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Phillies manager Gabe Kapler tries to stay focused on the players who are already part of his squad, but he can not avoid the ceaseless questions about other players who might enter the group. (Lynne Sladky / AP)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The night before Philadelphia's Philadelphia Phillies' first full spring training, when he was still wondering what message he would send to the assembled players, Gabe Kapler's phone would not stop ringing. Each time it was a new press notification that told him something that, based on well-researched insider information, strongly suspected him to be false: the fact that the Phillies were about to sign a contract to sign Bryce Harper.
"It was like" pop, pop, pop "- it's a story, it's a story," recalls Kapler, the Phillies manager, Monday afternoon at Spectrum Field. "At some point, you simply say," What does all this mean? "… After the fourth title" The contract is over, "I stopped, just like you, I stopped taking it seriously.
If only real life was as simple as turning off push notifications on a smartphone, the Phillies could enjoy a peaceful and distraction-free spring, a spring in which the focus will be on all the talents accumulated in their clubhouse, populated by recently acquired stars. such as left-field player Andrew McCutchen, receiver JT Realmuto, reliever David Robertson and short stop Jean Segura – rather than players who are not on the list.
"Easy to say, hard to do, is not it, stay in the present?", Said Rhys Hoskins, Phillies first baseman, who hit 52 homers in his first 728 goals match in a big league. "If we stay focused on this club, looking at each other, without trying to look out the door, we will do much better."
[[[["A two-year attack on free will": the president of a players' union responds to the MLB]
Although the free agent market this winter is approaching the end of its fourth month, the persistent unemployment of the two biggest names in this market – Harper and Manny Machado – continues to consume a considerable portion of the collective bandwidth of baseball. And nowhere else has this been more deeply felt than Clearwater, where the Phillies, widely regarded as favorites to land one of the 26-year-old sluggers, had their first full-on training on Monday.
"Not today, not today, the focus is on the players in this camp," said Kapler to the question of whether his message addressed to the entire group at the time of the The first team workout contained a reference to Harper and / or Machado, or the rumors surrounding it. "It's a special moment for the players, I would never want to take away their focus."
But the craze envelops the Phillies at every turn, even though they mostly choose to ignore it. On Saturday, it was Hoskins' Instagram account in the center of the storm, as members of the media noted a comment from Harper himself, saying: "Suhhhhh kiiiiiiid" – translated roughly as "Hi" – under one of messages from Hoskins.
On Sunday, the storm moved to Twitter, where several media suggested that discussions between Phillies and Harper "intensified" and where other users followed in real time a private plane apparently from Las Vegas, Harper's hometown, heading to Clearwater. However, there has never been any evidence that Harper was on board.
It has long been assumed that the Phillies – whose owner, John Middleton, had told USA Today in November that he was ready to spend this winter "a little silly" – would end up with one of the sluggers of the superstar, and they were widely thought to prefer Machado to Harper, because of Machado's defensive prowess at the third and / or short stop and familiarity with him from the Phillies front office, some of whom were in Baltimore when the Orioles l have written and developed.
This seems to have changed in recent weeks, perhaps as a result of the management's visit to Harper in Las Vegas in January. But at this late date, the dynamics could rather be considered a proposition: the Phillies are willing to do business with the player who accepts their offer first – although probably not, as some prefer, both.
"Everyone knows they are really good players," said Cesar Hernandez, second baseman. "If it's one of them, it's one of them. If we can have them both, I'll take them both. "
[Rob Manfred says players share responsibility for MLB’s slow offseason: ‘Our teams are trying’]
On Monday, while the Phillies dressed for their training, their clubhouse contained empty lockers alongside veterans McCutchen, Realmuto, Segura and Jake Arrieta. As they headed to the back of the complex shortly after 11 am – the speakers, somewhat incongruous, were hitting Whitney Houston's "I'll always love you" – there were 60 of them, ranging from uniform No. 2 (Segura). at 96 (reports Tommy Hunter).
Nobody was wearing Machado's and Harper's numbers 13 or 34 – although in Harper's case we do not even know if an option is possible because it used to belong to Roy Halladay, the Phillies' last ace and a recent Renowned elected.
The Phillies, of course, have grown tired of answering questions about Harper and Machado, but with a resolution of their status maybe even in a few days, the issues are not going anywhere. And at some point, the process of forming and developing a clubhouse culture – which started seriously on Monday – could be disrupted by the sudden introduction of a superstar figure, be it Harper or Machado, with enough personality and presence to change this culture sustainably.
"Many of us came together" in the Phillies farming system, Hoskins said. "We already know each other. And we try to create links with new guys. We use these six weeks to get ready on the ground – but more, it's about becoming a team. Obviously, a lot of things are happening outside. But it's outside this club. We try to make this club as consistent and strong as possible. "
At the end of the training session, Kapler stopped in front of the door leading to the Phillies Club to answer another question about players who are not part of his team. He did it without an ounce of annoyance or frustration. He had his mobile phone in the pocket of his uniform pants, but push notifications, presumably, were still off.
"Would any of these free agents improve our club? Absolutely. Everyone knows it, "said Kapler. "But I can not control it. My goal is to really focus on the fundamentals of our practice: Are we managing our decay games effectively? And every time I focus on these things, I'm not as good at my job. "
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