Rise and Phight: 3/28/2022

Yesterday, in their victory over the Blue Jays, the Phillies saw a couple of notable things occur. First was Bryce Harper’s first two home runs of the spring. Not that anyone was worried about the NL MVP, but still, one would like to see him ravaging the pitching landscape in preparation for the season. When he doesn’t hit home runs at the clip he was last year, it can be a bit worrisome. Those two home runs proved that those fears are silly and unfounded.

The second thing was Mickey Moniak hitting his third home run, taking the “lead” for spring training for the Phillies. He doesn’t seem to be in the team’s plans for anything this season, but it is nice to see that he is showing at least some kind of a pulse this spring.

All this to ask: do spring stats mean anything to you?

When a player is ice cold, or red hot, during the spring training days, do you get worked up at all by it? Last year for the Pirates, Kevin Newman raised some eyebrows by hitting .606 during spring training. What did he hit for the entirety of 2021? How about .226, with an OPS+ of 56. It’s but one example, but I think more people tend to worry more about the pitchers than the hitters when it comes to spring stats. If a top pitcher is getting lit up, we’d be a bit more concerned than if a top hitter was struggling.

Just a thought for the day. On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Well, well, well, look who got the start at third base for the Phillies yesterday, and now looks like he has a good shot at starting there.
• Luke Williams finds himself heading to the west coast as the Giants acquired him after he was designated for assignment from the Phillies.
• Zach Eflin threw two scoreless innings over the weekend and he was emotional about it when interviewed.

MLB news:

• MLB is cracking down again on inspecting pitchers for foreign substances after they believe it started to make a comeback last season.
• The Rangers are another team testing out an electronic signal relaying system this spring to help with sign stealing.
• Are you a fan of humidors? Well if not, you better be, because they are coming to all 30 MLB ballparks this season.