The Braves on Saturday keel-hauled the Phillies in Atlanta by a score of 15-2 (box score). This pretty much sums up the afternoon for Philly ...
So, three games into his managerial career, Gabe Kapler turns to a position player to finish the game.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 1, 2018
Yep, Pedro Florimon was the final "pitcher" of the day the Phillies. Speaking of rookie manager Gabe Kapler, you'll recall that he made multiple strange decisions in his team's Opening Day come-from-ahead loss to those same Braves. There's also this ...
The Phillies used 21 pitchers for the season's first 28 innings. They are off tomorrow.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 1, 2018
Timely off day, that one. Anyhow, Saturday's loss occasioned another gaffe on the part of Mr. Kapler. In the third inning, Kapler went to the mound to remove starter Vince Velasquez but was forced to stall to the point of absurdity because no reliever was warmed up and ready. Hoby Milner, the unlucky moundsman who was finally called upon, had to hustle to get ready while pretty much everyone around him was trying to figure out what was going on ...
Gabe Kapler then said the Phillies will make the playoffs in 2018. Inside the clubhouse, there was a great deal of sympathy for Hoby Milner, being put in an unfair position by staff.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 1, 2018
Understandably, Braves manager Brian Snitker across the way was none too pleased with what he saw. Please enjoy the climax of the fiasco in question ...
Needless to say, Kapler was asked about this mix-up. He responded thus ...
Kapler took full responsibility for communication snafu between dugout and bullpen. He said he needed to do a better job. He also said Phillies would make postseason in 2018.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) April 1, 2018
He takes accountability for the mistake, which is good. And then -- the lede has been buried -- he guarantees that the Phillies will make the playoffs this year. Such boldness may be unwise given recent events, but it's certainly interesting.
To be sure, the Phillies have a strong base of young talent in place, and the front office supplemented nicely by adding Jake Arrieta, Carlos Santana, Pat Neshek, and Tommy Hunter. Will that plus Kapler's data-driven approach to management be enough? Not long after the Phils inked Arrieta, the SportsLine (@SportsLine on Twitter) Projection Model tabbed the Phillies for 75 wins and an 8.2 percent chance of making the playoffs. In other words, Kapler seems to think much more of his team's chances than this particular set of numbers does.
As for his screw-up on Saturday, perhaps he'll be hearing from someone in a suit ...
Umpire crew chief Jerry Layne: "Whoever is at fault for not doing their job on the Phillies side should have to answer to Major League Baseball." Braves didn't want Milner to have any warmups. Layne wanted to protect Milner's health
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) April 1, 2018
Developing. Developing on several fronts, possibly.
