Nick Piccone
It feels like we’ve been here before.
A Phillies player whose lack of hustle has, at least for the time being, jaded Phillies fans into the belief that just getting rid of him from the roster would be a sort of addition by subtraction move for the big club.
I say at least for the time being because, if the Phillies were winning, the criticism wouldn’t be as loud. When Jimmy Rollins loafed it and Charlie Manuel sat him, there were many more divided about the issue than there is now. I absolutely think the Phillies’ record (34-64) has a lot to do with it regarding the calls for the team to rid themselves of Odubel Herrera. If you refer back to the situation when Rollins was benched, the Phillies were the best team in the league. Now, they’re the worst. And when watching Phillies games, everyone has a more critical eye. It’s not a level playing field, no pun intended, for Herrera right now.
For full disclosure, I don’t think anyone should feel good about Herrera’s bat flips on fly outs or his lack of hustle after striking out on a ball in the dirt and not running to first base – but it’s not like we haven’t seen it before from other players. Personally, I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world. I do want to see players on the teams I cheer for play hard and use every opportunity they have to succeed on the field or court or ice. But there comes a time when reality sets in and it’s almost literally unbelievable to expect every player you cheer for give 100%, 100% of the time.
Man, maybe Chase Utley jaded us, too. [It’s a joke … please don’t take that one seriously.] In all honesty, Utley was one of very few athletes that came to this city showing 100%, 100% of the time. We really shouldn’t compare any other player to him.
Criticisms of players are loud in this city, and with this Phillies team, whenever someone loafs it or simply doesn’t hustle, they’re going to hear about it.
Hell, Herrera heard it last night from his teammate Cameron Rupp – who spoke with the media after the game and had this to say:
Catcher Cameron Rupp did speak with reporters and he admitted that Herrera’s misdeeds have been noticed in the clubhouse.
“It’s not a secret. It’s talked about,” Rupp said. “If you guys are seeing it, we are seeing it. It is what it is. We can say it to him, Pete has said it to him. It’s no secret and when you don’t do it, you put Pete in that position to do what he did.
“Pete is the manager and what he asks us to do, we’re supposed to do. It’s a team thing and one guy can’t just not follow the rules. It’s not the first time. It has happened before and that’s something we don’t want to see. We want him in the game. He’s a good player. Pete doesn’t ask a whole lot of us. He asks us to play the game hard and play the game the right way. Guys are going to make physical mistakes. Mental mistakes are something you can control.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. There is no doubt about it. But it’s something he asks us to do and we have to do it.”
Rupp mentioned that some teammates, including Freddy Galvis, have spoken to Herrera about his flaws. Galvis, like Herrera, hails from Venezuela.
“At the end of the day, it is him that has to do it, not anybody else,” Rupp said. “It’s hard for us. He’s a grown man. He has to learn on his own. We can only say so much. Guys have said things. I know Freddy has talked to him. Juan Samuel has. The language barrier is there, but you have the Latin guys who can tell him. He understands enough English. But it’s something only he can control. We can only do so much.”
We’ve already heard Phillies manager Pete Mackanin talk about this before. Part of that is likely why fans are just ready to wash their hands of Herrera. Mackanin, again, talked about it last night after he pulled Herrera for not running out a strikeout on a ball in the dirt.
“I have to keep having conversations with him, that’s all,” Mackanin said. “He’s a different kind of guy. I just have to keep him pointed in the right direction.
“Odubel does a lot for us. He’s just a different character. We have to deal with him in a certain way. I’ll have a nice talk with him tomorrow. He’s going to be fine. He’s been doing very well in that regard for the last month or so. But he just needs a reminder. He’s in a development stage, as well.”
Was Herrera rattled last night? Maybe. From reports by those in attendance, when he flied out early in the game, the Astros’ dugout apparently mocked him and his bat flip.
Of course, if the Phillies were a winning team, Herrera may focus a little more and do the “little things” instead of loafing it. Also, the fan outrage wouldn’t be as prominent. Also, Herrera’s five-year, $30.5 million extension is far too fresh in fans’ minds to just let it go.
But let’s also not forget the fact that Herrera is quietly putting together a pretty good season. Via (@tgpschmenk), Herrera’s batting .331 with a .374 OBP, .934 OPS, .560 slugging percentage since June 1st, and leads the league in doubles (20), with 26 extra-base hits in that span. He’s a good offensive player. And every good offensive player has slumps. He’s going to have slumps. But he also should realize – because who knows if he really does – that the fans will be just as quick to turn on him, like they did last night, as they are to cheer him when he hits a home run or makes a spectacular play in the field.
It isn’t enough to justify trading him just because you don’t want to see him not hustle to first on a strikeout in the dirt. His bat flips have nothing to do with his play. He’s been doing it for years, and just now people are tired of it? I know there have been criticisms in the past of his bat flips, but maybe that all should have subsided a bit when it became a story earlier this season, and Herrera said he’d simply have to rub it if he were to get beaned. Of course, the argument becomes that the other team would target another player instead of Herrera, therefore allowing his bat flips to expose someone else on the roster.
Some next-level thinking. Some old school baseball thinking. But, it’s not like Herrera’s bat flips are meant in malicious fashion. He does it all the time. You know who didn’t get beaned for admiring a home run?
Ryan Howard. Who did it all the time. And nobody criticized him for that.
The Phillies stink. And this is a way for fans to get out their frustration, somehow thinking this team without Herrera is a better one.
It’s not.
Of course, if there’s a trade offer out there that makes the Phillies better … then they have to do the deal. I just don’t think getting rid of Herrera for nothing is the answer. There’s always an answer – but I don’t think the Phillies could acquire anything in return for Herrera that would make them better right now.
You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@nickpiccone) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Subscribe to his podcast on iTunes here and listen live on WildfireRadio.com every Friday at 6pm. Click here to read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram.