Nothing beats a good rant from an analyst after one of the local team’s players does something disappointing or out of line, and it’s consistently one of the best soundbite situations in sports that has produced thousands of viral clips over the years.
One analyst for the Philadelphia Phillies let it rip Friday night after the team’s 7-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals with one Phillies pitcher catching the brunt of the verbal assault.
Ricky Bo went off on the Phillies’ postgame show on NBC Sports Philadelphia after Taijuan Walker gave up six earned runs in three innings, saying “I wouldn’t put him back out on the mound…I don’t know what they’re gonna do with him, but this has been a failure from the get-go here…whatever was ailing him, I don’t know if it’s still ailing him, but he doesn’t look like he’s able to get many people out.”
Ricky Bo doesn’t hold back on his thoughts on Taijuan Walker after the Phillies starter allowed six runs on eight hits over just three innings on Friday. 😳 pic.twitter.com/5yUitGF7uG
Bo also pointed out how there were seven balls hit over 100 miles per hour off Walker in the third inning alone and said he was “getting pounded around the ballpark.”
The loss dropped Walker to 3-5 with a 6.26 ERA in 13 starts this season after winning a career-high 15 games for the Phils last year with a 4.38 ERA.
Walker is in the second year of a 4-year, $72 million deal he signed with the team prior to last year, so the team is in a tough spot and needs to figure out how to get this investment turned around.
With so many other starters doing well in Philly’s rotation, it’s tough to keep trotting Walker out there every fifth day.