Phillies Mailbag: Postseason Chances, Opponents, Lineup

We are back 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 Tuesday afternoons to hear your questions answered on the air.

Can you envision a scenario in which the Phillies do not make the playoffs?
~Andrew

The Phillies have six games remaining.  And guess what?  They come against the the statistically best team in the National League, and the statistically best team in the American League.  That is no small task.

Here's why it might be easier.

First,  Jacob Misiorowski is not scheduled to start this series.  At least not as of right now.

The Brewers on Sunday limited Misiorowski to just three innings before he got the hook.  The Brewers are trying to limit his innings and give him rest ahead of the playoffs.   Should he go with normal rest, he probably is not pitching anyway, but if he makes an appearance it will be limited.

The Philleis will face likeliy number two starter in Logan Henderson.  They might limit his innings, as well.  He threw five innings in his last two starts.  Perhaps the Brewers give him a quick hook on Wednesday, when he is projected tos tart.

And then there is Dustin May.  May is 7-9 with a 4.61 ERA.  He has been up and down this season.  I think it's fair to say he's not a guarantee to be top Dustin May.

And then Thursday is starter TBD.

The Brewers have a magic number of one to clinch a first round bye.  That can happen with a Brewers win or a Braves loss.

Either way, I think it's clear that, despite this incentive, the Brewers are in  "take it easy" mode at least to a certain extent.

As for the Rays, they have four games against the Yankees between now and Friday, when they begin their final series in Philadelphia.  They've already locked up their #1 seed in the AL.

I would imagine that they keep their foot on the gas against the rival Yankees and that Phillies series becomes a "take it easy" series for them.   If nothing else, expect them to be tired after four games in three days.

The Phillies have a magic number of three.  A combination of three Phillies wins and Diamondbacks losses gets them in.  That's likely.

Who would you rather the Phillies face in the playoffs?
~Andrew

I do not care who the Phillies face.

This is the playoffs, right?  This is where the best teams are supposed to show that they can beat other teams and hit the ultimate goal, which is to win a World Series.

From my perspective, bring on the toughest team right away.  A Wild Card series is a matchup of the best half of each team's roster.  This means the scary portion of the Phillies bullpen will not see the light of day in a Wild Card series.

They will not see much of the longer series, either, though there's a greater chance that teams dig deeper into their depth.

But whether they face the top teams sooner or later.  How about they beat whoever is in front of them to win a World Series?

That would be ideal.

Why do we continue to bat Kyle Schwaber leadoff? I love moneyball too but his rbis are way down.
~Michael

I am with you, Michael.  I do not love Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot.  I never have, either.

The idea for it is that yes, while he does not get a lot of runs batted in during the first at bad, there are opportunities in furture innings, when the likes of Justin Crawford and J.T. Realmuto are on base.

The move was necessitated by the Phillies acquiring Luis Arraez, giving the club three lefties as their best hitters, with Schwarber and Bryce Harper.  They put Trea Turner second to break up the left-handed bats.  But that's the reason to do that.

In fairness, Alec Bohm has been doing pretty well in the number five spot once the change took place.

Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh have slowed dramatically, which I think is part of the problem.

I like this, but I feel like they're going to keep with what they have.  The highs and lows of this team have been what they've been.

I keep hear about the 2022 team in making comparisons with the slowdown towards the end.  This team will have to hit their highs and ride it through the postseason.