Phillies Spring Training 2014: Daily Updates, Scores, News and Analysis

The Philadelphia Phillies certainly aren’t getting any younger. In fact, this offseason they managed to get older, adding 36-year-old Marlon Byrd and 37-year-old A.J. Burnett in free agency, giving them nine players expected to make regular contributions that are 33 or older.    

So how will one of baseball’s oldest teams fare against the younger and more talented contenders in the NL East, the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves? Can the Phillies return to the postseason with the aging core that led them to a 2008 World Series title, or will they miss the playoffs for the third straight season?

Below, you’ll find the team’s schedule for all of spring training, a brief recap from each game and a full prediction for how Philly will fare in 2014.

 

 

March 4: Phillies lose to Blue Jays, 5-3

In a battle of former Cy Young winners, Cliff Lee outdueled R.A. Dickey, but the Toronto Blue Jays got the last laugh, leaving with a 5-3 victory. 

Lee looked sharp in his Grapefruit League debut, striking out two in three innings of work while giving up three hits and one run. He faced 11 batters and didn’t walk anyone, leaving with a 3-1 advantage thanks to a Marlon Byrd two-run shot in the third.

“It went good,” he said after the game, via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “I’m pretty happy with it.” 

After B.J. Rosenberg worked two innings of one-run ball, however, 27-year-old Luis Garcia was blasted for two runs in the sixth inning. He gave up singles to Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera and Moises Sierra and was saddled with the loss. 

There wasn’t much offense outside of Byrd, who had a single in addition to his homer, as veteran Bobby Abreu drew a bases loaded walk for Philly’s other run. 

 

March 3: Phillies lose to Rays, 6-1

When Michael Stutes entered the game in the seventh inning, he had a 1-0 lead. By the time he made it through the inning, he had sacrificed five runs and the Rays were on their way to earning a 6-1 victory.

Roberto Hernandez pitched well for the Phillies, opening the game with three scoreless innings on the mound. Jeff Manship and Phillippe Aumont then combined to throw another three scoreless frames. 

But Stutes and Justin De Fratus (1.0 innings pitched, one hit, one run in the eighth) couldn’t contain the Rays.

Maikel Franco led the Phillies with two hits, while  Leandro Castro scored the team’s lone run on Wil Nieves’ RBI single in the fourth.

 

March 2: Phillies lose to Pirates, 4-1

A.J. Burnett made his debut with the Phillies against his old team and worked just two innings before leaving the mound after allowing a single hit and run. He told reporters after the fact, via Rob Biertempfel of TribLive.com, that it was a sentimental moment:

Nah, I didn’t. It wasn’t weird. It’s just facing another team, and it just happened to be those guys today. It was definitely good to see them. I always have respect for everything and everyone in this game, no matter who you play against. Any team I’ve played on, you’re respectful to them. It was a good time.

Burnett did little to help the Phillies turn things around. The club has now lost four of five to start spring training with no reversal of fortunes in sight.

Tony Gwynn was the lone offensive bright spot for the Phillies thanks to his two hits to lead the team, but even he fanned at plate once and was stranded on base multiple times.

As has been the case all spring, Philadelphia fell behind early and failed to climb out of a 3-0 hole that was created by the end of the fourth inning. The team mustered seven hits but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

 

March 1: Phillies lose to Yankees, 4-0

The Yankees put three members of their starting rotation on the mound in today’s matchup in CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Masahiro Tanaka, who made his hyped debut. The Phillies’ offense was no match in a 4-0 loss.

Philadelphia mustered just five hits and one walk. All six runners were left stranded. On the bright side, David Buchanan pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts as the starter. Miguel Gonzalez took the loss after giving up one run on two hits and four walks in 1.2 innings.

Ichiro Suzuki, Francisco Cervelli and Adonis Garcia provided the offense for the Yankees with a trio of RBI singles. Garcia’s plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to cap the 4-0 win.

 

Feb. 28: Phillies beat the Tigers, 10-6

Led by an eight-run third inning highlighted by Jimmy Rollins’ three-run homer, the Phillies defeated the Tigers, 10-6.

Marlon Byrd went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Darin Ruf contributed two RBI. Kyle Kendrick wasn’t terribly sharp in the start, however, allowing two hits, three walks and three runs in his two innings of work.

Nick Castellanos led the way for Detroit, finishing 2-for-3 with four RBI.

 

Feb. 27: Phillies lose to Blue Jays, 7-5

The Phillies led 3-2 after three innings before five quick runs from the Blue Jays turned the game in their favor for the second straight day. They went on the win 7-5.

Jake Diekman gave up two runs on four hits before getting out of the fourth inning. That’s better than what can be said about Ethan Martin, though. He allowed three runs on three hits and a walk without registering a single out before he was pulled in the fifth.

Darin Ruf and John Mayberry both hit their first home runs of the spring in a losing effort for Philadelphia. Cliff Lee gave up one run in two innings while striking out three.

 

Feb. 26: Phillies lose to Blue Jays, 4-3

Despite scoring two runs in the bottom of the first on RBI singles from Howard and Byrd, the Phillies fell to the Blue Jays in seven innnings (the game was called due to rain), 4-3.

Roberto Hernandez started and pitched two innings for the Phillies, giving up two runs and a Jose Bautista home run. Reliever Phillippe Aumont gave up two runs in the top of the third, before Jeff Manship, Antonio Bastardo and Kevin Munson combined to pitch four scoreless innings for Philadelphia.

Shortstop Ronny Cedeno added an RBI double in the fifth inning for the Phillies.

 

Pre-Spring Training Prediction for 2014 Season

At first glance, its hard to imagine this team competing with the Braves and Nationals in the NL East. They’re simply too old.

Ryan Howard has played in a total of 151 games combined over the past two seasons. Chase Utley’s 131 games played last year was his most since 2009, as were his 135 hits, 18 home runs and 69 RBI. Jimmy Rollins continues to play a solid shortstop, but his .252 average, six home runs, 39 RBI and 65 runs scored were wildly disappointing. Carlos Ruiz followed up an excellent 2012 with a really mediocre 2013. 

But there are good things, too.

For starters, Howard is healthy and is feeling pretty good, as he told Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News:

I feel good. Last week was a hard week—definitely different than spring trainings of the past. But you can definitely see what they’re trying to do. Now it gets to where the games kind of become the easy part. You do all the work, put in all the work and your offseason training, and now the games begin and you can have fun.

A Howard that is having fun and producing equals a Phillies team that can compete. It’s really that simple for Philadelphia. But there are more positives than Howard’s health this spring.

Domonic Brown (.272, 27 home runs, 83 RBI) had a breakout season. The one-two punch of Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels atop the rotation is one of the best in the National League. Highly-touted Cuban rookie Miguel Gonzalez could turn this from a solid rotation to an excellent one if he lives up to the hype. Jonathan Papelbon wasn’t great last season, but he still has the goods to be a solid closer. Free-agent additions Burnett and Byrd are old, yes, but both are coming off excellent seasons. Ben Revere provides some speed on the basepaths and plays a tidy center field.

And there is the surprising development that Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs actually projected the Phillies as the second-most-improved team heading into the season:

The Phillies, in a sense, are a positive regression case. They also added A.J. Burnett, Roberto Hernandez, Miguel Gonzalez, and Marlon Byrd, so while they also don’t project very well, they should be in the hunt a little longer. It pains me to say that the Phillies should be better for no longer having Roy Halladay. It pains me less to say they should be better for no longer having Delmon Young.

Unfortunately, that analysis sounds like the Phillies should improve from last year’s 73-89 mark to something along the lines of 2012’s 81-81 campaign, not another trip to the postseason.

Keeping expectations in check when evaluating this Phillies team is important. If absolutely everything goes right, they might be able to sneak into the postseason.

More likely, however, they’ll hover right around the .500 mark and finally put an end to an era of Phillies baseball that brought a World Series title, several postseason runs but, eventually, ended with a whimper, not a bang.

They’ll finish third in the NL East and miss the playoffs once again.

 

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