Who’s the Superstar… and more

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Superstars were supposed to carry the Phillies.

But they’ve all disappeared. Just like the Phillies’ ability to hit with power.

Bryce Harper ($330 million) was the star player who was supposed to own the NL East, but that distinction right now belongs to fellow first baseman Pete Alonso.

Alonso, who didn’t sign with the Mets until mid-February, almost as an afterthought, is hitting .341 with a .681 slugging percentage; both numbers lead all first basemen. Harper is slugging at .457, 10th in the majors for first basemen and is batting a pedestrian .250, 14th among first basemen.

So, who really is the superstar?

Alonso signed a two-year deal for $54 million with a player opt-out after this season. Line up, teams, who need a power hitting first baseman. Alonso also leads all first basemen with a 1.121 OPS; Harper is ninth at .870.

Overall, Alonso is No. 2 in baseball in slugging percentage trailing only Superstar of all Superstars Aaron Judge – who is slugging .734. Alonso and Judge are tied for the league lead in RBIs with 26, but runs batted in are luck, at least that’s what the Nerds say.

Judge also leads all hitters with a .415 average, my goodness, the 2013 draft pick, 32nd overall, has saved the Yankees time and again. Alonso was a second-round pick in 2016, the 64th selection by the Mets, also a tremendous pick.

Then there is the Phillies’ $300 million shortstop Trea Turner, the most disappointing Phillie in my book. A lifetime .295 hitter, Turner is batting only .247, 12th best among shortstops. The Mets’ Francisco Lindor is at .309, third best in the shortstop position. Lindor is tops at short with a .505 slugging percentage. Turner is a disappointing 15th at .326.

Until they start hitting with power again, the Phillies are in deep trouble.

The 18-7 Mets just completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies at Citi Field on Wednesday. They own the Phillies – Philadelphia is 6-20 at Citi Field since 2022. In the 10-inning 4-3 loss to the Mets on Wednesday the Phillies got 11 hits, all singles. In the three games the Phillies only had three extra base hits, Alonso’s 10th inning double tied the game and set up the win for the Mets, who also got a two-run home run from Brett Baty – his first of the year in the second inning, off Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, a cutter that did not cut.

It’s early, but it’s really not, and Harper said as much after the loss and good for him. “Winning takes care of mindset and everything else,’’ he said. “We’ve just got to be better.’’

The Phillies already trail the Mets – who are 12-1 at home and are establishing Citi Field as a New York Nightmare for the Phillies – by five games in the NL East, and the Mets resident superstar Juan Soto has yet to heat up. The Padres also are 12-1 at home. With a record of 4-8 on the road, the Phillies have a host of issues including new closer Jordan Romano owning a 13.50 ERA. He was the loser on Wednesday.

The 13-12 Phillies, who play in a home run haven at Citizens Bank Park, are 21st in home runs with 21 and 22nd in slugging percentage. Until they start hitting with power again, the Phillies are in deep trouble. Consider that the Yankees (41) have hit 20 more home runs than the Phillies while the Dodgers have bashed 39 home runs.

The Phillies need a lot more fight.

Ditch the phones: MLB is getting a bit like high school with phone usage.

Here is some friendly advice for Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., stop complaining about umpires. And keep your phone at a distance at the ballpark. The same phone advice could be said for the Braves Ronald Acuna Jr., who needs to forget past slights and try to get healthy and stay healthy. Aaron Judge has covered up for a lot of Yankee shortcomings, including Chisholm Jr., who is hitting .165 with 33 strikeouts while Cody Bellinger is batting .177. There are 165 hitters in Major League Baseball with a higher batting average than Chisholm Jr. Jazz is 21st among second basemen in average and leads all second basemen with those 33 strikeouts. Overall, only four players have struck out more. He has hit seven home runs in his all or nothing approach, second highest among all second basemen.

A veteran scout told BallNine in spring training he did not like the approach he saw from Chisholm Jr., whose swing got way too long. The evaluator nailed it.

Last week Chisholm Jr. was angered by a called third strike by umpire John Bacon. He was subsequently ejected and then from the clubhouse put out on social media (“Not even (bleeping) close !!!!!” Perhaps Jazz should have used only three exclamation points for effect. He received a one-game suspension from MLB for violating the social media policy.

As for Acuna Jr., he is not even with the Braves and got into phone trouble. In a game against the Twins, a 4-3 Braves win, Acuna Jr. criticized the way manager Brian Snitker handled a lack of hustle by Jarred Kelenic, who was thrown out at second base after admiring what he thought was a home run. Kelenic remained in the game and Acuna Jr. posted on X: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.’’

Here is some advice for high schoolers, too. I was at the Y the other day and about 10 high school athletes were at the gym. I got done with my workout much faster than they did because they were constantly staring at their phones, often after just finishing a set and sitting there on a weight bench. My friend Dave Dagostino, a longtime basketball and baseball coach, has a standing rule. Players can bring their phones “but they can’t come on the diamond or the basketball arena until phones are turned off and in their bags. I don’t want to see them,’’ he said. “Also, at practices no headphones or Bluetooth. No cells. No iPads.’’

I like it. Focus where you need to focus. And if you want to say about the gym “But they are tracking their workout,’’ this from longtime strength and conditioning coach Sal Marinello, “I just did a segment on my show about these fitness trackers and recovery. Trackers are all bullshit and all they do is put another layer between yourself and your body and it’s another disconnect rather than a connect and nobody’s gotten any better as a result of any of these fitness technologies, same thing as the phone.’’

Dagostino offered this key comment and this is something I am seeing more and more of in MLB. “All that stuff fractures intuition.’’

Intuition, like pitching command, is a lost art.

One of my super pet peeves (one of Keith Hernandez’ too) occurred in the Phillies loss to the Mets on Wednesday when in a 2-2 game in the eighth inning and two out, Nick Castellanos was thrown out at home by Juan Soto on a Max Kepler single. Castellanos was on second, Soto was playing a shallow right field, as he always does in those situations. The throw was on the first base side and Mets catcher Hayden Senger made a great tag, diving headlong to the plate to make the tag. Castellanos went into home with the silly hand slap tag, essentially sliding to the right of home plate, instead of going feet first over the plate, a direct line to the plate. Bad move: sliding directly to the plate would have gotten Castellanos there ahead of the tag, and also there might have been the opportunity to dislodge the ball from Senger’s diving glove tag. Castellanos simply gave more time for Senger to get there by sliding past the plate and then trying to slap home.

Along those lines, sliding itself has become a lost art too because it is not practiced like it once was in the game. I am seeing so many players headfirst slide past the bag and then being tagged out.

A Command Ace: Pitching guru Justin Orenduff offers this about the value of pitching command. Read it and learn.

Orenduff wrote: “On July 11th, the Chicago White Sox will unveil a statue of Mark Buehrle. It’s a fitting tribute for a pitcher who embodied everything the modern game is losing. Imagine this today …

“A 22-year-old rookie makes 32 starts, throws 221 innings, wins 16 games, and never misses a turn in the rotation. Now imagine he repeats that level of durability for nine straight seasons—averaging 33 starts, 220 innings, and 14 wins per year.

“That’s exactly what Mark Buehrle gave the White Sox.

“He didn’t throw 98. He didn’t chase strikeouts. For most of his career, Buehrle sat 88–91 mph, walked fewer than two batters per nine, and struck out just five. And yet – he was a 5x All-Star, a World Series champion, threw both a no-hitter and a perfect game, and earned over $136 million in his career.

“He didn’t dominate hitters. He beat them. Buehrle was likely the last true pitch-to-contact ace – and the perfect reminder that velocity is not the only path to value.

“In 2002 alone, he threw 104 pitches in his first start, made 31 starts of at least six innings, and surpassed 100 pitches in 24, finishing with 239 innings and 19 wins. And he did it in the steroid era.

“Pitchers like Buehrle still can exist. But we’re losing them—because too many are trading 20% of their execution for a 2% gain in velocity, and the current structure doesn’t reward pitchers like Buerhle.”

“We need to bring back the art of pitching where the goal isn’t to light up the radar guns. It’s to get outs, go deep into games, and give your team a chance to win every time you take the ball.

“That’s what Buehrle did. And that’s why he’s getting a statue. Because the art of pitching still works. It always has.’’

So well said, Chew on that Nerds.

The Last Word: I love what one unnamed Giants player told broadcaster Mike Krukow with a knowing smile when Krukow asked about the Giants surprisingly good start under new baseball chief and World Series champion Buster Posey: “We’re playing baseball again,’’ the player said.

More teams should try it.