Paul Hagen

Paul Hagen writes a weekly Phillies column for PhillyVoice.com. He’s been reporting and opinionating about the Fightin’s since 1987 which, if you’re old enough, you’ll remember was the year Lance Parrish was signed as a free agent. After 25 years with the Philadelphia Daily News he worked for MLB.com until 2018. Not a total dinosaur, he’s on Twitter @hagenp.

June 25, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Phillies, GM Matt Klentak opting for patience over clubhouse shakeup

by Paul Hagen

For over a hundred years, baseball teams have been known to make changes simply to shake things up when performance falls short of expectation. Matt Klentak couldn’t disagree more.

June 17, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Phillies can knock out two NL East hopefuls after important upcoming stretch

by Paul Hagen

There are still about two weeks to go before the mathematical midpoint of the schedule is reached. It’s a horrible cliché, but there are still so very many games left to play. The Phillies came out of the weekend 2 ½ games behind the Braves. Could have been better, could have been worse.

June 10, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Mapping the Phillies biggest needs for help at the trade deadline

by Paul Hagen

While it’s still more than six weeks to the deadline, it’s not too early to start thinking about this stuff. Remember, the ability to make deals with waivers has been legislated out of existence. So the door to acquiring outside help slams shut once the calendar flips to August.

June 4, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Will Bryson Stott be great? You never know with Phillies prospects

by Paul Hagen

So, congratulations to UNLV shortstop Bryson Stott for being the Phillies first-round draft pick Monday night. And, let’s remind ourselves once again all that he's guaranteed is a sizable signing bonus; the slot value for the 14th player selected overall in this year’s draft is $4,036,800.

May 28, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: What should the Phillies do with Odubel Herrera?

by Paul Hagen

In March, 1977 disgruntled Texas Rangers second baseman Lenny Randle pummeled manager Frank Lucchesi before an exhibition game in Orlando. Lucchesi had barely been admitted to the hospital before owner Brad Corbett said Randle would never play another game for the team.

May 21, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Five burning questions as Phillies pass first quarter of 2019 season

by Paul Hagen

Five burning questions now that the season has passed the quarter pole:

May 13, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: An appreciation of Phillies David Montgomery, who always 'went the extra mile'

by Paul Hagen

Of all the qualities that made David Montgomery exceptional, for me the most striking is how he went the extra mile. Both figuratively and literally.

May 6, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Some advice, do not worry about Bryce Harper

by Paul Hagen

This is only an issue because he’s in the process of making $330 million. It puts a target on his back. I get it. Harper gets it. But that doesn’t mean we have to fire off an arrow every time he strikes out.

April 29, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel may be tempting, but Phillies must fight urge to sign them

by Paul Hagen

Look, we all love to spend John Middleton’s money. Let’s remind ourselves, though, that the famous quote was that might be willing to be “a little bit stupid” when it came to increasing the 2019 payroll. He didn’t say he was going to be an idiot about it.

April 23, 2019

Phillies

Paul Hagen: In a slightly alternate universe, Phillies fans would be completely fed up

by Paul Hagen

Just for fun, let’s allow our mind to wander into a baseball Twilight Zone. Let’s imagine that the first week of this baseball season, when the Phillies won five of their first six, mostly by big margins, never actually happened.