Opposition research: Jeff McNeil

Pennant year song battle

**It’s a Mistake** by **Men at Work** prevails for another week, easily getting past Goodbye by Kristina DeBarge. The next contender is from 1993 and reflects the Athletics’ frequent changes in home city. It’s **I Get Around** by **2Pac**. Vote for the winner!

Non-Phillies thought

If you recall, when the Phillies beat the Braves in the 2023 NLDS, Orlando Arcia didn’t take the L very well. Jaylen Brown of the Celtics may be topping his crash out, complaining to anyone who will listen, that the Celtics’ loss was due to poor officiating. I’ve had to listen to Knicks fans call Joel Embiid a “flopper,” while Sixers fans counter that Knicks guard Jalen Brunson gets entirely too favorable of a whistle and spends most of the game foul baiting. As it turns out, just about every NBA fan thinks that star players on other teams are floppers who get generous calls from the officials. However, the refs didn’t really come into play in game one of the series on Monday, as the Sixers lost a nailbiter 137-98. A playoff game shouldn’t really be a “schedule loss,” yet this one kind of was. The only good news is that it still only counts for one game, and the Knicks might come into game two feeling overconfident.

Additional thought about the series

The A’s are in first place in the AL West, but that’s mostly because they’re the only team in the division with a winning record. They’re mediocre on offense (18th in majors in runs scored) and in run prevention (14th in runs allowed). Designated hitter Brent Rooker has been in a season-long slump, and their best hitter, catcher Shea Langeliers will miss at least some of the games on paternity leave. If the Phillies can continue their recent run of competent play – it certainly helps that the starting rotation is performing far closer to expectations – this is a good opportunity to further climb out of their early season hole.