Rise and Phight: 6/18/2021

It’s possible that Gabe Kapler has become Terry Francona, part two. The one where a guy gets his first managerial job, is pretty horrible at it, goes to a different team and turns into a genius. There isn’t much denying that what Kapler has done in San Francisco this season has been astonishing. He’s not the one on the field, of course, but the Giants were in the thick of the playoff chase last season as well, getting eliminated on the final day of the season, so he has some influence on the team. There’s nothing wrong with not liking the guy, but admitting that he is doing good things there. The Phillies certainly have their hands full this weekend.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Don’t forget: the games this weekend, all of them, will only be found on Peacock.
• The cause of Didi Gregorius’s pain has been determined. It’s one that is rare, but he could be back soon.
• Good for Hector Neris to finally slay his demons in Los Angeles by getting a save on the Dodger Stadium mound.

MLB news:

• Not sure what you know about the Savannah Bananas, but MLB could learn a thing or two from them.
• There’s bad, there’s Phillies 2020 bullpen bad and now we can add a new category: “2021 Diamondbacks on the road” bad.
• MLB has relaxed some protocols for teams that have individuals that are vaccinated fully.
• Alex Bregman has to spend some time on the injured list, a blow to a Houston offense that is trying to stay with Oakland in the AL West.