Will Jeff Hoffman Continue to Come Up Clutch for the Phillies?
There is a pattern in losing baseball, much like the pattern found in classic serialized network television. Pick any TV show featuring a main story arc between the protagonist and their love interest from the last 20 years – for the sake of argument, let’s say, Chuck.
And yes, that’s just because I’m watching it right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great television. Man, I love my 2000s TV.
One of Chuck’s main storylines is the romantic relationship between our protagonist, the fumbling computer geek turned CIA operative Chuck Bartowski and his handler, CIA operative Sarah Walker. Throughout the entirety of the first season and into the second, the tension between them is that while they are faking a romantic relationship to preserve Chuck’s cover to all those around them, they are secretly falling in love – will this ever amount to anything real? Tune in next week to find out.
It’s a great strategy, drip-feeding viewers with just enough romantic tension each week until it finally explodes in one huge climatic scene. I’ve been getting a similar feeling while watching the Phillies the last week or so – having just lost five of their last six games, their incompetence has almost become predictable, episodic if you will. The team will go down early, maybe in the 2nd or 3rd inning, by only a run or two, not enough to panic.
The offense, which has been nothing short of anemic, might even tie the game or come within a run of doing so. Then, like clockwork, the floundering starter will come out for the 5th, 6th, or 7th inning and immediately cough up the lead. A late-inning rally will fall short; boom, there you have it, the Phillies have lost another heartbreaker.
However, one of the bright spots of my mid-summer malaise has been reliever Jeff Hoffman. The ninth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft, Hoffman has emerged out of obscurity this season after dealing against Bryce Harper when Harper was still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in April.
Since being called up, Hoffman has been nothing short of excellent – in his 26.2 innings pitched; he’s struck out 36 batters. Oh yeah, and he’s sporting a 3-2 record to go along with a 2.70 ERA.
Perhaps the reason why Hoffman is so refreshing to watch is that he fills a gap in the Phillies’ bullpen: for much of the season, it felt as if they were throwing out non-competitive pitchers for “non-competitive” situations. In other words, if it weren’t a save or-hold situation, the Phillies wouldn’t use their best relievers: Craig Kimbrel, Jose Alvarado, Gregory Soto, and Seranthony Dominguez. Sure, some of it makes sense – Kimbrel and Alvarado have elevated themselves to permanent closer and setup man by virtue of their play – but in other critical situations, the team was left adrift by rolling out Yunior Marte, Dylan Covey, or even (as much as it pains me to say) Connor Brogdon.
While these instances may not be labeled as “save or hold” territory, they are what I would describe as high-threat level situations late in the game – down one run in the 7th inning, down two runs in the 8th, a tie game in the 6th – all fit into this category.
Now, with the injuries to Alvarado and Dominguez, the bullpen is stretched even thinner than before. The team is forced to turn to pitchers like Jeff Hoffman, who, in five seasons with the Rockies, was shuttled between Triple-A and the big leagues 25 times. He’s got folk hero written all over him – a 6’5, 235lb first-round bust who’s found a niche here in Philadelphia due to his high-nineties fastball and icy cool demeanor.
So far, he’s been nothing but clutch for this team.
Will he continue to deliver? Tune in next game to find out.
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