You hate the Phillies.
I know you do.
Because I do, too.
As boos cascaded down from the all corners of Citizens Bank Park during Saturday night’s 12-1 faceplant by the free-falling Phillies, the existential dread of a fanbase scarred time after time by this group of seemingly overmatched-for-the-moment players manifested itself in ways hard to envision just one week ago.
At the start of their six-game homestand against the Brewers and Rays, they were four games up on the Diamondbacks in the wild card
race. On September 1, they were 6 1/2 games up.
And yet, thanks to San Diego’s 10-7 over Arizona last night, the Phillies, undeservedly, control their own fate.
Today, in Game No. 162, they can avoid a catastrophic set of circumstances that would go down as the second-worst collapse in franchise history.
(Sorry, 1964 Phillies. You’re never getting off the hook.)
The fact the team needs Zack Wheeler, the pitcher they had hoped to use in Game 1 of a Wild Card series, in a must-win game on the final day of the season, the fact they asked Aaron Nola to start a game on TWO DAYS REST, the fact they’re going to jam Jesus Luzardo, fresh off the IL, into a game out of the bullpen, the fact they reconfigured their defensive alignment and tweaked their top of the order on Saturday, speaks to the dire situation the Phils have put themselves in.
This group of veterans, who have long chased an elusive return trip to the World Series, appear to be crumbling before our very eyes. The loser energy emanating from the roster, especially a moribund lineup that has scored two earned runs in their last four games and been outscored 23-3, is palpable.
They don’t look like they think they can do it. Or, if you listen to J.T. Realmuto, who is hitless in his last 32 at-bats, they’re delusional (quotes via NBC Sports Jim Salisbury).
“For the most part, we’re having quality at-bats. We’re just not getting the hits, finding the holes, coming up in the big spots where we need that one hit to catch some momentum. We’re not getting the job done and it can be contagious. This time of the year, it’s easy to try to do too much up there. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s where we’re at right now.”
“Two weeks ago, I would never have guessed we’d be in this situation,” J.T. Realmuto said. “But that’s this game. It knows how to humble you. Hopefully, we come out of this better tomorrow, get in the postseason and get hot.”
No, you’re not having quality at-bats, and blaming “the game” for “humbling” you indicates a mindset that things are out of your control. It is a window into the helplessness Realmuto and his teammates are feeling right now. Earlier this week, Bryce Harper claimed the Phillies were still in the driver’s seat.
He wasn’t wrong. We just didn’t expect them to drive themselves off a cliff.
Any remaining illusions one might have had about Citizens Bank Park being a homefield advantage for this group were dead and buried this week. The weight of expectations, both theirs and ours, appear to be too much for them to handle.
Also, they may just not be good enough.
The Phillies feature the 5th-worst collection of non-pitchers of any roster in the entire sport (per fWAR). Most of their “stars” have struggled all season long. The heartbeat of the lineup, Kyle Schwarber, has been abysmal at the plate since the All Star Game (.194/.331/.410) with just 13 home runs in his last 62 games. Trea Turner has been a wasteland all season (.241/.296/.378) yet is 4th on the team in fWAR (1.1). And while Bryce Harper has had the best year of the three and appeared to reach “elite” status once again in August, his September power drought (1 HR, 7 RBIs) and abandonment of plate discipline has come at the worst possible time.
No one else is stepping up to help.
And yet, if they win today, they’re in. In fact, even if they lose, they will play bonus baseball if Arizona also loses today. Both games will start just after 3pm ET, so no one will know prior to the first pitch.
There is no reason to be confident. Clearly, the players aren’t confident in their own ability to win. All are searching for a way out of the hell in which they find themselves.
Should they reach the postseason, they will enter with the worst lineup of the 12 teams remaining, as well as perhaps the worst bullpen. They will hope to scrape by with barely enough offense to support a strong starting rotation, and utilize unused starters like Andrew Painter late in games to paper over the rocky relief corps.
But with the team and fanbase drowning in pessimism, perhaps there is one way out of this.
Perhaps the relief of getting into the postseason and starting the tournament away from the horrors of Citizens Bank Park will act as a kind of release valve for a group of players that are clearly pressing. Much like in 2022 when the main goal was to end their 11-year playoff drought, maybe they can convince themselves to play with less riding on their shoulders if they score a victory today.
Can this team’s collection of high-priced stars at the top of the lineup do their jobs and handle the heavy lifting today? Can the supplementary players figure out a way to help? Can Wheeler give them a typically great Wheeler-like outing? And can the bullpen simply avoid hurting anyone?
The Phillies have one more chance to avoid catastrophe.
Will they take it?
