Phillies' Rob Thomson Defends Decision to Leave Jesus Luzardo in Amid Poor Outing
Phillies' Rob Thomson Defends Decision to Leave Jesus Luzardo in Amid Poor Outing originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Philadelphia Phillies suffered an embarrassing defeat, losing 17 to 7 to the Milwaukee Brewers in the team's worst loss of the year. Phillies manager Rob Thomson was in the center of debate, as he left starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo in for debatably longer than he should've.
Advertisement
With Thomson not going to the bullpen, Luzardo's ERA soared to 3.58 after allowing 12 earned runs in 3.1 innings. Before his disastrous outing against the Brewers, Luzardo had a 2.15 ERA across 67 innings. After Luzardo's rough outing, Thomson was asked whether he should've gone to the bullpen.
After the game, Thomson defended himself amid his decision to keep Luzardo in the game despite getting shelled. During Phillies Postgame Live on NBC Sports Philadelphia, Thomson explained his decision to keep Luzardo in.
"Statistics matter," Thomson said. "You want your guys to have great years, but at some point, too, you've got to battle through things, and you've got to do it for your teammates. You've got to strike that balance."
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) is ejected from the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park.Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Thomson's decision to keep Luzardo out on the mound amid his worst outing was a questionable one. It might've taken Luzardo out of the Cy Young race, and could jeopardize his All-Star candidacy.
Advertisement
While those individual accolades may not matter to Thomson or even Luzardo, they do play a role in the Phillies fans' minds. Having a player earn such an award is a great source of pride for the fanbase.
Bryce Harper winning the MVP in 2021 was a big deal for the Phillies and their fans. Luzardo was off to an incredible start to 2025, and he was in Cy Young discussions along with fellow Phillies ace Zack Wheeler.
But this outing likely takes Luzardo out of that race. As other starters around the league have put together great seasons, Luzardo's blow-up outing puts him behind in the Cy Young and All-Star rankings.
While Thomson's decision and explanation are best for the team, the fans don't look at it the same way. Having Luzardo knocked out of the Cy Young race after such a strong start, just to save the bullpen in a game in late May, isn't a fair trade-off.
Advertisement
But, Luzardo isn't completely out of things, and if he can have an incredible rest of the year, securing individual accolades is far from off the table. This outing, however, is a tough blow in what was shaping up to be an incredible Phillies debut season.
Related: Phillies Call Up Minor-League Reliever, DFA Struggling Veteran Reliever
Related: Would José Alvarado Be Useful in Phillies Trade Discussions?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
White Sox All-Quarter Century Team, the South Siders' best since 2000
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming MLB All-Quarter Century Teams, selected by Jayson Stark and Tyler Kepner and our readers. In addition, some of our writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement Well, the last quarter century of White Sox baseball has certainly been eventful, hasn't it? The 2000s began with a surprise division title just three years after the infamous 'White Flag Trade.' Five years later, the franchise reached its apex with a World Series championship. Yadda yadda yadda, in 2024, the White Sox went 41-121 and eclipsed the 1962 New York Mets as the worst team in modern baseball history. It's been a long way down. You could basically put the 2005 team on this list and Sox fans would be satiated, but in the end, I included only four of its position players, the ace of the pitching staff and the closer. I tried to balance longevity with impact, and in one case, I picked a guy mostly for vibes (and two big defensive plays in the World Series). Feel free to argue among yourselves in the comments, but if you look at the team's most common players by position page on Baseball Reference, you'll get a picture of why the Sox made the playoffs only five times since 2000. Signing Pierzynski was one of GM Kenny Williams' finest decisions. He was perfect for this team and this town and no one personified that era of Sox baseball like Pierzynski, who was both brash and good. Mark Buehrle famously said he never shook him off. Pierzynski's two most famous moments of his eight years with the team were running to first on a dropped third strike with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS, a heads-up play that helped propel the Sox to a win; and getting punched by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in 2006, setting off a benches-clearing brawl. But later that season, when the crosstown series returned to Wrigley Field, he hit a three-run homer to give the Sox the lead in the ninth that led to some Cubs fans showering the outfield with garbage. Those kinds of moments are why Sox fans still wear his jerseys to games. They called him 'The King' for a reason. Konerko, who played on the South Side from 1999 through 2014, was the captain of the White Sox, an erudite student of hitting with a caustic dry wit. He hit 408 of his 439 career homers for the Sox in the 2000s while putting up a .280/.356/.490 slash line. He could go into slumps, but he was otherwise the steady presence for a rocky franchise. Advertisement Everyone thought he'd leave after 2005 for free agency riches, but he pulled a smooth negotiating maneuver when he saved the final-out ball from the World Series and presented it to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf at the parade. When Konerko finally retired in 2014, he immediately got a statue and a retired number. In two-plus seasons of the 2000s, Durham put up 10.8 bWAR for the Sox. He hit 52 homers in that span (Durham is the franchise leader for homers as a second baseman) and was an All-Star in the team's surprising run to the AL Central title in 2000. There aren't a lot of other candidates, really. Tadahito Iguchi was a 30-year-old rookie in 2005 and helped spark the 'Ozzie Ball' Sox to the World Series, but he had a 5.3 WAR in two-plus seasons. Gordon Beckham should've been the guy, but wasn't. Yoán Moncada didn't stick at second long enough. Chris Getz started one season at second base and is now the GM. From 2009 through 2023, the White Sox got consistent production from Alexei Ramirez and Tim Anderson at shortstop. Anderson personified the team's short-lived 'Change the Game' era, winning a batting title in 2019 and making a pair of All-Star Games in 2021 and 2022. His bat-flipping charisma made him a star and his homer into the corn in the 'Field of Dreams' game got the Sox a nod for the 25 best games of the quarter century. Ramirez, who started at shortstop from 2009 through 2015, put up 23.5 bWAR and hit 109 homers in his eight seasons (including one at second base) for the Sox. He finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 and made an All-Star team in 2014. But this is a subjective exercise and I'm going with my gut. This team needs Juan Uribe, the Winnie the Pooh-shaped shortstop who brought vibes like no one else. Advertisement 'He remains one of my favorite guys to ever put on a White Sox uniform,' Williams told me in 2016. 'He's a prince of a guy and if you get a chance to know him, he's one of the funniest guys you'll ever know.' More importantly, he made one of the iconic plays of the Sox World Series run, catching a foul ball in the stands for the second out in the ninth before helping finish off the 1-0 clincher in Game 4 with a ridiculous snag and throw to first. You wish you loved your kids as much as Hawk Harrelson loved Joe Crede. (I can only hear his name in Harrelson's bellowing voice.) Crede was only a full-time starter for the Sox from 2003 through 2008, but it seems like he was there forever, a quiet guy on a loud team. His best offensive season actually came in 2006, when the Sox failed to get back to the playoffs, but he'll forever be remembered for his walk-off hit in Game 2 of the '05 ALCS. Crede was up with two outs in a tie game just after Pierzynski reached first on the dropped third strike and hit an 0-2 pitch from Kelvim Escobar for a double to left, scoring pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna. That tied the series at 1-1, and the Sox didn't lose again in the playoffs. Crede had a .949 OPS in the 2005 playoffs with four homers and 11 RBIs. The Hawkeroo will toast to this pick. Carlos Quentin had the best single season of any left fielder in the 2000s with a 5.3 WAR in 2008 (and that's with missing the last month of the season). Scott Podsednik was the straw that stirred the Sox's drink in 2005. But it's the guy who was traded for Podsednik — in the deal that got used as an example of the 'culture change' that Ozzie Guillen wanted — who wins this honor based on actual production. (Yes, I know I used the opposite argument for Uribe.) Because from 2000-04, Lee had a .287/.344/.493 slash line, hitting 136 homers and driving in 468 runs. He was really good, if not the right person for Guillen's lineup at the time. When Theo Epstein traded Eloy Jiménez to the Sox, he comped him to 'El Caballo,' but the oft-injured Jiménez never came close to capturing Lee's production. Advertisement But I should point out that while Podsednik's value was only immeasurable in the 2005 regular season, he really raked in the playoffs with six extra-base hits, including two homers. He slugged .551 in the postseason as compared to .349 during the season. Aaron Rowand is the sentimental favorite, but even though he's having a nightmarish season, Robert is still the pick. He's a five-tool player, even if only three of those tools are showing up right now. He showed signs of stardom in his first four seasons and I have to think the woeful state of the team has had an effect on him. While the team was falling apart in 2023, Robert played 145 games and put up a 5.3 bWAR with 38 homers and an .857 OPS. But he was bad last year in the Sox's historically awful season and he's been even worse in 2025 as the team tries to peddle him for prospects. It's a shame he hasn't produced more in a Sox uniform. You want to know something depressing? Adam Eaton had a better bWAR (16.2) in four seasons with the Sox than Robert does (14.4) in five-plus seasons. Shoot, maybe Eaton should've won this honor? From 2000-04, Ordoñez made three of his four All-Star Games as a Sox (he made two more with Detroit) and put up a .313/.376/.550 slash line with 139 homers and 510 RBIs. He was a star and another White Sox inductee into the Hall of Very Good. The Sox let Ordońez go after the 2004 season and he signed a five-year, $75 million deal with Detroit that included two option years, one of which was picked up for $18 million. Nineteen years later, the Sox finally gave their own five-year, $75 million deal to a free agent outfielder. (Don't ask.) Jermaine Dye, the Sox's World Series MVP, finishes second here. You have Jim Thome, who hit 134 homers, had 369 RBIs and put up a .933 OPS in 529 games in three-plus seasons with the Sox — and also hit the solo homer in the 1-0 2008 division tiebreaker win over the Twins at The Cell — and of course you have Frank Thomas (more on him below). There's also, uh, Adam Dunn. Advertisement But while he never played more than 39 games at DH, Abreu obviously deserves to be on this team for his production over nine years in Chicago. Abreu, the regular first baseman from 2014 through 2022, made three All-Star teams, won Rookie of the Year in 2014 and the AL MVP in the shortened 2020 season. He put up 31.3 bWAR and hit 243 homers and 863 RBIs for the Sox. I'm actually surprised there aren't more pictures of him around the ballpark. When does he get his statue? You can't do an All-Sox team without Frank Thomas, the franchise's all-time best hitter. From 2000-05, after his Hall of Fame peak, he still hit 147 homers and drove in 425 runs in 588 games and he barely played in 2001 and 2005. In that last year, he started the season rehabbing from an offseason ankle surgery and then was lost to foot surgery in late July. Still, he somehow managed 12 homers in just 105 at-bats. He wasn't on the playoff roster, which was a shame, but he still enjoyed the World Series run. The next year in Oakland, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting en route to a first-ballot Hall of Fame nod. He's currently selling an eponymous vodka and appearing in those cringey Nugenix commercials. One thing the White Sox did in this era was produce pitchers. Somewhere Don Cooper is smiling. Our starting five has four left-handers. We're leaving out Lucas Giolito, José Contreras (who was basically the best pitcher in baseball from the second half of 2005 through the first half of 2006), Freddy Garcia and Jon Garland, among others. Buehrle was one of the most effective (and efficient) pitchers of his era and one of the all-time best Sox starters (48.9 bWAR, 161 wins, 3.83 ERA, nearly 2,500 innings in 12 seasons), which is why he's still getting Hall of Fame votes and a statue at The Rate this summer. Sale was the franchise's best draft pick since Thomas. He went 74-50 with an even 3.00 ERA in 228 games (148 starts) for the Sox, striking out 1,244 in 1,110 innings. He was in the top six of Cy Young Award voting for his last five seasons with the Sox, making the All-Star team each time. His trade to Boston after the 2016 season started the team's ill-fated rebuild — and it was obvious then and now that the Sox's failure to build around him and Quintana was an organizational failure. He should be Cooperstown-bound with a strong finish to his career. Advertisement You don't have to say 'What about Danks?' because he made the list. The lefty is just behind Sale in career strikeouts for the franchise. Quintana had 21.2 WAR in six seasons before being dealt in a crosstown blockbuster to the Cubs for Cease, who finished second for the AL Cy Young in 2022. Cease, the lone right-hander, had a 3.83 ERA and 792 strikeouts in 658 innings for the Sox. He pitched in 346 games with the Sox and 209 of them came between 2000-02. Foulke had a 2.74 ERA and 87 saves, striking out 224 in 246 2/3 innings. He wasn't a setup guy, but he'll do just fine. Who else? Jenks is second all-time in saves in Sox history at 173 (Bobby Thigpen is first with 201) and he had 334 strikeouts in 341 2/3 innings. The best closers have what the kids today call 'aura' and Jenks was thick with it. After coming up during the 2005 season as a golden ticket of a waiver claim, Jenks started pumping triple-digit fastballs in an era where that wasn't commonplace. In the post-Jordan era of Chicago sports, I'd put Jenks, despite being a heavyset dude with a goatee, among the most electric athletes we had, right up there with Javy Báez, Patrick Kane and Derrick Rose. He was like a folk hero. As you might've read, Jenks is currently battling stomach cancer in Portugal. Da Pope. The Sox fan formerly known as Robert Prevost sneaks past Donn Pall for the honor. Last year, the Sox had the milkshake as the distraction for an awful season. This season, it's the pope. I love that the White Sox, the team perennially slept on by the national media, can count a Pope and a President among its fans. Obama proudly wore his Sox gear as a Senator and as the President and gave the franchise some needed cachet after they stopped winning. Guillen was the shortstop of the 1990s, a Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star with the gift of gab. His hiring before the 2004 season was one of Williams and Reinsdorf's best moves. The White Sox went 678-617 in Guillen's eight seasons in charge, with five winning seasons. Their 11-1 romp through the 2005 playoffs looked dominant but included a host of close games. Seven of those wins were decided by one or two runs, including all four games of a World Series sweep. Advertisement Guillen should still be managing somewhere, but he's turned into the best studio analyst in the city, the Charles Barkley of White Sox games. I would love to hear Ozzie the analyst critique Ozzie the manager's moves after a game. (Photo of Mark Buehrle, A.J. Pierzynski and Paul Konerko after Buehrle pitched a complete game against the Cubs in 2006: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chicago Bears Linked to Nick Chubb by Insider
Chicago Bears Linked to Nick Chubb by Insider originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Bears are officially entering a pivotal stage of their offseason program with mandatory OTAs beginning this week. While the focus is on player development and system install under new head coach Ben Johnson, another narrative is quietly building around the team's roster. As the window for unrestricted free agents nears its next phase, one decorated name in the backfield has surfaced as a possible late-offseason pickup—drawing attention from both insiders and fans alike. Advertisement Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb, 29, has been one of the league's most consistent ball carriers since entering the NFL in 2018. A four-time Pro Bowler and former second-team All-Pro, Chubb has compiled over 6,500 rushing yards despite battling injuries late in his career. After suffering a devastating knee injury early in the 2023 season, his future with the Cleveland Browns has become increasingly uncertain. ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, speaking on ESPN Cleveland and in a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter), weighed in on Chubb's next move: 'I do not expect him back with the Browns,' Fowler said, adding, 'the Bears and Commanders come to mind just in general terms as teams that could be looking for an extra back.' The Bears already feature veteran D'Andre Swift, who narrowly missed the 1,000-yard mark last season, along with Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai, selected with the 233rd pick in April. Nick ChubbGetty Images While the room has depth, Chubb's power, leadership, and playoff experience could add another layer to an evolving offense looking to take the next step. Soldier FieldGetty Images The question now becomes whether Chicago, building around a young quarterback and a revamped offensive identity, would take the risk on a high-upside veteran recovering from injury. No move has been confirmed, but if the buzz is any indication, the Bears could be exploring every option to build a complete, competitive roster. Advertisement Related: Key Cog for Bears Rival and Former Workhorse for Ben Johnson Announces Retirement Related: Chicago Bears Rookie Shakes Up Competition, Major Role Within Reach This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cole Kmet Reacts to Bears Drafting Colston Loveland in First Round
Cole Kmet Reacts to Bears Drafting Colston Loveland in First Round originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Position battles are heating up across the Chicago Bears roster, but one situation in particular stands out in the tight end room. With mandatory mini camp underway, one veteran didn't hide his reaction to a major organizational decision. After five seasons with the Bears, including a leadership role on and off the field, he found himself in unfamiliar territory after a high-profile draft move signaled a shift in strategy. Advertisement Cole Kmet, the five-year veteran tight end drafted in the second round back in 2020, was candid when asked about the Bears' decision to select Colston Loveland 10th overall in this year's draft. Kmet's comments came after the first day of mini camp and were shared by Dave, Senior NFL Writer for SM, on X (formerly Twitter). 'I think at first you're taken aback a little bit,' Kmet admitted. 'But Ben [Johnson] was awesome about it in terms of calling me right away and kind of explaining the decision. From there, you're just all on board on it.' He continued: 'You understand that there's going to be areas where we complement each other, and then there's obviously… areas where we compete for things. And that's football and that's how it should be.' 'The goal with it is to become the best 12-tandem in the league and see where we can take it from there.' Last season, Kmet posted 47 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns—a noticeable drop from prior years. Meanwhile, Loveland, though currently recovering from shoulder surgery, arrives as a mismatch nightmare out of Michigan, known for his route-running and after-catch ability. Ben JohnsonGetty Images If the Bears' vision pans out, the pairing could become one of the most dangerous tight end duos in the league. The added competition should elevate both players—something the new coaching staff under Ben Johnson is clearly counting on. Advertisement Related: Chicago Bears Rookie Shakes Up Competition, Major Role Within Reach Related: Chicago Bears Named Potential Landing Spot for Pro Bowl Running Back This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
