Phillies Not Shaking Up the Batting Order is a Bit Surprising

The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten off to a good start so far in the Don Mattingly era. However, it was a bit surprising to see the new manager not make any major adjustments to the lineup.

On Tuesday morning, the Phillies announced the firing of manager Rob Thomson after a (9-19) start. This came as little surprise, with the struggles to begin the year, coupled with two early exits in the last two campaigns in the playoffs.

With a lot of key players struggling on the team, Thomson certainly wasn’t the only person to blame for the struggles of the franchise. However, he took the blame, and it is now Mattingly taking over as the interim manager.

Fortunately, he has a lot of experience in the dugout as the manager for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins. Mattingly is also very well-respected as a former great player for the New York Yankees. Now, he will be tasked with trying to get the most out of a Phillies team that has been a massive underachiever so far this season.

In his first game as the manager, it was a little bit surprising to see the lineup relatively the same as it had been toward the top. As the team was looking for a spark, a bit of a lineup change seemed like it could be possible. However, it appears like it will be more of the same.

Mattingly Not Changing Lineup Much is Surprising

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner on the field — Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

In his first game as the manager, Mattingly elected to go with a top five in the order of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Adolis Garcia, and Brandon Marsh. This is a group that Philadelphia has seen a lot of in the top five, and the results overall haven’t been great.

A major reason for those struggles has been the performance of the two right-handed hitters. Turner and Garcia are both off to slow starts, and their inability to hit left-handed pitching has really had a negative impact on the team.

Furthermore, Mattingly appears to want to have his best three hitters at the top of the order, and that is what a lot of teams have been doing. Getting extra at-bats for the best of the best helps in the long run, but sometimes there has to be a bit of feel for the construction of the unit as well.

While it was just one game, it will be interesting to see if Mattingly takes a longer look at how he wants to deploy his sluggers going forward. With a 1-0 record as a manager, things are off to a good start, but there is still plenty of work to do.

Add us as a preferred source on Google