Analysis / Nathan Ackerman

Phillies Nation • 17th October 2024

Dave Dombrowski says the Phillies don’t need another star. Is he right?

After the Phillies’ offense fell flat late in the 2023 postseason and the team essentially ran it back in 2024 only to meet the same fate a round earlier, it’s almost a given that there will be change this time. Don’t be surprised if that change happens on the margins of the roster — and not in the form of incoming stars.

Phillies Nation • 12th October 2024

With change on the horizon for Phillies, could Kevin Long be on his way out?

Whenever a team collapses the way the Phillies did in 2024 — with such high expectations and a season’s worth of anticipation crushed over a relatively uncompetitive four-game span by a superior division rival — and when it looked a lot like the collapse did last year, there is demand for change. Something needs to give. Kevin Long might find himself as the unfortunate starting point.

Phillies Nation • 4th October 2024

Watch for these matchups in the Phillies vs. Mets NLDS

If baseball is a game of inches, postseason baseball is a game of millimeters. Add an intradivisional matchup to that equation and it’s more like a hair’s width. Make it a rivalry as bitter as Phillies vs. Mets and you’d better pull out your microscope.

Phillies Nation • 17th May 2024

What stood out about Orion Kerkering’s three strikeouts Thursday

In and of itself, Orion Kerkering striking out three Mets hitters on Thursday night wasn’t anything terribly out of the ordinary. The noteworthy part was how.

Phillies Nation • 13th May 2024

Edmundo Sosa proving more than adequate in Trea Turner’s absence

Whether the Phillies can weather Trea Turner’s absence will depend largely on stars like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto slugging to make up the difference. But Edmundo Sosa being a productive stand-in at shortstop while Turner is out would certainly go a long way, too.

Phillies Nation • 22nd April 2024

Johan Rojas looking much better at the plate

The walls were not closing in on Johan Rojas, because eight games is too small a sample and there is no obvious backup plan, but the center-field situation as of April 7 was getting untenable. The 23-year-old was 1-for-22, with one hard-hit ball (above 95 mph) — and it was a groundout. The numbers weren’t good, and neither were the visuals.

Phillies Nation • 25th February 2024

Johan Rojas debuts new batting stance in spring opener

There’s not much drama this year at Phillies camp. The starting rotation is set. The bullpen is set, save a spot or two. The bench is set, except the last spot.

Phillies Nation • 20th January 2024

Will the Phillies regret not signing Josh Hader?

Josh Hader’s five-year, $95 million contract with the Houston Astros, reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday, should kickstart some movement in the free-agent reliever market. If Robert Stephenson’s subsequent agreement with the Los Angeles Angels, first reported by Jomboy Media, is any indication, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Phillies Nation • 1st January 2024

Four New Year’s resolutions for the 2024 Phils

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of four 2024 New Year’s resolutions that’ll help the club get back to Broad Street.

Phillies Nation • 11th October 2023

First inning is of utmost importance in Game 3

The Phillies woke up a 104-win sleeping giant late in Game 2 of the NLDS on Monday. There are two things that can put it back to sleep: Aaron Nola and a venue known colloquially as “The Bank.”

Phillies Nation • 7th October 2023

These matchups could swing the NLDS

I offered up one of these “matchups to monitor” guides ahead of the Wild Card Series, and I don’t mean to gloat — but actually, I do. I nailed it.

Phillies Nation • 3rd October 2023

Matchups to monitor in Phillies-Marlins Wild Card Series

This is the time of year where every decision is magnified tenfold. Pull a pitcher one batter too late? Watch the rest of the postseason from home. Pick the wrong lefty out of the bullpen? Pick the right hotel in Cancún.

Phillies Nation • 15th September 2023

Who wants the National League Wild Card spots?

You’d have thought a 2-5 stretch in the middle of a competitive September Wild Card chase, or a 5-9 stretch dating back to the last game of August, would have cost the Phillies more.

Phillies Nation • 4th August 2023

Just past season’s two-thirds mark, here’s how the Phillies’ schedule stacks up among Wild Card contenders

As the trade deadline fades into the rearview mirror and with August, the penultimate month of the regular season, under way, the Philadelphia Phillies are in a good spot. That might not necessarily be true a week from now, but as things stand, they’re in a good spot.

Phillies Nation • 3rd August 2023

Was Craig Kimbrel tipping pitches in blown save?

Craig Kimbrel has largely been nails for the Phillies this season, but Tuesday was not his day.

Phillies Nation • 20th July 2023

Edmundo Sosa’s uncharacteristic defensive struggles continue

When the Phillies traded JoJo Romero to the St. Louis Cardinals for Edmundo Sosa three days before the 2022 trade deadline, the goal was to acquire a glove-first utilityman who can bounce around the field and, regardless of where he is, play superb defense.

Phillies Nation • 29th November 2022

Analyzing the 4 big-ticket shortstops available in free agency

The defining characteristic of the 2022-23 free agent class is its depth at shortstop, and it’s no secret that the Phillies have their eyes set on that market — perhaps as the front office’s top priority.

Phillies Nation • 6th November 2022

Will the Phillies build on their World Series run, or was it a one-off?

The question of whether the Phillies’ 2022 season feels more like 1993 or 2009 — the previous two Phillies teams to fall short in the Fall Classic before heading in vastly different directions thereafter — is somewhat misleading.

Phillies Nation • 9th October 2022

The Phillies Wild Card Series MVP ballot

After a weekend of dominant pitching, sound defense, a few timely hits and, above all, loads of drama, the Phillies are going to the NLDS.

Phillies Nation • 6th October 2022

Six Phillies with notable history against the Cardinals or at Busch Stadium

The Phillies will make their first postseason appearance since 2011 on Friday when they open up the Wild Card Series in St. Louis.