Phillies Mailbag: Start, Marsh in CF, Topper on the Hot Seat?

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  Each week we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in each Tuesday afternoon to hear your questions answered on the air.

What to make of this Phillies start?
~Rich

The Phillies opened on Thursday with a nice win against the Texas Rangers.  Cristopher Sanchez remains an ace.  The Phillies got their Opening Day Kyle Schwarber home run.  But then?  Not so great.

Game two was actually okay, in my opinion.  I like that the Phillies rallied and took the game to extra innings.  Maybe they would have won if a throw from left field was more on line and got the runner at the plate.

Game three and game four were less than stellar.  The lack of offense was the story in both of the games.

Jesus Luzardo got a little beat up.  A defensive miscue by Adolis Garcia in right on a ball in the sun did not help.  But the offense did not show up, either.

Taijuan Walker, who pitches to contact, seemed to have a combination of bloop hits and defensive miscues combine to make game four a loss.

I really would prefer to see Andrew Painter come into his first major league start without a three-game losing streak.

I've seen excuses that they did not necessarily get too many at bats.  Some have blamed the cold.  By the way, it is cold in October.

For now, I'm going to go with that this is a small sample size. It's preferred that the Phillies be 3-1 now or at least 2-2.   But I would like to see some more games before I have any diagnosis as to what this team is just yet.

Why do they keep playing Marsh in center field? Time after he has proven he is good in left field and bad in center field.
~Michael

The way the roster is currently set up, Brandon Marsh is the lone back-up center fielder.  I agree with you that Marsh's best position is in left field.  Center field is not his primary position, however.

The Phillies might have gotten Johan Rojas onto the roster at some point.  But he is unavailable.  The Phillies have Pedro Leon stashed at Triple-A and the Phillies re-signed Oscar Mercado for additional depth at Triple-A.

I personally would not have given Justin Crawford a day off already.  But the Phillies need to see if he can play center field every single day.   That would leave just Marsh as the backup.

I think there is an indictment here on the Phillies having two platoons.  I really disliked that there were three last year.  But Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler have given way to Adolis Garcia.

Even down a platoon, with a full-time designated hitter that creates a roster crunch.  I think this is an important year for Marsh, who needs to show his bat is the second-half bat of 2025.

That's what will take to keep him on the roster.

If the Phillies get off to a hideous start, would Rob Thomson be fired and Buck Showalter be the new manager?
~Les

It is interesting to hear the name Buck Showalter again.  The former Seinfeld actor most recently was known for managing the New York Mets from 2021-2023.  Showalter also managed the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Baltimore Orioles.

If the Phillies need a new manager, I think he is already in the dugout most games.

Don Mattingly would be the logical choice.  The former Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers manager is already in place for such a castrophe.

But I really do not believe that they will have to go that route.  The Phillies are starting slow but it's one series and one game.

Mid-June then maybe we can worry about it.