outfield last season while primarily serving as the designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers.

If Young’s defense in right field is not up to par or fails to remain consistent throughout the season, the Phillies could have an interesting decision to make going forward regarding his status.

Additionally, the Phillies have currently drawn the second fewest number of walks in the National League and have the fourth lowest team OBP.

Last season, Young had 112 strikeouts to 20 walks and finished with a .296 OBP.

In seven minor league appearances this season, Young struck out seven times and did not draw any walks.  However, he also batted .367 between High-A ball and Triple-A, picking up 11 hits in 30 at-bats.

Young’s arrival gives the Phillies another lineup option following Ryan Howard.  Ruiz batted fifth in his return, but Young also received 508 at-bats from the five spot last season.  With Domonic Brown also batting behind Howard, the Phillies’ lineup will have power potential, but question marks remain surrounding how often the team can get on base.

If the Phillies decide to keep Chase Utley and Michael Young batting second and third, respectively, Ben Revere’s next appearance in the lineup could come from the eighth spot.

A batting order that features two more right-handed batters with double-digit home run potential, followed by Revere, the pitcher’s spot and Jimmy Rollins, could make for a solid lineup. 

Combined with a starting rotation that is beginning to heat up, the Phillies are getting their full team together at a great time.

One player whose stock could take a hit if Young’s return is a success is Darin Ruf.  With Young, Brown, Revere, John Mayberry, Jr. and Laynce Nix currently set in the outfield, and Freddy Galvis also playing adequate outfield defense, Ruf has his work cut out for him to earn a call-up.

For now, however, the Phillies will have their full lineup together has they begin a stretch of six straight games against opponents with losing records.

Young’s arrival will not single-handedly push the Phillies into first place, but his presence combined with Ruiz’s, as well as continued success from Utley and Michael Young, gives the Phillies a potent lineup that should no longer be at a disadvantage against left-handed starters or relievers.

Furthermore, the Phillies have now exhausted their two remaining internal options for improving their offense, meaning that they could now look externally for other lineup options.

In the meantime, the Phillies’ activation of Young gives them another right-handed lineup option at a time when its pitching staff has the third lowest ERA in the NL in the last seven days.

 

*Young’s minor league statistics can be found on MiLB.com, while all other statistics can be found on ESPN.com.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Winners and Losers from 1st Month of Action

With the the 2013 MLB season’s first month of six practically in the books, the scope of contenders and pretenders is already starting to form. For some middling teams sitting around the .500 mark, like the Philadelphia Phillies, things may not be as clear-cut.

One thing’s for sure, though: Some parts of the Phillies have been good if not great, while others have been bad if not atrocious.

The Phillies aren’t exactly winners or losers right now—they’re both. So why not take into account what they have to offer from both sides of the spectrum?

Here are the Phillies’ biggest winners and losers after the season’s first month of play.

*All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 4

The Philadelphia Phillies saw two of their top pitching prospects turn in solid starts this past week, with one coming at the major league level and the other at Double-A.

While Jonathan Pettibone made his major league debut and saw the Phillies win both of his two starts, Jesse Biddle racked up 16 strikeouts while picking up a win at Double-A.

The Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate also closed out the week strong, using 12 runs and 15 hits to pick up a win and help multiple players improve their offensive statistics heading into week five.

But what about the rest of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects?  Who will follow in Pettibone’s footsteps and earn the next major league call-up?  Who will earn the first minor league promotion?

The following list contains the Phillies’ top 10 prospects according to Baseball America.  Of these players, six are either currently at or began the season at the Triple-A level, meaning that the majority are one step away from the major leagues.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at which players’ stocks are up and which are down following week four.

 

All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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What Will Philadelphia Phillies Lineup Look Like Once Carlos Ruiz Returns?

The Philadelphia Phillies lineup saw minimal changes through the first 15 games of the regular season, with both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the batting order together in April for the first time since 2010.

Of course, all the Phillies had to show for these returns was a 6-9 record after April 17 and a 6.5 game deficit behind the Atlanta Braves in first place.

Following their 15th game of the season, the Phillies decided to move Jimmy Rollins back into the leadoff spot and Ben Revere to the seventh spot.  Since the move, Rollins’ average has gone from .232 to .258, while Revere’s average has increased from .194 to .207, including a .240 average from the seven hole.

These changes haven’t led to much to much more success as of yet, as the Phillies are now 3-5 since moving Rollins back into the leadoff spot.

However, on Sunday, the Phillies will have another lineup decision to make with hopes of improving the team’s .301 OBP, which ranks as the third lowest in the National League, and 80 total runs scored, which ranks as fifth lowest.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz is set to return from a 25-game suspension, which he served for testing positive for a banned stimulant, on Sunday in time for game No. 26 of the season.

Ruiz’s return will also give manager Charlie Manuel a few more options for a lineup that recently saw Chase Utley and Michael Young move up in the batting order.

For the majority of this season, the Phillies have had four consecutive left-handed batters at the top of their order against right-handed pitching (causing Rollins to bat from the left side).  Rollins is batting .246 from the left side, compared to .292 from the right side. 

Young, who has primarily batted fifth, was the first right-handed batter that other teams faced at times.

When Laynce Nix started over John Mayberry, Jr. in right field, the Phillies lineup only had two right-handed batters at times, with either Erik Kratz or Humberto Quintero joining Young in the batting order.

With Ruiz back in the lineup, the Phillies will have the option of batting Young third and Ruiz fifth, likely leaving no more than two left-handers batting in consecutive spots in any part of the batting order.

Ruiz is coming off of the best statistical season of his career after he batted .325 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI in 2012, all career highs.  Ruiz also posted a .394 OBP, an improvement over his .371 mark in 2011, despite drawing 19 fewer walks.

The chances of Ruiz batting above .300, let alone .325, this season are slim, but his return could still play a crucial part in helping to boost an offense that is now under pressure to succeed before first place it too far out of reach.

If Ruiz can match, or exceed, the .265 batting average he had from the fifth spot in the lineup last season, and Domonic Brown can continue to regain the form he showed during spring training, the Phillies lineup will potentially have a pair of power hitters lower in the lineup. 

Add in Delmon Young to the mix, with Revere potentially batting eighth, and the Phillies lineup will have undergone the last few changes it can using internal options.

Ruiz’s return will also mean that a player currently struggling to find consistent offensive success will move to a reserve role.

Phillies catchers have combined to have the fourth-lowest batting average in the National League so far this season, and have the lowest OBP in the league.  Kratz is currently batting .185 with 16 strikeouts to 12 hits, while Quintero is batting .313 but has played in just six games.

Although solid work behind the plate initially could have outweighed any early offensive struggles, the Phillies now find themselves seven games out of first place before the first month of the season has ended.

Ruiz’s return should lead to an offensive upgrade by putting his bat in the lineup and also by moving either Kratz or Quintero primarily into a reserve role.  Although Ruiz only had one hit in two games in a High-A ball tuneup recently, his one hit was a three-run home run.  He also did not strike out in his eight at-bats.

It’s not often that a team adds a .300 hitter from the prior season to their lineup in late April, but the Phillies will be doing just that when Ruiz returns on Sunday. 

More importantly, they will be adding a right-handed batter to a lineup that primarily features left-handed batters against opposing right-handers at a time when any sustained offensive success has been difficult to find.

Whether he bats fifth, sixth or even seventh, Ruiz will give the Phillies a potential power addition as they chase down a first-place team whose season has featured anything but a lack of early power.

 

*Ruiz’s minor league statistics can be found on MiLB.com, while all other statistics can be found on ESPN.com

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Philadelphia Phillies: Phundamentally-Challenged Phigtins Are Cheating Phans

In the immortal words of Casey Stengel, “Can’t anybody here play this game?”

Judging by the results of the Phillies‘ recently-completed 3-5 homestand that left them at a desolate 9-14 overall, at least in Philadelphia the answer seems to be “not so much.”

Entering the season, the big question marks were, in no particular order:

• Roy Halladay’s diminishing velocity and effectiveness
• Ryan Howard and his ability to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2012 
• Chase Utley’s ability to stay healthy and produce
• Michael Young and the challenge of playing third base every day after spending last season as a designated hitter
• Mike Adams and the rest of the bullpen’s ability to handle the eighth inning

Amazingly, all of those question marks have, in the main, turned out all right so far.

After a very shaky couple of outings, Halladay has turned in three outings that have ranged from above-average to really good.

Howard is hitting over .280 and playing every day.

Utley is hitting over .300 and his power has returned. He leads the team in runs batted in thus far.

Young is also hitting well over .300 and his defense at third base has been more than adequate.

And Adams, but for a violent hiccup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been the steadying late-inning presence he was advertised to be.

Recent troubles have focused on the sixth and seventh innings, but then everyone figured that the bullpen leading up to Adams and Jonathan Papelbon would be a cover-your-eyes proposition.

Despite all of the favorable harbingers, the Phillies are in 4th place in the National League East and sinking like a stone.

Why? To a significant extent, it is because the Phillies play terrible fundamental baseball.

Consider:

• In a 6-4 loss to the Pirates, Cliff Lee was picked off second base, and in the same game Utley ran into an out at home plate with first-and-third and nobody out; dishonorable mentions go to Cliff Lee giving up the game-tying single on an 0-2 pitch and Phillippe Aumont putting a .148 hitter on by hitting him with a pitch.
• The night before in a 5-3 loss to the Pirates, Rollins negligently ran into an out at home plate with (wait for it) first-and-third and nobody out, and Utley played a semi-difficult Starling Marte pop-up to short right field into an RBI triple.
• The night before that in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates, John Mayberry Jr. ran into an out at home plate with (hard to believe, really) first-and-third and nobody out.
• Two nights earlier, in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Utley was doubled off second base on a routine fly ball by Young because he apparently lost track of the outs, and Domonic Brown loafed a Matt Adams short fly ball into a single.

Note to the reader: Not one of the examples above is criticizing a player for grounding into an inopportune double play, or committing an error in the normal course of play. No team and no player is above human frailty.

But the displays of baseball from the Phillies lately, in legal parlance, range beyond the simply negligent and eke into the careless or reckless.

The Phillies’ slow start has been minimized by other facts out of their control, including but not limited to the fact that the presumptive division favorites, the Washington Nationals, are still languishing around .500. “Small sample size,” you might hear.

Unfortunately, unwavering effort and a rudimentary understanding of the fundamentals of baseball are not things that tend to correct themselves over a 162-game schedule. If anything, these flaws just multiply and become magnified as the weather warms and the season drags on.

Phillies fans keep talking about how the returns of Carlos Ruiz (from suspension) and Delmon Young (from injury) should right the ship.

They might be better off calling on Fred McGriff and Tom Emanski.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Old, Brittle, Overpaid Team’s Flaws Already Being Exposed

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ preseason was best summed up with Andy Dufresne’s words to Red in The Shawshank Redemption: “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Three weeks into the season, though, the Phillies’ reality of greatness lost is more like Red’s summation of his reckless youth to the parole board: “that kid’s long gone and this old man is all that’s left.”

Tremendous energy has been poured into analyzing the troubles Roy Halladay has encountered through four starts in 2013. Most of that heated conjecture is wasted.

The plain truth is that Halladay has lost velocity on all his pitches (not just his fastball), and thus has to learn to compete with what he has left, per NESN.com. While it is true that his last two starts were much better than his first two, it all adds up to 2-2 record and a 6.04 earned run average.

Given the prevailing wisdom that Halladay needs to be special for the Phillies to compete in 2013, early returns are not all that convincing.

Compared to Ryan Howard’s situation, though, Halladay’s first three weeks look positively promising.

The Phillies would certainly take a .274 batting average from Howard this season. But that is where the good news ends.

Howard is slugging .384. His OPS is .678. Those power numbers sync with the expectations a team might have for a decent middle infielder or a speedy outfielder.

But Howard is being paid $25 million this season to hit home runs and knock runners in. Currently, he is on pace for eight home runs and 48 RBI. 

That’s not all. Howard’s Achilles injury of October 2011 is still not fully a memory, per the Philadelphia Daily News. As a result, manager Charlie Manuel has taken to pinch-running for Howard late in close games, favoring the chance to score with a faster runner over keeping his franchise first baseman in the game.

Digest that for a minute.

The diminished production from two aging players each making more than $20 million per season is only somewhat masking more subtle problems around the diamond.

The Phillies’ hitters are in the bottom third in Major League Baseball in both on-base percentage and OPS. They’re also in the top quarter in strikeouts and trail traditionally power-starved teams like the Oakland A’s, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in home runs.

The big offseason acquisition, Ben Revere, is learning that no matter how fast you are, you cannot steal first base. His .205 batting average and .241 on-base percentage have utterly blunted his effectiveness.

The only other regular starter younger than 30 years of age, Domonic Brown, is lolloping along at .206 and playing what can charitably be called an unconvincing left field. One wonders at this point if Brown’s name was, say, Steve Smith, whether he would already be at AAA Lehigh Valley.

Maybe the most troubling news for Philadelphia is this: Chase Utley and Michael Young are both healthy and hitting over .300, Antonio Bastardo and Phillippe Aumont have yet to give up an earned run, Jonathan Papelbon is perfect in save chances this season…and the Phillies are still below .500.

Yes, Cole Hamels is almost certainly not going to post an earned run average over five and go winless for a whole season. That problem will right itself.

Ultimately, though, while fans might argue that proven players like Halladay and Howard can turn it around, and that Revere won’t hit .205 all season, and that Brown is better than he has been, the likelihood is that as those players’ performances trend up to the mean, the performances of Utley, Young, Bastardo and Papelbon will regress to it.

The sort of good news for the Phillies is that the consensus division favorite, the Washington Nationals, are out of the gates slowly themselves.

Still, these first three weeks might have Phillies’ fans—who hoped that 2012 was a temporary setback—reflecting on Dufresne’s realization on how wrong things could yet go.

“I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn’t expect the storm would last as long as it has.”

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5 Trades Philadelphia Phillies Should Already Be Thinking About

The 2013 MLB season may still be in its preliminary stages, but it hasn’t been kind to the Philadelphia Phillies so far.

The Phillies, who came into the season with a healthy roster, have failed to live up to their initially middling expectations, and currently sit at 9-11. They are fourth in the NL East, ahead of only the 4-15 Miami Marlins, who are the worst team in baseball.

While it is certainly early to be thinking about realistic outcomes at the July 31 trade deadline, it’s never too early to speculate on who may be dealt by Philadelphia.

At this point, should the Phillies’ mediocre trends continue, they are bound to be sellers at the deadline. In fact, with players coming off the payroll like Chase Utley, Michael Young, Carlos Ruiz and most likely Roy Halladay, the fire sale could be even bigger than last year’s when Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and Joe Blanton were ushered out of Philadelphia.

Not only are impending free agents potential trade chips, but established veterans under team control for a few years are also appealing.

Headlining this distinction of Phillies is Cliff Lee. Although under contract for three more years at a minimum of $87.5 million, including this year, Lee has value and could be worthy as a legitimate ace for a team in need of one.

Here’s a list of five players and the team that, at this point in the season, would be the best fit, both from the perspective of positional need and valuable assets to trade in return.

*All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. All prospect rankings and information courtesy of Baseball America Prospect Handbook unless otherwise noted. All contract information courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 3

It didn’t take too long for the Philadelphia Phillies to call up a top prospect.

Despite two less than ideal starts, the first of the Phillies’ top prospects to reach the major league level this season appears to be Jonathan Pettibone, according to Paul Hagen on the Phillies’ website.

Pettibone has only made two starts at Triple-A, and hasn’t had the same type of results that he had in 2012 following a midseason call-up from Double-A.  He still is, however, a pitcher who can now begin making his case for a permanent rotation spot this season or next.

Besides Pettibone, the rest of the Phillies’ top prospects continued their minor league seasons with some improving while others still looking for early season success. 

The following list features the Phillies’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America.  Since Pettibone’s last start came at Triple-A, he remains on the list for this week.  However, with John Lannan now on the disabled list, a strong start from Pettibone could keep him in the rotation for several more starts.

Let’s take a look at which players’ stocks are up and which are down following week three.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Changes Philadelphia Phillies Must Make to Spark a Winning Streak

The Philadelphia Phillies will finish in the bottom half of the division if they continue to play disinterested and uninspired baseball.

While the team is lacking those two intangible qualities, there are plenty of areas in the physical realm of the game of baseball which are visibly lacking also.

Phillies fans shouldn’t fret just yet, however.

The good news is there are 143 games left in the young season.

For this team, though, these following changes must be made sooner rather than later in order to compete in the tough National League East before they fall out of contention.

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