GDT 3/26/17 (Spring Training) vs Pirates

[Lucky_Beagle]

Phillies score 5 in the first inning. The biggest highlights included:

Kendrick double
Herrera rbi single
Franco 2 run HR
Saunders off the wall triple
Knapp 2 run HR

Pirates got one back in the 2nd after loading the bases with no outs.

[bkeich]

Apparently Knapp read the article questioning his holding on to the backup job

Kinda shocking that he has only had 5 starts at Catcher this spring, Phil's management confuses me at times. He should have had at LEAST 15

[LoneStarPhan]

Phillies hold 5-3 lead after six innings. Outhitting the Pirates 13-6 at that point.

Phillies' offense unable to get the hit with RISP after the first inning. Started the second with two hits, added a later walk, but left them on base. Two singles after a HBP in the 5th but PH Joseph GIDP to end the inning. Another DP kept them from scoring in the sixth in spite getting a single and a double.

[LoneStarPhan]

Buchholtz started and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, 4 walks in 3.1 IP. I'm underwhelmed, but it's still spring training. Venditte pitched the next 1.2 innings, a walk but no hits or runs. Garcia pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up a single in the 6th and a single and a two out double in the 7th. But no walks and no runs.

[LoneStarPhan]

Final

Pirates 3 10 0
Phillies 6 15 0

Benoit a scoreless 8th; Neris a scoreless ninth. Each gave up a hit.

Phillies added a run with two out in the bottom of the 7th. Double, walk, single (Valentin, Coghlan, Quinn)

Coghlan made nice catch at the wall in the ninth. Making a bid to get that roster spot.

Does Vendette make the 25 going into the season? Looked good again today.

[Austinfan]

Venditte doesn't have major league stuff. Forget about him.
Garcia is looking really good, touched 99, showed a nice splitter and a deadly breaking ball.
With him, it comes down to command.

Knapp had a nice opposite field HR as a LH.

Buchholtz may be our 10th best SP right now, he has average stuff, though the full repertoire, and his command is subpar.
At this point in spring training, it's a bit worrisome, but they have plenty of replacements and can afford to eat his salary.
Like Kendrick, "it's only money," and not a player the FO has any commitment to keeping if they don't pan out.

[Lucky_Beagle]

It is kinda funny the front office spent money to perhaps try to reach a .500 record this year and the players many want replace by younger rookies because the belief is they will do better are the ones who they bought (or traded for to take on salary really )

[flyers19rw]

Valentin was 3 for 5 and is hitting .389. Should we be impressed?

[allentown]

Yes, we should.be impressed by Valentin. He can be an MLB utility IF or starting 2B. He can be that this season. He will be cheap.

Saunders could be plus for us. I think Kendrick is just a waste of $ and a roster spot. Buchholtz is really and overpaid #5 starter. He'll eat innings and we probably need that. If he performs on the high end of reasonable expectations, he is tradable for a mediocre prospect, hopefully a young, high-potential, high risk guys, since we already have a ton of mediocre prospects and also already have 40-man problems. Surprisingly, AF seems to be drifting over toward my view on the futility of how the Phillies have chosen to increase MLB budget.

[flyers19rw]

If it were up to me, I'd release or trade out Kendrick. The problem is that there are $10M reasons why that most likely won't happen. He's a poor defender in LF or 2B and that outweighs whatever offensive assets that he might bring to the table. I understand that during the off season, acquiring Kendrick had some positives to it since no one knew if Altherr and Quinn were healthy. Now that they seem to be and there are other options for the OF, like you, IMO, Kendrick should go.

[Austinfan]

I don't see any "futility," that would have been a $5yr, $125M to a 30+ year old #2-3 starter.
These deals are money in a year where we're barely scraping $100M even with these veterans.
If we have to eat a couple one year deals, so what?

It's looking like Benoit and Neshak will round out a deep bullpen, at worst Buchholtz stinks out the joint and a kid is up by June, at best, he turns it around (never take veteran performance in ST too seriously unless it exposes a real flaw) and is trade bait in July.

Kendrick provides depth and a low pressure environment for Altherr, if he keeps pounding the ball eventually he'll start at one corner because his defense is heads and shoulders above Kendrick/Saunders, who would then platoon at the other spot.

All this money did was provide depth and the opportunity to be competitive while waiting for the kids to grow up.
Since the Phils can easily eat most of these contracts, it won't be that hard to engineer trades.

Valentin looks solid, but I'd like to see him get a half-year at Allentown rather than sit on the bench, it's not a lock that Kingery will beat him out or that either of them can beat out Hernandez, so patiently develop both kids and see what happens in a year or two.