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Kincade & Salciunas: Weekdays 6am – 10am

Kincade & Salciunas: Weekdays 6am – 10am

Will The Spencer Strider Injury Open The Door To A Pennant Race?

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Author John Kincade
Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on April 05, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Before anyone thinks the injury to Spencer Strider is immediately going to tear down what the Braves have built in the NL East, think again. The Braves won a World Series title in 2021 and had numerous key injuries including losing Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season when he was on an MVP pace.

They will regroup. Will they be as good as they could be with Spencer Strider in tow? Absolutely not! Nobody felt bad for the Phillies when they lost Bryce Harper for two months in each of the last two seasons. The great teams persevere. I expect that to be the storyline with the Spencer Strider injury. Can the Phillies take advantage?

The Phillies need to grab a division lead in the first few months 

It’s been a long time since the Phillies have been in the divisional race. The reason is they have fallen out of it by Memorial Day. If they can hang tough and take the lead this time, the Phillies’ summer bats could carry them to a pennant.

The Phillies starters need to help the relievers

It’s only been ten days, but the Phillies starting pitching has been stellar. In turn, that benefits the bullpen whether by asking them to pitch less or by giving them a cushion for less stressful outings.

Braves better worry about Max Fried situation  

Max Fried through two starts has an ERA of 18! He has only pitched five innings and has just 6 strikeouts. He doesn’t look right as he enters the final year of his contract looking to get a big-time payday which Atlanta probably won’t deliver. If he continues to struggle, that is a bigger story to watch.

The other NL East teams are off to terrible starts

The Nationals were not expected to be competing for the postseason and the Mets took an organizational step back to hopefully benefit them in the long run. What nobody saw coming was last year’s Wild Card Marlins being the last winless team in baseball. The Phillies must dominate these three clubs and pile up the wins so that they aren’t once again sweating out a postseason berth into late September.

I thought the Phillies were going to win the NL East before the Spencer Strider injury

Before this news I expected the Phillies to be hungrier to finally win a divisional crown and for the Braves to suffer from human nature. Why bust your butts for 6 months only to get bounced? They blamed the layoff both years as being a problem. My guess is that they would be less motivated to win in the summer with more focus on the long-term goal.

Watch Kincade & Salciunas on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page for discussion about the latest breaking sports news in Philadelphia.

Andrews's 5 Predictions Going into the Phillies 2024 Season

  • Trea Turner Will Be An All-Star

    I think 2024 will be a full season of the Trea Turner we expected to see when he first signed here. After the ovation, Turner put up monster numbers. Numbers that would have put him in the Mid-Summer Classic if he was able to do it in April, May, and June.

    Now that he played a season with the pressure of the monster contract, I think he will be more comfortable to start the year. Is it nonsense that the pressure was too much for him last year after the big payday? Probably. But I am not in Trea Turner’s head. I don’t know how it affected him. I think he comes out the gate strong and will be an All-Star.

    Philadelphia Phillies on Twitter: "Trea Turner straight games with multiple home runs #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/EQA3fzvEmK / Twitter"

    Trea Turner straight games with multiple home runs #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/EQA3fzvEmK

  • We See MVP Bryce Harper

    The same goes for Bryce Harper, but maybe even further. I think we get vintage Bryce Harper this season. An All-Star come July, an MVP candidate come September, and a league leader in many offensive statistical categories.

    I think last postseason bothered Harper more than anyone else. He has been questioned by some about why he came up small in the NLCS. I think we see an even more motivated Harper coupled with the incredible talent that he already possesses.

    MLB on Twitter: "It's Always Loud in Philadelphia. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/KWGR5qklf1 / Twitter"

    It's Always Loud in Philadelphia. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/KWGR5qklf1

  • Aaron Nola Will Be a Finalist For CY Young

    Like Trea Turner, I think last season was a contract issue with Nola. Instead of playing under the pressure of a new contract, he was under the pressure of a contract season. Not only did he have that to deal with the contract situation, but he also had to deal with the new pitch clock which we ALL predicted would give him struggles.

    Once they figured out a better way for him to pitch out of the stretch with the pitch clock, his season turned around. Now that he knows he will be here for another 7 seasons, I think he goes into 2024 feeling loose. Once he strings together a couple of good starts early, a guy who historically pitches well in the warmer weather will be someone the Phillies can count on every 5th day.

    Rob Friedman on Twitter: "Aaron Nola, Filthy 79mph Knuckle Curve...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/oR60qH3POj / Twitter"

    Aaron Nola, Filthy 79mph Knuckle Curve...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/oR60qH3POj

  • Ranger Suarez Will Win a Gold Glove

    We all know how talented he is when it comes to fielding his position. His biggest issue in his career has been is lack of availability or role. When Suarez first came up, there was questions of whether or not he was a reliever or a starter. Eventually, he earned a starter role, but then visa issues and health in Spring Training delayed his starts. This year, he will pitch enough innings to finally qualify and he will win a Gold Glove.

    NBC Sports Philadelphia on Twitter: "brb, launching a write-in campaign for Ranger Suarez to win a Gold Glove ✍ pic.twitter.com/xv0tTltvHm / Twitter"

    brb, launching a write-in campaign for Ranger Suarez to win a Gold Glove ✍ pic.twitter.com/xv0tTltvHm

  • No Matter Who The Centerfielder Is, They Will Win

    I know I know, some of you can’t stand the fact that I think Johan Rojas should start the season in Triple-A. I just know you guys. If he is batting below .200 come May, you will start to complain and look for other options. But to all of your points, regardless of how he hits, or Pache, or Marsh, centerfield and the 9th spot in the order should not be the reason why the Phillies lose games. This lineup will come to play this season.

    97.5 The Fanatic on Twitter: ""I'll take our lineup one through nine over the Braves, [and] over the Dodgers." - Larry Bowa on the Phillies @975Middays / Twitter"

    "I'll take our lineup one through nine over the Braves, [and] over the Dodgers." - Larry Bowa on the Phillies @975Middays

A full blooded Delco native from a sports crazed family, John has been obsessed with Philly sports from his days at St. Annie’s drawing team logos on his book covers! Told many times by teachers along the way “if you knew your studies as well as you know your sports” he turned that perceived weakness into a career. John has been broadcasting at the local and national levels since 1992. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic he writes about Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers. You can follow @johnkincade or reach him at [email protected]

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