Categories: Phillies Nuggets with Tim Kelly

Rob Thomson gives honest response to Keith Hernandez’s comments

Rob Thomson is the interim manager for the Phillies. (David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson is well aware of Keith Hernandez’s tremendous career as one of the greatest defensive first basemen in MLB history, and the success he’s had in his second career as a color commentator on New York Mets games.

But while Thomson was careful to be respectful of the 11-time Gold Glove Award winner, he made sure to disagree with critical comments that Hernandez made about the Phillies Tuesday evening.

“I mean, he’s a good baseball man and I respect his opinion, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it, and I don’t,” Thomson said in the Phillies dugout Wednesday afternoon.

“I think we’ve been playing very well defensively in the last couple months,” Thomson continued. “I think we made five errors in July. And last night was our first error in August.”

“He’s a good baseball man, and that’s his opinion. And I don’t agree with it.”

During Tuesday evening’s telecast of the Mets and 44-66 Cincinnati Reds, Hernandez explained that he’s told the powers that be at SNY that he prefers not to call games against the Phillies because they have been “not up to it” in terms of their defensive and fundamentals:

The Phillies aren’t a team that’s been constructed to win games defensively, as evidenced by their -20 defensive runs saved (26th in the league) and -21 outs above average (28th in the league).

However, Alec Bohm has seemingly made some improvements defensively at third base, Jean Segura has returned, Bryson Stott has replaced Didi Gregorius at shortstop and Dave Dombrowski traded for Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh, two excellent defenders.

The Phillies are in a better place than they were a year ago in the field. And despite having one of the worst teams in terms of defensive metrics, they are 61-48. Their +75 run differential is sixth in the sport. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are one of the best one-two punches in baseball, the team’s bullpen is drastically improved from the past two seasons and the offense has been excellent of late even without reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper.

Even if Hernandez isn’t present, the Phillies will have a chance in the coming days to exercise some demons against the NL East-leading Mets, who they are just 3-9 against this season. The Phillies and Mets will play three games at Citi Field this weekend, before squaring off for a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park next weekend.

Phillies Set To See Some Of The Best Pitchers In Baseball

You could make a case that future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer is the third scariest pitcher that the Phillies will see in their next four games.

As they look to clinch a series victory over the Miami Marlins Wednesday night, the Phillies will face off with NL Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcántara. The 26-year-old is 10-4 with a 1.88 ERA, 2.86 FIP and 4.2 fWAR over a league-leading 158 1/3 innings. Before the tilt, Thomson agreed with the assessment that Alcántara is probably the best pitcher that the Phillies have seen in 2022.

“Overall, the consistency of his starts against us, I think Alcántara is the best that we’ve seen all year,” Thomson said.

Wednesday will be the fourth start that Alcántara has made against the Phillies this season. Over the three previous starts against the Phillies, Alcántara has posted a 2.45 ERA over 22 innings. However, the Phillies have defeated the Marlins the last two times they’ve faced Alcántara, despite the righty’s excellence.

Former top prospect Edward Cabrera is hardly a slouch, as the 24-year-old has a 2.61 ERA in four starts this season. But he’ll almost be a welcome sight for Phillies hitters Thursday afternoon compared to what they’ll see this weekend in Queens.

The aforementioned Scherzer is slated to start the series-opener Friday evening. In the first season of a three-year/$130 million deal, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 8-2 with a 1.98 ERA, 2.44 FIP and 3.2 fWAR in 15 starts. Scherzer recently turned 38, but he appears to be aging like his former teammate Randy Johnson.

Things might get even more difficult for the Phillies on Saturday, as they’ll face two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom for the first time this season. Over his first two starts of the season, deGrom has a 2.53 ERA and 1.24 FIP, while having struck out 18 hitters.

Here are the scheduled pitching matchups this evening through Sunday:

Wednesday — Sandy Alcántara (MIA) vs. Noah Syndergaard (PHI)

Thursday — Edward Cabrera (MIA) vs. Kyle Gibson (PHI)

Friday — Ranger Suárez (PHI) vs. Max Scherzer (NYM)

Saturday — Aaron Nola (PHI) vs. Jacob deGrom (NYM)

Sunday — Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs. Chris Bassitt (NYM)