With October nearing, Castellanos' comments, Phillies' reality are not that complex originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PHOENIX — As the sun rises and the heat builds to uncomfortable levels here in the desert, eight more regular-season games await the Phillies before their playoff march in what they hope will result in the organization winning its third World Series.
And it is a good time for the team. It has won 16 of its last 21 games. A first-round playoff bye is almost a certainty as the No. 2 seed, with the possibility of catching the Brewers for the top seed. Injuries are healing in a timely fashion, starting pitching has been more than solid, the bullpen is good and deep and possesses one of, if not the, best closers in the game. The hitting has been productive, particularly the outfield. Since the trade deadline, that group is hitting .282 with 55 extra-base hits, which is third most in all of baseball.
That outfield group, which has been shuffled endlessly since the deadline by manager Rob Thomson, has been stabilized with the addition of Harrison Bader in center. Since early May, Brandon Marsh is hitting .306 and has belted eight hits in 16 at-bats as a pinch-hitter this season. Max Kepler has hit .289 over his last 25 games with 10 extra-base hits, 17 RBI and 17 runs scored. And Nick Castellanos had two hits, a home run (the 250th of his career) and three RBI in Friday’s win over the Diamondbacks.
Castellanos didn’t start the game, coming in as a pinch-hitter for Kepler in the sixth inning. He has been held out of the lineup numerous times by Thomson over the past month, even though the manager did say around the trade deadline that Castellanos is an “everyday player.”
But things have changed. And, not surprisingly, Castellanos is not happy.
After Friday’s game, Castellanos was made available to the media. Much has been made of the questioning, his answers and everything in between. I’m here to say it’s all OK. Reporters weren’t trying to ruin what should be good times, as many have stated on social media, and Castellanos wasn’t being anything but honest with his feelings.
Let’s take a look at it from a 10,000-foot view.
The shuffling of the outfield has been going on since the Phillies were swept by the Mets in New York back in late August. Thomson, who is made available to the media before and after each game, has been asked endlessly about it and his reasonings have been reported. The manager has basically said that he’s riding the hot bats, and Castellanos hit .180 in the month of August with two home runs and three RBI in 89 at-bats.
There is also the defensive factor. Simply stated, the outfield of Marsh in left, Bader in center and Kepler in right is a solid one. Better hitting and better fielding is probably the way Thomson looks at it and that’s why Castellanos’ at-bats have been limited of late.
From a pure baseball standpoint, that seems pretty logical.
Now to the reaction by Castellanos to the questions posed on Friday.
It was the first time since he’s been platooned that reporters have spoken to Castellanos after a game as a group, so, naturally, the questions about his feelings on not being the everyday outfielder were posed. It probably is the biggest subject surrounding the team and getting answers to it is our job.
“I don’t know, man. It’s still brand new,” Castellanos said. “I’m just making stuff up as I go along. I hit batting practice today, maybe I’ll hit it again tomorrow. I think anything that I do more often, I’ll get better at it, for sure. I’m here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring. So whatever role that looks like, just do the best I can with that. Any time that I step into the box, there’s a chance that something good can happen.”
Pressed further about it and how it has all been handled, Castellanos continued:
“I don’t really talk to Rob all that often. I play whenever he tells me to play, and then I sit whenever he tells me to sit. Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience. But also, I grew up communicating with somebody like my father which was really blunt and consistent.
“There’s been times when things have been said and then over the course of years I’ll have expectations because I’ll latch to what’s being said and then actions will be different. And then I’m kind of left, just thinking and whatnot. It is what it is. I have to do what I can. At the end of the day, we’re here to win the World Series. I have a good relationship with the guys in this clubhouse. I’m here to win. John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series.”
So, here’s a person who has been an everyday player for almost all of his 13-plus seasons in the league, trying to deal with not being that right now. Should we be surprised that he’s disappointed? Wouldn’t you be?
Castellanos did say the right things about wanting to win, about how he gets along with his teammates, about how he’ll do what’s told. His tone and irritability with reporters may have told a bit of a different story, but so what? The man wants to play the game he loves to play. That’s been taken away from him. It’d be a real problem if he didn’t care.
The communication thing probably isn’t ideal. When asked about it before, Thomson said, “Nick hasn’t said a word.” That could be interpreted as the two don’t talk or there has been no complaining from Castellanos. Whatever the case is behind closed doors, again, it doesn’t seem ideal.
But if we look at this with a longer lens, the breakdown really comes down to this: the manager of the team is fielding what he thinks is the lineup that gives his club the best chance to win the game on that day. It has worked well enough to produce the second-best record in baseball and a real chance to grab that coveted World Series ring.
In doing that, a player is disappointed that he isn’t a part of that lineup as much as he would like to be or believes he deserves to be. It’s a tough time for Castellanos, who has one more year remaining on his contract and will be 34 at the beginning of next season. But his part-time status hasn’t appeared to affect his play at all.
The coldness of sports is that winning is the main thing and keeping everyone happy in trying to do so is a rarity. That’s just normal. Just like the reaction of Nick Castellanos on Friday.
