Let’s get it back to the Phillies.

Opening day tomorrow, if you can believe it. It’s supposed to rain in the morning but should clear up by the 3 p.m. game time, OR, we can hope the meteorologists get it totally wrong and it’s sunny and 70 degrees instead. You never know.

Some news from Joe Girardi this morning:

Couple of thoughts here, in no specific order:

  • I know people aren’t excited about the prospect watching Neris close, but this shouldn’t be a huge surprise.
  • You don’t want to put too much on Alvarado’s plate. He’s a reclamation project with recent injuries and you can pace yourself with him and see how he progresses. It’s a long season.
  • Bradley isn’t a true closer. He did serve in that role towards the end of his Diamondbacks career, but was primarily a setup man after that 2016 season, when he was in the starting rotation.
  • Bob thinks Connor Brogdon could eventually be the closer.

Maybe this news disappoints you, but it’s insane to think about the Phillies’ bullpen from 2020 and look at what they’re going to be rolling out this season.

They’ve gone from the likes of Adam Morgan, Tommy Hunter, Trevor Kelley, and Brandon Workman to Alvarado, Brogdon, Bradley, Vince Velasquez, Sam Coonrod, David Hale, and Brandon Kintzler. It’s like night and day. It’s going to be infinitely more enjoyable. No longer will a live bet against the Phillies, after the 5th inning, be considered automatic money.