Pops head out of my hockey mode
Well, the Dodgers won the World Series. The Blue Jays won two more games than the one the Reds, Brewers, and Phillies combined for, but they could not overcome the power of Yoshinobu Yamamoto (and got the Leafs’ Game 7 curse tacked on to them for good measure).
Speaking of the Dodgers….
pops back into hockey mode
I feel like I’m forgetting something. Something that starts with a B. Brad Marchand? Bruins? Bench-clearing brawl?
I got it! Baseball!
It’s been a while since my last wrap-up. Given how my Phightins got eliminated by the Dodgers3, you can’t blame me for choosing not to write about it. It took me a few weeks to process the loss, and from this, I can definitely say their playoff window is closed.
There are too many questions about whether players from the core will come back. I’m exempting Bryce Harper from this, as he will be here until 2029 due to his signing a long-term deal to stay in Philadelphia in 2019. But Kyle Schwarber is a free agent, as is pitcher Ranger Suarez, Harrison Bader (as he refused the qualifying offer from the Phillies), and catcher J.T. Realmuto.
All are great players who have provided many memorable moments during this playoff window, but unfortunately, the Phillies' front office cannot keep them all. And while JT has been dubbed the BCIB (Best Catcher in Baseball), he is getting older and has had multiple long-term injuries; Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs have shown that they can perform well and can be a great replacement for JT. Plus, Stubbs is a great vibes guy (see the picture below).
Look at him cracking beers in Phillies overalls! Good vibes from him.
Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski has issued qualifying offers to Schwarber and Suarez, while receiving the news that Bader rejected the Phillies’ one-year mutual option to test the open market. While fans have clamored for GM Dave Dombrowski to sign Kyle Schwarber, I’m not so sure I want him. He has gone cold, like Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos in the postseason. I’d rather have that money go towards having more consistent batters. Nick Castellanos has overstayed his welcome in Philadelphia, as his inconsistent outfield play and hitting have worn out fan appreciation of him. Same with Max Kepler, but his play was sweetened by acquiring Harrison Bader at the trade deadline. Bader was one of the more consistent hitters in the lineup, and he didn’t even flirt with breaking a franchise record for home runs! His injury in Game One of the NLDS set back a Phillies batting lineup that relied on him as a consistent hitter and baserunner.
With regards to our pitching, we’ll still have Christopher Sanchez..I’m sorry, Cy Young finalist Christopher Sanchez. He’s one of the most dominant pitchers I’ve seen since forever, number one in my heart, Roy Halladay. Same with Zach Wheeler when he didn’t have a freak shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of the second half of this season. Jesus Luzardo had one of his worst seasons as a starting pitcher with a 3.92 ERA, but even then, I’m sure he’ll bounce back next season. I’ve seen worse ERAs by starting pitchers.
And if Ranger Suarez does go elsewhere, I do think we have prospects like Andrew Painter and Gage Wood who can slot into a pitching spot and perform just as well as Ranger has. But remember, great pitching on a team can only do so much when they don’t get the run support they need to win a game.
Now our bullpen…where do I begin? We have Jhoan Duran as an amazing closer, but can’t get a good setup man to save our lives (or seasons, for that matter). David Robertson was either prime Mariano Rivera or 2009 Brad Lidge. And Kerkering is okay, but will forever be remembered for his throwing error in Game 4 that led to the Dodgers advancing to the NLCS. And we’re still going to keep around Alvarado even after he got a PED suspension that led to a fragile bullpen situation worsening in the first half of last season. Getting better bullpen arms would be a more helpful use of our money for Dave Dombrowski than keeping inconsistent bats on the roster. Our bullpen has been a flaming dumpster fire for as long as I’ve been watching the Phillies, which is most of my adult life. I’d like for Dombrowski to put out the dumpster fire in Citizen Bank’s bullpen by using that money and acquiring some better setup men. Pretty please with a cherry on top?
I’ll forever remember 2022 and 2023. I can take solace in lording it over the Braves while ignoring how we lost to the Astros in the World Series and the Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLCS. I don’t want to talk about the 2024 postseason, nor the 2025 postseason. This year was our year to make a deep run, and we fell flat on our faces. The NL East was ours to lose, and we didn’t. Shoutout to the Mets for their historical collapse! Next year will be worse for the NL East if the Braves and Mets get better (and also don’t play themselves out of a playoff spot). I’m assuming all the Braves will do their best to get healthy and will also get a manager who doesn’t need Spencer Strider to let them know if their starting pitcher is injured. The Mets are going to look for revenge after last year, and you can always count on the Marlins2 as a spoiler team for any NL East teams’ playoff chances.
The Phillies’ playoff window’s over, long live the Phillies’ playoff window. At least we have next year’s All-Star Game to look forward to if my eulogy holds.
1 Congratulations to the Dodgers and Blue Jays on making it a memorable one!
2 I miss Tyler Philips on the Phillies, and I hope he does well with the Marlins.
3 Orion Kerkering, pick a base. Any base but home, and the Phillies would have gone to another inning. But he panicked, overthrew to home, and we got one of the most heartbreaking losses in this postseason window.