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There was a little bit of optimism yesterday when we found out the team’s game in Dunedin was going to be televised. After all, we’re starved for baseball and anything that we can see is going to help feed that desire. But as we have railed at here at TGP, yet again baseball decided not to show it.
A shame too since Matt Moore came out and sat mid-90’s with his fastball, something he hasn’t regularly done since his 2016 good times. That was pretty much the only bright spot on the day as Vince Velasquez, the man Moore is fighting for in a bid to win a rotation spot, struggled again (more on him in a bit), Enyel de los Santos couldn’t maintain the velocity he showed earlier and Hector Neris struggled as well. Scott Kingery continued giving away the starting center fielder’s job while Mickey Moniak continued making his case.
The team will be on television tomorrow as they take on Detroit. Spencer Howard goes and hopefully he gets us all excited again.
On to the links.
Phillies news:
- Velasquez is well aware of where he sits with the organization. A crossroads is putting it mildly. Personally, that road should’ve been crossed this offseason and Velasquez should have been nontendered.
- Matt Gelb of The Athletic chatted with fans yesterday ($) and he reiterated the feeling that many of us are getting when it comes to that contested center fielder’s job.
- Bryce Harper? Not a fan of analytics.
- Of all the players in camp, Moniak is probably the one that has opened the most eyes among the player.
MLB news:
- In what has been a recurring theme with most free agent signings, the Brewers deferred the salaries of their two big acquisitions.
- Zack Britton is undergoing surgery on his left elbow, bringing back the Yankees’ injury bug that bit them so hard last season.