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Brace yourselves. I have some bad news to share.
Phillies place Pat Neshek on DL with shoulder strain. Recall Yacksel Rios
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) March 30, 2018
Pat Neshek, one of the Phillies’ best (if not THE best) reliever, has been placed on the DL with a shoulder strain. Commence with the wailing and the rending of garments.
Let’s take a minute and review what’s happened in the last 24 hours or so. In the late innings of Thursday’s opening day game, the Phillies were in a bind. Gabe Kapler brought out reliever after reliever to stop the bleeding on a wound that he himself inflicted, but none of those relievers were Pat Neshek. It seemed weird, because Neshek is a Very Good pitcher who was made to put out fires like that.
After the game, Kapler told the media why Neshek hadn’t been available.
Phillies didn’t have Pat Neshek tonight. Gabe Kapler described it as a “little issue” with his lat. Unclear how long he could be down. The manager had no regrets about his in-game decisions. Plenty of words about it to come.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 30, 2018
Let’s ignore the other bananas thing that Kapler said there and focus on this: Kapler hadn’t mentioned anything about Neshek being hurt before the game. And this made his decision to pull Nola at 68 pitches even more puzzling, since Kapler knew he didn’t have one of his best relievers available.
I have no idea why Kapler said it was a lat issue when a shoulder strain is what’s sending Pat to the DL. I have no clue why Kapler decided to pull Nola early and lean on his bullpen when it was already shorthanded, because tonight it’s going to be even more shorthanded. And tonight is a bad night for that, since Nick Pivetta is starting.
Get well soon, Pat. We miss you already.