Philadelphia 76ers (9-10, .474, 4th NL East) @ Miami United (12-8, .600, t-1st NL East)
Philly is 9-10, which is about right if you believe the output delivered by our esteemed baseball prognosticators in their preseason predictions. Really, you’d expect their record to be flipped, but it’s early and the law of averages hasn’t really had an opportunity to rear its ugly head. They got some pop with Palmer Parker (4) and Rich Hamilton (3) in the lineup, are hitting for average, have a good on-base pct… unfortunately, none of this has translated into runs so their games have been tight and they’ve struggled in the tight ones (0-3 in 1-run games). They get a bit of a boost from their pitching and defense where they rank at the middle or better in most categories… however, their lack of consistency has led to more than their share of bad beats. GM Dylan Edmonston sat on his hands for most of the offseason… so, after two straight finishes that kept them out of the playoffs, it’s hard to figure out how he intends to lead this squad back to the promised land. The 6ers could be mired in this tailspin for a while it seems – their minor league system is ranked at 22nd, their GM, now in his 3rd season at the helm, looks every bit the lame duck, and their superstar, Palmer Parker, will be a free agent after this season. Unless Edmonston has something up his sleeve, some ace in the hole, it’s unlikely that Mr. Parker will be around after this season and it’s even more unlikely that this team corrects their flight pattern to avoid a crash landing any time soon.
21 of 162: Logan Maldonado (0-1, 3.97) @ Graham Doyle (1-1, 5.84)
Loss, 2-1. Philadelphia improves to 1-3 in 1-run games with this road victory in Miami… Graham Doyle gave one up in the 8th, Kordell gives up the game-winner in the top of the 9th.
22 of 162: Vin Uhlman (3-1, 4.33) @ Cliff Slavinski (1-2, 4.85)
Loss, 5-4. Make that 2-3 in 1-run games for Philadelphia… a 4-run bottom of the 2nd wouldn’t hold Philly back as they’d get one of those back in the top of the 4th before exploding on us for 4 more in the top of the 6th. Slavinski is charged with all 5 runs, Philly’s Palmer Parker hit a double.
23 of 162: Grimm McGowan (2-1, 4.97) @ Radoslav Borovsky (2-1, 5.16)
Loss, 4-0. Swept at home and shutout in the closeout game… Yikes. Parker put his 5th ball out of the park, Grimm went the distance in the shutout, and Weaver hit a double that we didn’t do anything with.
Notes: It should go without saying, but just in case you didn’t figure it, we are no longer tied for 1st in the NL East… That designation now belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers who have the 4th best record in the league behind Toronto (14-8), Phoenix (17-5), and Golden State (19-4). We now occupy the 4th place slot on the table – but, don’t worry, we’re making sure that our players don’t get so used to being so high on the table… we want them to be realists. In other news, top MLB prospect, CF Mortecai Flenderson, of the San Diego Aztecs, has hit successfully in 32 straight games with his most recent base knock coming at the expense of the Pennsylvania Quakers. Seen as a 5-tool prospect with a high IQ, solid work ethic, and a star-quality demeanor – the smart money says that Mortecai goes in the top 3 of this year’s draft. We’d love to get him into our system… but with San Diego and Dallas selecting before us, we’re not holding our breath.
