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Jayson Stark on the state of the Phillies rebuild

On Episode 126 of The Felske Files, host John Stolnis speaks with Jayson Stark about whether the 2017 season has set the rebuild back and, if so, by how much.

By John Stolnis

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MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Episode 126 of The Felske Files is brought to you by Anthony Arot and The Nash Wealth Management Group! Check them out here!

The 2017 season has been so bad that, even when the Phillies win, they still kinda lose.

In the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phils won 5-1. Aaron Nola pitched brilliantly. The offense provided him with enough offense to get the job done. All in all, it was a rare time in Phillies land to #RingTheBell (Felske Files store #RingTheBell T-shirts can be found right here!)

But all is still not well. Odubel Herrera suffered two additional brain farts in Thursday’s victory, getting picked off third base with one out by Yadier Molina, then failing to run on a 3-2 pitch with two out. Couple that with Wednesday’s failure to adhere to third base coach Juan Samuel’s stop sign, and Pat Neshek’s open disagreement with manager Pete Mackanin over his usage, and you have a toxic brew.

Joining The Felske Files podcast this week to talk about the state of the rebuild is former ESPN baseball analyst Jayson Stark, who shares his thoughts on the 2017 season and the current state of the rebuild.

Here’s a hint... it’s not going great (interview starts at 16:27 mark).

Among the items discussed...

  • Stark relays an interesting story from his time on the Phillies beat involving the firing of the namesake of this podcast, John Felske.
  • Is this the worst Phillies team that he’s ever seen?
  • The 1997 Phils may have been more unwatchable, if that’s even possible.
  • This was never going to be a .500 team, and realism needs to embraced.
  • Aaron Altherr is the one guy who has shown he is an everyday player in the big leagues.
  • Phillies have at least one building block.
  • There is worry around baseball about J.P. Crawford.
  • It’s clear Crawford is not the team’s best prospect and is clearly no longer a Top-10 prospect in baseball.
  • Where are the star-making players in the Phillies’ system?
  • Given the steps backward the team has taken, will any of the top free agents after 2018, like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, be willing to join the Phillies if the team keeps playing like this next year?
  • It’s time for people to stop using the word “tanking” when talking about rebuilding baseball teams.
  • Is Pete Mackanin the long-term manager of the Phillies? Probably not.
  • Jayson discusses his future after his departure from ESPN.

Also, 94 WIP’s James Seltzer, from the Phillies 24/7 podcast, joins the show to talk about the Odubel Herrera shenanigans, the Neshek-Mackanin angle, and which five players in the entire Phillies organization would you keep if you could only keep five?

  • PLEASE VISIT THE FELSKE FILES TEEPUBLIC.COM STORE! Click right here for phenomenal T-shirts and other apparel, including these sweet tees!

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