Small victories, large defeats.
This starts the final full week of spring training games, meaning we are a bit closer to real baseball action. For those that aren’t fans of the WBC, this is a positive thing as seeing these few games of still minor leaguers starting in regular positions is getting tiresome. We all reach this point each […]
You know what, this game feels big enough to have it’s own thread. Let’s talk about it.
The Atlanta Braves will visit BayCare Ballpark on Sunday afternoon for some Grapefruit League action. Taijuan Walker will be the first pitcher for the Phillies, fresh off his stint with the Mexican team in the WBC. The Braves are expected to start with lefthander Jose Suarez. Game time is 1:05 and will be televised locally […]
The other day, I asked a few questions about Rob Thomson and his tenure with the Phillies. He is in the midst of arguably the best stretch of regular season baseball this franchise has had in their history, yet he is not as universally liked as one might imagine. There are pockets of people that […]
After yesterday, we have semifinal matchups that are set. On one side of the bracket, the United States will face off against the Dominican Republic, perhaps the dream matchup of the organizers of the event. On the other side of the bracket, Italy, the tournament darling, will see . How did we get here? Let’s […]
Another spring victory, which is great, but we’re here for the showdown tonight in Miami. United States vs. Dominican Republic, Paul Skenes vs. possibly the best lineup ever assembled. If you’re not excited by this matchup, I’m know sure you have a pulse. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies: For the Yankees: Let’s talk about it.
The final two weeks of camp are way more important than the first two but the heat is on between Dylan Moore and Bryan De La Cruz for the final spot on the 26-man roster. The 13th position player may not play much at all with how Rob Thomson has the roles aligned. Edmundo Sosa […]
The quarterfinals have begun in the World Baseball Classic, which means we now have the best of the best playing still in the tournament. How did the first two games go? Dominican Republic 10, Korea 0 (7 innings) The other day, in the TGP Slack room, I had mentioned that I had a hot take. […]
Andrew Painter’s start yesterday had some good and some bad to it. It’s important to remember that he’s still just in that third start of the spring and that he’s likely working on some things right now. Still, he’s getting outs and that’s what matters. On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
When Phillies fans entered the off-season, most knew long-time right fielder Nick Castellanos was on his way out. The free-swinging, undisciplined and inconsistent slugger never quite gave the Phillies the type of production his five-year, 100 million contract, or his production in previous stops, warranted, and his well-documented off-field friction with Phils coaches and manager […]
Here are the lineups for today’s Grapefruit League matchup. Let’s discuss! For the Phillies: For the Orioles:
Yesterday was an off day for the WBC, so instead of our daily recap we’ll take this opportunity to look ahead to the quarterfinal round that begins tonight and continues tomorrow. The tournament now advances to a single elimination format, with two sides of a bracket that will narrow eight teams down to two. Friday […]
This time next week… you will not be watching the Phillies play regular season baseball. This time the week after next… you will also not be watching the Phillies play regular season baseball. But one day before this time next week… then you’ll be watching Phillies regular season baseball. Unless opening day gets rained out […]
Thanks in part to managerial wunderkind Mark DeRosa, Team USA found itself in a precarious position entering last night’s WBC game between Italy and Mexico. If Mexico won and scored fewer than five runs (tie breakers be wacky), they would advance to the next round instead of the Americans. Basically, Italy either needed to win, […]
Here are the lineups, let’s discuss! For the Phillies: For the Blue Jays:
We have reached the endgame, friends. This will be the week where the cuts are made, where some options are picked up, where some decisions are made and the Phillies’ initial roster of 2026 is created. Some of these possibly logjams have been taken care of already thanks to decisions to ingest things against the […]
Aaron Nola held the fate of the United States in his hands. Unlike their manager, Nola rose to the occasion and successfully bailed out Team USA with a gem of a performance for Team Italy that secured the Americans a berth to the quarterfinal round. For real this time, Mark. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the […]
It’s hard not to think about baseball when the weather is nice. It really gets you excited for when the games begin. Well, real games, not spring training. It feels like we’ve reached the point of the spring where Opening Day has never felt further away while at the same time rapidly approaching. One can […]
You might not have noticed, but one of the major narratives of the Phillies’ off season was whether or not Bryce Harper is still an elite player. After Dave Dombrowski (correctly, but curiously) said that Harper’s 2025 season was not up to his previous standard, that set off a lot of people talking, including Harper […]
“Expect Everything” is the slogan for this year’s World Baseball Classic. Still, few expected Day 5 of the WBC to deliver the drama and tension that it did. That’ll teach us (and USA), I suppose. Japan 9, Czechia 0 Three years ago, Czechia delivered one of the most memorable moments of the WBC as Czech […]
At this point in two weeks, the Grapefruit League of 2026 will be but a memory. We usually wish these games are over as soon as possible, looking forward to the regular season commencing as quickly as possible, but the lingering question is hovering over baseball. Will these be the last spring training games we […]
One of the major targets of criticism for the Phillies these past few seasons has been the manager, Rob Thomson. Thomson has pressed a lot of the right buttons on his journey as the manager of the team, leading them to increasingly better win totals in the regular season, yet coming up short of expectations […]
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies: For the Yankees: Let’s talk about it.
This past Saturday was Andrew Painter’s second start of the spring and if you looked at a box score, you’d be rather happy with the results. Three innings pitched in which he gave up no runs, even against a depleted Blue Jays lineup, is cause for optimism that corners are being turned in his development. […]