This offseason has has plenty of things to talk about when it comes to Phillies baseball. Whether it be Ruben Amaro making comments about Ryan Howard or the team parting with their franchise-leader in hits, Jimmy Rollins, there's been no shortage of news out there since the conclusion of the 2014 campaign.
With the departure of Marlon Byrd, it remains highly likely that Domonic Brown will return to right field, his natural position. We all know Brown's reputation. In May of 2013, Brown went on a rampage, blasting 12 homers while hitting .303. He was an All-Star. Then, he regressed. Since then, Brown has hit just .253, including a .235 average throughout all of 2014. . His 634 OPS ranked him 137 out of 139 in qualified hitters in 2014. So, what gives? Brown talked to Meghan Montemurro of Delaware Online and right now, the embattled outfielder just wants to do anything he can to help the team win.
"The last few years a lot of us haven't been on the same page," Brown said. "I want to make sure that we're trying to win ballgames and that's my biggest goal. Whether I'm sitting on the bench or playing every single day, it really doesn't matter. I'm going out there and I'm making sure that I'm going to give my team a chance to win a ballgame.
Not only did Brown's offensive numbers slump, but his defensive ability in the outfield also took a big step back. In 2014, he had a -1.6 defensive wins above replacement and fans could clearly see his inability to track fly balls from time to time. While Brown isn't known as one of the leaders in the locker room, he believes that the team has not been playing the Phillies way of baseball.
"Usually the Phillie way [is] playing hard, running balls out, taking the extra base. We weren't doing those little things last year, and I want to make sure that everybody's on the same page to do those little things to win baseball games because we had that just a short period of time ago."
Brown went from untouchable prospect in the Roy Halladay and Hunter Pence trade discussions to a guy who may not even be capable of playing an outfield position. Ge will certainly get his share of attention in spring training though, as Mike Schmidt plans to work closely with him to improve his mental handle on the game, which will hopefully roll over to his play on the field. Schmidt had a brief discussion with Brown last year regarding his hand placement and in the following at-bat, he went deep. Coincidence? Maybe, but Schmidt tells Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com he plans to help Domonic get back to where he was before.
"I don't think Domonic necessarily did what I said," Schmidt admitted. "I think it was coincidence. But I'm challenged. I know his history. I watched a great majority of his at-bats last year. I hope to get him to open up a bit in talking and trusting [me]. I'm not going to try to impart any mechanical things that I did as a right-handed power hitter. I searched for the ball with my hands. Domonic is more of a rotational, sit-on-the-back-leg guy. The core makes the swing happen.
"Domonic needs to be challenged to get back to where he was. But at the same time, not told he's bad or regressing. Search for positives. I wouldn't call it starting over. [I would tell him] 'Get this in your mind: I'm going to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award, starting now.'"
Whether or not Brown knows it or not, this season will likely be his last chance to try and solidify his role with the Phillies moving forward. All he can do is focus on right now.
"All I can do is prepare myself every day to be a Philadelphia Phillie until I get traded," Brown said.
