We’re talkin about the Fightins: 6/2/22

The Philadelphia Phillies currently hold a record of 22-29 as they sit 12.5 games back of the Mets in third place. The Phils have only won three of their last ten games and have shown numerous flashes of an incredibly exciting playoff team only to lose games that make you feel like an insane person for watching because this team is in a vicious cycle of mediocrity.

They have been dealing with injuries early with Bryce Harper (small UCL tear), Jean Segura (broken finger, out 10-12 weeks), Didi Gregorius (left knee sprain & currently with the Ironpigs for rehab), and Mickey Moniak, who just returned after he broke his right hand in the last spring training game after making the team. The Phillies went 10-18 in May and finished the month on a five-game losing streak before winning the last game of their series with the Giants and starting off June 1-0.

The thing that has made this team incredibly hard to watch is for one the abominable defense, the even worse bullpen, and the fact that the manager continues to put his players in terrible positions, especially the bullpen. One silver lining is that the offense for the most part has been pretty good, scoring runs is not the issue this year. The issue is our exceptional ability to blow leads and lose in extra innings and before the win last night the Phils lost three straight games in extra innings and lost 12 of 16 overall on the season. Harper has been good this year at the plate as he currently is batting .303 with 10 homers, 32 RBIs, and a .943 OPS, he is top 25 in all of baseball in each category. Other than Bryce no one has come close to his level of play, Segura, Castellanos, Schwarber, and Bohm have been fine but inconsistent. We thought the additions of guys like Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos would be great for the clubhouse so this team could figure out how to win but that has not been the case. Castellanos is heating up but for the most part, both guys have been cold and not great on defense.

As the summer begins this team will need to hit an extra gear if the playoffs are to be a real possibility and thankfully their schedule will be a lot easier. June is crucial, they need to start strong as they have potential playoff teams in the Angels and Brewers to start the month but after those two series, they will have a stretch that might launch this team to the next level (Playoffs!). After their series in Milwaukee, the Phils got the Diamondbacks and Marlins at home and the Nationals and Rangers on the road. You never know what will happen with these Phillies but it could spell bad news for the rest of the NL.

Before I conclude, I know a ton of people on social media are begging for Joe Girardi to be fired as manager but let’s be honest while Girardi isn’t great and his decision-making at times can be atrocious, this team is failing on their own volition. They just aren’t playing well, period. I get why Girardi is the easy target to point fingers at but firing your manager mid-season rarely works out. With that being said, they should 100% fire him the day their season ends, unless a miracle occurs and our season ends holding up the Commissioner's Trophy (World Series trophy).

The dog days of summer are around the corner and we are going to need sports as much as possible especially when the NBA and NHL playoffs end. But if the Phillies continue to be this bad it's going to be a LONG summer.