How I long to see those things. How I long to hit those dongs, cross the paths where Chase Utley trotted, and get some sun on my boys… except when they’re under Rhys Hoskins’ chin.

The words of our superhero Bryce Harper. Or something like that.

A rollicking romp in the ballpark it was. Home runs, pop times, sweeping, and even a damn near fight. Turns out, Gabe Kapler does not like it very much when balls fly up on Rhys Hoskins:

Rhys feels the same way, telling reporters after the game how the Braves can avoid feeling the crushing need to retaliate after big home runs and bigger celebrations: “Don’t give up the homer then.”

He put it more bluntly on the field:

https://twitter.com/JGbaseball20/status/1112534892523458561

That’s actually the working title of the Braves’ 2019 video yearbook: “You Motherf*ckers”.

Let’s Wood!

 

The Wolf of Broad Street goes deep into the night

Another blast from The One.

Multiple angles:

That’s the noise A-Rod makes when he finishes… one of his cheesesteaks.

 

Take a bow

Harper’s right field bow is quickly gaining momentum. What seemed like a one-off Opening Day acknowledgement has turned into a routine act– a near calling card, if you will.

Harper is what baseball needs so badly right now. Whether contrived or not, his open tampering, pandering on social media, Phanatic cleats, and now, signature bow are all the sort of superstar (or hero) acts baseball needs to liven up the game. Harper needs to be in a big market. It’s good for the game. And even better for Philly.

 

Weird home run guy

Zack Hample is the moron who catches all those home run balls. You’ve probably heard of him. I interviewed him once because he got kicked out of Citizens Bank Park. He was back last night and, incredibly, got Harper’s home run.

Yuck.

Hample donates money to charity, but that’s a soft counter to a grown ass man who assails his way to wayward baseballs. This is his 67th home run ball, which is incredible. But when you dedicate your life to grabbing other men’s balls, you’re bound to get your hands on at least a few of them. Cool beans, bro.

 

I can hear your heartbeat now

Or can you?

Jessica Mendoza, who I like, remarked how Braves rookie starter Kyle Wright had “no pulse” and was perfectly calm in the moment of making his Major League debut. A few minutes later, when he forgot where the strike zone was and appeared to fear the Phillies’ dangerous lineup, she noted how fast his heart must be racing. Well, which is it?

I otherwise enjoy the ESPN broadcast. It seems stooges on Twitter didn’t, but I’m not sure they realize the alternative is Tom McCarthy and a half-interested Mike Schmidt, who at least seems to enjoy Bryce Harper and is well qualified to opine on his torque.

The ESPN broadcast is slick and professional, and the depth of field on the dugout cameras is breathtaking. I could do with more ambient noise, but Matt Vasssssgerrrrrrrsion, A-Rod and Mendoza, a Mets employee, more than aptly fill in the blanks. A-Rod has somehow become likable, and the duo mostly knows their stuff save for the occasional “Haskins” remark– worth nothing that moniker flub came as A-Rod, correctly, called that Hoskins would find himself at the plate with the bases juiced.

A-Rod even somehow managed to suppress his rage and not swipe the Phanatic with his giant Hamburglar mitt when the green one grabbed A-Rod’s $5,000 tie and then slammed Bryce Harper’s famous cleats on the desk in front of him. He even showed he was human – more human than Mendoza, who treated The Heater like it was a foreign object – by eating a cheesesteak live on the air… and then presumably hurling it up between innings and doing 500 push-ups just to be safe.

 

Will the Realmuto please stand up

And show off your excellent pop time.

Mendoza’s spent a few minutes fawning over Realmuto’s sensual pop time of 1.90 seconds last season, which he then showed off live in person by throwing out two runners at second.

If you don’t know what pop time is, just ask your wife. But if you want the baseball context– it’s the time it takes from when the ball hits the catcher’s mitt until it arrives at second base

I need to hear more about Realmuto’s pop time.

Downside: Realmuto was great, but you never go full Alfaro, which Realmuto did when he dropped a pitch that hit his glove, allowing a run to score.

 

Odubel

It might be time to put him in left, just so he’s far away from Harper, because that mid-innings gaff of almost colliding when Harper clearly had a play on the ball was frightening.

Odubel, to those of you new to the Phillies since 2011, is good for one mind-numbing gaff per game, but he had already used up his quota of exactly one when he chased a ball in the dirt after Wright had walked like 14 straight batters before him. Odubel struck out to end the inning. Not one of the pitches was in the strike zone:

 

Sun was on that boy

Loved A-Rod complimenting Gabe Kapler on his tan. Kapler’s response was even better: “game recognize game.”

 

Si

All-in on this nickname for the back half of the Phillies’ lineup:

https://twitter.com/Groves10287/status/1111368518312824841

 

He’s perfect

Bryce Harper was expectedly flawless in an interview from before the game with Matt Vasssggggerssssssion. He clearly knows Philly and sports – knew the winner of the Duke game during a live interview after the game despite the college basketball affair concluding after the start of the Phillies game – but it was his instant-recall of the 2009 World Series that really tickled my spots:

 

Check his tongue

No comment.

 

This thing on?

The Braves didn’t have one either:

 

Hardballs

Actual analysis from Bob

Let’s state the obvious. The Phillies are going to score runs and they will score them in waves. This lineup’s ability to draw walks was on full display this weekend as it combined to earn a free pass in 17.9% of its 112 plate appearances against the Braves. A small sample size, yes, but the Phillies are going to generate a ton of walks, and with the ability to go deep, they will grind opposing pitchers into the ground on many nights this season.

“But…but… walks are stupid.” Last season, walks were a polarizing topic with the Phillies, but the value of the walk was obvious throughout this series. Despite hitting only .236 as a team, the Phillies collectively posted a .384 OBP and generated 23 runs over three games. This helps:

It also helps when the guy in the eight-hole has a .583 OBP, pops two homers, and drives in seven runs in the same series.

The primary difference this year is that the significant thump throughout this lineup can maximize the damage of walks. Want to walk Bryce Harper? Deal with Rhys Hoskins. Want to walk Rhys Hoskins? Deal with J.T. Realmuto. That’s why Andrew McCutchen should continue to see a ton of fastballs early in counts. Opposing pitchers can ill-afford to face that core with men on base. McCutchen, who posted a .946 OPS against four-seam fastballs in 2018, hit both of his homers in the series off that very pitch:

Speaking of maximizing damage, the Phillies homered eight times over the three-game sweep. Last season, the Phillies didn’t hit their eighth home run until game seven.

Finally, let’s talk a little bit about what we saw from Gabe Kapler over the weekend. Balls under Rhys Hoskins’ chin will be the hot topic this morning, but I’m more interested in the strategic side of things.

Let’s first address how he handled the starting staff. There was no way he was going to give Aaron Nola a quick Opening Day hook after last year’s game one debacle, but I did find it interesting that he stuck with Jake Arrieta for six innings on a cold night in which he couldn’t consistently command his pitches. Arrieta threw only 55 of his 104 pitches for strikes, while racking up six walks and a hit batter, but Kapler wasn’t deterred. Plenty of managers would’ve had a quicker hook in this situation and been justified in giving it, but Kapler seems more aware of the human dynamics at play this season. Arrieta, who flirted with and then escaped a few potential early disasters, surely wanted to start the season on a strong note in front of a national audience after a less than stellar finish to his 2018 season. Nobody would’ve blinked if he had removed the veteran pitcher after the fourth inning, but Kapler showed trust in his pitcher and was rewarded for it.

I also want to touch on Kapler’s lineup construction. This was something he took a lot of shit for last season, which I thought was unfair because to say the lineup lacked talent is a gross understatement. Maybe you think I’m being too generous or a homer. Whatever. You can slice up Aaron Altherr, Scott Kingery, Andrew Knapp, and Cesar Hernandez playing on one foot any way you want, that’s a brutal lineup. Can’t make chicken salad out of…

Still, his constant lineup variations and lack of consistency was a point of contention for traditionalists last season. Well, those same people probably liked what they saw in this opening series. True, the Phillies faced three right-handed starters, had an off-day, and a late start Sunday after an early afternoon start Saturday, but it’s no coincidence Kapler fielded the same lineup in all three games of this set. Last season, Kapler didn’t field the same starting eight for three straight games until the second week of May. He’s going to mix and match, probably flip around the order some, but it doesn’t appear we’re going to see the drastic nightly juggling act we witnessed a season ago.