My ideas to "Be Bold" and fix the 2018 Phillies

Machado is key to a "Bold" contending future for Phils

Anyone who has been following the Philadelphia Phillies on a regular basis knows simply by watching that this is an improved baseball team.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Phillies currently have more legitimate rising talent at the Major League Baseball level than at any point in the last half-dozen or so years.

However, partly because there is so much youth at one time, and partly because some of that youth is being mishandled, the team has not been maximizing its potential. This has begun to show up in the results and the standings over the last few weeks.

Four times the Phillies lifted themselves up to nine games over the .500 mark during the month of May. All four times they followed with a loss, never capable of pushing to the double-digit mark.

Their recent 3-7 road trip was disheartening. It added to what has been a month and a half of sub par baseball. The Phillies have now gone just 16-20 stretching back to an April 27th win over Atlanta. That victory gave them 15 wins in 20 games, and they simply haven't been the same ever since.

The club wakes up this morning at just three games over that .500 mark, three games off the pace in both the NL East and NL Wildcard races, and fading fast. This kind of thing has happened twice in recent years as well. A nice start over the first month and a half, followed by reality setting in.

How do these Phillies reverse this present-day skid? How do they keep themselves from becoming just another short-term tease and long-term disappointment to the fan base?

I believe there are things that can be done. Hard things for sure, at least based on the way that the club has chosen to conduct itself in the early months of the Gabe Kapler era.

And while some of it is indeed on the rookie skipper, he is going to need help from management if the Phillies actually envision a summer of postseason contention.

The most difficult thing can often be admitting that you made a mistake. That is especially so if that mistake actually cost you a large amount of money, and you still have years to pay on that mistake.

Signing Carlos Santana was such a mistake. The Phillies handed the aging first baseman with limited power a $60 million, three-year contract as a free agent this past off-season. This, when they already had that position answered for the long term with power-hitting Rhys Hoskins.

The Phillies need to recognize this mistake for what it was quickly, move Santana to anyone willing to eat a piece of that contract, and put Hoskins back at first base where he belongs. Toronto, Minnesota, and Colorado might fit the bill.

The second difficult move that the Phillies brain trust needs to make happen is also on the right side of their infield: a trade of second baseman Cesar Hernandez. He has always had empty offensive numbers, but right now is in his prime and playing well.

Some team (the LA Dodgers?) with a need and aspirations of contending might be willing to part with a half-decent pitching prospect (Dennis Santana? Dustin May? Caleb Ferguson?) for the 28-year old.

In my "Bold" plan, the Phillies would deal
both Santana (L) and Hernandez (R)

This would make room for Scott Kingery to get to his natural position of second base, where he is clearly the future at the position. Putting Hoskins and Kingery out as the regular, everyday starters at their natural positions should result in them becoming more comfortable. I believe it would result in increased offensive production and consistency from both players.

These moves would also result in clarifying the starting outfield roles for the time being. Aaron Altherr, Odubel Herrera, and Nick Williams become the starting outfield from left to right. This youngish trio should have the opportunity to grow and show what they can do against all pitching over an extended period of time.

The left side of the infield needs to be Maikel Franco and J.P. Crawford - again, for the time being. Both players are still young enough, Crawford obviously so, that they need to be playing in secure, everyday roles. We'll get to the "for the time being" situation later in this piece.

The next move is to formalize what everyone already seems to know is the best move at the closer position: formally anoint Seranthony Dominguez to the role.

Also in the bullpen, give Edubray Ramos and Victor Arano key late innings roles. Move veterans Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, Luis Garcia, and Adam Morgan to the earlier 6th and 7th inning roles.

Texas Rangers ride back into AL Wildcard race

The Rangers have ridden back into the AL playoff race

The Texas Rangers have been champions of the American League West Division in four of the last seven years. In eight of the last nine they have either won the division or finished as the runners-up.

But for much of the 2017 campaign, the Rangers struggled. Jeff Banister‘s squad sat with a 13-20 mark just a little more than one month into the season.

Since then this has been a roller coaster ride of a year for the ball club. Texas ran off 10 straight wins to get back on the winning side of the ledger. But then the Rangers followed that winning streak up by losing 12 of their next 16 contests. That was followed by eight wins in the next 10 games.

Back and forth it has gone like that all year. Just three weeks ago, on August 27, Texas was 64-66 and appeared headed towards a long off-season. The Rangers were just three games off the AL Wildcard pace at that point. But there were also four other teams in front of them vying for that same final playoff berth.

Flash-forward three weeks. Following Monday night’s 5-3 victory over the division rival Seattle Mariners, the Rangers sit just two games off that postseason pace.

Wins in eight of their last 11 games have Texas now at 72-71. They are two games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the final AL Wildcard. The AL West-rival Los Angeles Angels are the only other team ahead of them. The Angels sit just a game ahead of the Rangers.

Streaking Rangers powered by Joey Gallo

On Friday night at Tigers Stadium, the Texas Rangers held off the host Detroit Tigers by a 5-3 score. The victory was a 10th straight for the streaking Rangers.

Now at 23-20, they have slipped to within 6.5 games of their in-state AL West Division rivals, the Houston Astros.

The Rangers have made this move without their future Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre in the lineup. Beltre injured his right calf just one week into the 2017 season, and has been on the Disabled List ever since.

Beltre is now on the road to recovery. Earlier this week, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reported that his return to the lineup is likely just a couple of weeks away. Wilson quoted Beltre after the Rangers training staff had allowed the now 38-year old to test the calf by running on it at half speed:

“It’s on the right track. I just have to make sure my legs are in shape and not to have any setbacks. So far, the plan the trainers have for me has been working, and I’m trying to follow that plan.”

Stepping into Beltre’s place in the lineup has been the man who is perhaps the future at the Hot Corner in Texas. Joey Gallo is a 23-year old who has been one of the club’s top prospects for years.

Gallo was the Rangers supplemental first round choice at 39th overall in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

Texas Rangers / Washington Senators All-Time 25-Man Roster

The Texas Rangers were formed from a failed attempt by Major League Baseball to forcibly keep a big league team in the Nation’s Capital.

The original Washington Senators had been one of the American League’s eight charter franchises. That club traced its existence back to the 1901 founding of the junior circuit.

Those first Senators relocated to Minnesota in 1961, where they became the current Twins. Wanting to keep baseball in D.C., an expansion club was created by MLB as a replacement.

The new expansion Washington Senators thus began play in that 1961 season. The team would remain there through the 1971 season.

The Senators had a losing record through each of their first eight seasons. With the nearby Baltimore Orioles as a consistent contender, attendance became a serious issue.

In 1969, baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams was brought in as the skipper with no prior managerial experience. “The Splendid Splinter” would guide the club to its only winning campaign. Williams’ 1969 Senators team finished 86-76 in the first year of MLB divisional play.

Rangers 2016 POY: Adrian Beltre

For the fifth time in seven years the Texas Rangers reached the MLB postseason in 2016, winning the AL West Division for the fourth time in that stretch and the second consecutive season.

The club received strong performances from a number of players in order to take the AL West crown, including from second baseman Rougned Odor, center fielder Ian Desmond, first baseman Mitch Moreland, rookie right fielder Nomar Mazara, and trade acquisitions Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran.

On the mound, lefty Cole Hamels led the rotation and young Martin Perez provided major innings, while Sam Dyson took over as the closer and had a strong season.

Beltre is Rangers Player of the Year

But the Texas Rangers Player of the Year in the 2016 season is the oldest of the position players who appeared with the team for the entire season. That player is third baseman and future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre.

Beltre appeared in 153 games, making 640 plate appearances. He produced 175 hits and scored 89 runs. His 64 extra-base hits included 31 doubles and 32 home runs. Beltre knocked in a team-high 104, and hit for a .300/.358/.521 slash line.

The 4x AL All-Star and 4x Silver Slugger Award winner took home more hardware for his work this season. Just this past week, Beltre won his 3rd career AL Gold Glove Award at the hot corner.