Is Matt Klentak’s new Phillies way better than the old one? There’s no way to know | Bob Brookover

The Phillies, it was determined in the middle of the 2015 season, were going to start doing things in a different way. As the team piled up 99 losses on its way to the worst record in baseball, Andy MacPhail came on board as the president and soon after the season was over Matt Klentak replaced the fired Ruben Amaro Jr. as the general manager. Managing partner John Middleton, the now-visible face of the franchise, was tired of the same old, same old.

"When I was brought in here three years ago, I wasn't brought in here to do things the way they'd always been done," Klentak said Sunday before the Phillies fell, 6-4, in their series finale with the Miami Marlins. "You guys remember that there was a narrative surrounding the Phillies that they were slow to adjust. So that is our job, to move the needle, to stay current, and win baseball games."

Initially, the needle moved slowly and without much public scrutiny. Some men and women with big brains started moving into a research and development department that barely existed before that. The department is still growing.

This season, with the hiring of Gabe Kapler as manager, Klentak's vision of the Phillies' analytically driven future manifested on the field. It would be an understatement to say it has been met with some resistance and skepticism.

"Kap's decisions — our in-game decisions — are on display every night and I recognize that they are scrutinized a lot," Klentak said. "But we're not doing things so radically different that this has never been seen in baseball before or that other teams aren't doing similar things. It's new to Philadelphia. I get that. Some of these things are new."

Yes, they are. The latest example came Saturday night when Scott Kingery's turn to hit for the first time came up in the second inning against the Marlins and Kapler sent up Asdrubal Cabrera as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded and one out.

That move was certainly a byproduct of a roster that has expanded from 25 to 39 since Sept. 1, but it was still highly unusual. Kapler seemed to recognize that fact when he sent Phillies beat writers an 8:43 a.m. text Sunday to further explain a decision that could easily be considered a slap in the face to Kingery, who has had more than his share of struggles during his rookie season. Kingery said he understood the move after the game.

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"I believe strongly that experience comes in all shapes and sizes," Kapler wrote. "Experience can be a ground ball with the game on the line or it can be sliding into a muddy, wet home plate for the first time to know what that feels like. Scott Kingery has had a ton of bases-loaded experience this year. He's also experienced every role and baseball situation under the sun.

"I also think there's another type of experience. Plenty of players can perform when conditions are easy. Do you want to be comfortable? Sure! Do you want to be comfortable more than you want to win baseball games for your teammates, your clubhouse and your fans? We have more people in the clubhouse, less playing time, and we're in a dogfight late in the season. Learning to still perform under those circumstances is a skill and it's one our guys are experiencing, some for the first time."

Kapler went on to explain that the Phillies' players have undergone a culture change this season and that he will seek every advantage for the team no matter how small until the team is officially eliminated. It remained 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves with Sunday's loss.

"When we begin seeking those same tactical advantages in 2019, they will no longer be 'different' or 'unusual.' That will just be 'us' and how we operate," Kapler said. "Ultimately, these guys are experiencing a Phillies-first atmosphere instead of one optimized for individual comfort. That, in my opinion, is development."

Perhaps that's true. It's impossible to know right now what kind of player Kingery is going to be at the end of next season, let alone at the end of the six-year, $24 million contract he signed before the start of this season.

At this point, Klentak and Kapler can point to the Phillies' 2018 record and say it represents an improvement over not just last season, but the last five seasons. They have that to fuel their belief that their new way of doing things is a better way.

"We have to continue to push forward in certain areas," Klentak said. "Believe me, there are plenty of things that we have considered doing that we have not done, but our job is to win baseball games and in order to do that were are competing with 29 other organizations who are also trying to create competitive advantages for their own clubs."

Klentak believes he is about to implement another improvement next season by hiring a cast of hitting coaches to teach at the minor-league level. It is no secret the Phillies have developed a philosophy of wanting their hitters to see more pitches, draw more walks, and hit for more power. Klentak used Nick Williams as a guy who has improved at being a more patient hitter. It's also true, however, that Williams will finish with a lower OPS — on-base plus slugging percentage — than he had last year. That's also true of Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Altherr and Carlos Santana. The only Phillies hitter who will have an improved OPS this season over last season is Maikel Franco.

"It's one thing if you have the most talented 25-man roster in baseball and you can roll 'em out there every day and win 110 games," Klentak said. "But most teams don't have that, and when you're not built that way you have to identify all the ways to win baseball games. Candidly, this was an excellent season to try new things with a young roster with relatively modest expectations, and we did. Some of them worked and we continued to use them. Some of them didn't and we won't use them anymore. But we'll continue pressing forward because that is our job."

Klentak and Kapler know well the job is not just about being different. It's about being better, and right now there is still no way to know if the Phillies' new way is better than the old one.