In baseball, there is potential and there is reality. In a season that started off with so much potential, a cold, harsh reality has set in. With each passing day, comes another loss, it seems. The team which set off on its annual course wallowing in mediocrity, has slowly drifted into oblivion.
First order of business is the status of Charlie Manuel. He is in the final year of his contract. Publically, there has been no discussion about a contract extension. So there he is, flapping in the breeze. To the naked eye, it seems a team that has gone 5-19 since the All-Star break, under the helm of a lame-duck skipper, that change needs to be made – ASAP. Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg was not brought here to be a career third-base coach. If he truly is the manager-in-waiting, one must wonder whether the club will make a move sooner, rather than later. Many times, a change in leadership fires up the troops. Sandberg has managed many of the younger players on the roster down at Triple-A, with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Before coming to the Phillies, he had a successful, 4-year stint as manager in the Chicago Cubs minor league system. The Phillies owe it to Charlie. He needs to be told, one way or another.
The best, post All-Star break Phillies news – outside of Chase Utley’s extension – is that Roy Halladay will be making a rehab start with the Rookie League, Gulf Coast Phillies on Thursday. If all systems are go, this will be the first of two rehab starts, which will put him on target to start for the Phillies on Sunday, August 25. Based on the surgery – rotator cuff and labrum in his pitching shoulder – it is a minor miracle that he is even pitching at all this year. But, then again, it IS Roy Halladay. This works in the Phillies favor in helping the club plan for 2014. Halladay is a free-agent at the end of the year. He wants to pitch and the Phillies will need a starting pitcher. If the surgery indeed turned back-the-clock two or three years, then the Phillies will have a Top 10 starting pitcher in baseball. A top of the rotation made up of Halladay, Lee and Hamels would still be one of the most formidable in the league.
The relief corps has been anything but, this season. However, Jake Diekman and Justin DeFratus have been making incremental progress as the season winds down. Ethan Martin, it seems, would be best suited for the bullpen as a late-inning man. All three have power arms, however, not being able to throw strikes with any consistency is their biggest hindrance. Mike Adams underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on July 31. He should be 100% by spring training.
The maturation of Cody Asche and Darrin Ruf, as well as the continued improvement of Domonic Brown, will be interesting to watch the last month-and-a-half of the season. All three, project to play big roles in 2014. Ben Revere and Ryan Howard are currently rehabbing their injuries. It’s very likely that Howard has played his last game this season.
Jimmy Rollins and Michael Young have both cleared waivers and are eligible to be traded at anytime. However, any team that has the potential to make the playoffs and wants either player on their postseason roster, needs to act quickly. Players need to be on the active roster by midnight, August 31, to be eligible for the playoffs with their new club. Rollins is a 10 and 5 player, and would need to approve any trade.
Stay tuned. The winds of change are blowing.
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