Things have not gone great for the Phillies lately. They may have won last night, but the bats have gone cold, and the injury bug is biting them. So “The Best Show Ever?” brought the great Jayson Stark on to discuss what has gone wrong lately. They discussed the Phillies’ struggles to score runs, the impact of analytics in the MLB, and shares some praise for JT Realmuto. Here is some of what Jayson Stark had to say.
On the Phillies Recent Struggles to Score Runs
“Since Bryce came back, they’ve averaged 5 runs a game. But that’s obviously misleading they scored 18 of those runs in one game. Subtract that game, by my math they are averaging a little under 4 per game now. Some of that is facing better pitching since the Pirates left town. But the other part is, if you asked me about the offense as far back as Spring Training, I would have asked the same questions. How is Bryce swinging? How is Schwarber looking? How is Castellanos doing?
So let’s answer those. Castellanos is hurt. Schwarber has 2 HRs since August 5th. And Bryce is getting his hits, but he hasn’t homered since he came back. he is obviously still shaking off the rust. For this offense to do what it has to do, 1 or 2 or all 3 of those guys have to be great. Right now that wouldn’t describe any of them I haven’t even mentioned Rhys Hoskins. The 4 of them combined have 1 HR since Bryce came back. To me, that sums it all up.”
On How Great JT Realmuto Has Been in the Second Half
“On one side of the ball, JT’s hard hit rate is number 1 in the National League in the second half. He’s 20 for 20 stealing bases. He hasn’t been thrown out once, but he has thrown out 26 guys on the other end. JT is throwing out over 43% of the runners who try to steal on him. This is elite catching, at its most elite. Two months ago we were talking about what a disappointing year this guy was having. I don’t think you are going to hear that talk anymore, this guy is special.”
You Can Listen to the Full Interview Here…