The Phillies Biggest Problem Is That Their Biggest Stars Have Become Their Biggest Losers
Emilee Chinn. Getty Images.It's been the same exact thing every single playoff exit for the last 4 seasons now. The bats go cold. The bullpen gets obliterated. The moment gets too big. And the manager is the dumbest, most worthless piece of shit to come through Philly sports. Rob Thomson shouldn't be allowed to manage game 3 on Wednesday. For all intents and purposes, his season (and career) needs to be done tonight. I don't know if we've ever seen a manager get fired during the postseason before, but the decision to bunt Stott in the 9th inning has to be bad enough to warrant his termination.
But you know what? Rob Thomson is an idiot who fell ass backwards into this manager position in the first place. We expect him to be dumbest human in the ballpark every single game. The bullpen has always been dog shit, so at least we've come to expect it. What hurts the most is that the guys who we consider to be the core of this organization? Out of all the losers who are currently employed by the Philadelphia Phillies, they might just be the biggest ones of them all.
It feels like "Bedlam at the Bank" was at least 10 years ago out of Bryce Harper. The man used to be able to rise to any occasion, and he used to be a moment maker. But now instead of making moments, it seems like he's constantly chasing for one. Always trying to make something more happen, and it's turned him into an automatic out.
Speaking of automatic outs.
Who gives a flying fuck about hitting 56 home runs in the regular season if this is how you show up in October? Everybody was giving John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski shit about not re-signing Schwarber to a massive extension at any point this season. Now it looks like they dodged a bullet. He's going to look great with the Cincinnati Reds next season, and nobody in Philly should miss his blank stare into the distance as he finds himself in an 0-2 hole during every postseason at bat.
And sure, maybe Trea Turner hit that 1-run single RBI in the 8th inning. But all that did was cancel out the awful throw he made to the plate in the 7th inning that started the Dodgers' whole run. So as far as I'm concerned, we're starting at even with Trea Turner in the 9th inning. That's where the bottom of the order went to work. Bohm single. Realmuto double. Casty 2-run greasy double. The Stott bunt was, again, one of the most moronic decisions in a storied history of moronic decisions from Rob Thomson. But Harrison Bader made up for it by coming in and getting a single to move Stott into scoring position. Runners on the corner, and in comes Trea Turner.
A chance to be a hero. A chance to actually do something notable for once in his Phillies career. A chance to finally shake the narrative of the most overrated $300 million man ever. And everybody knew exactly how that game was going to end. With Trea Turner coming up small, and squandering any opportunity the Phillies had to actually make this a series. If that were Bader at the plate, it's a walk-off. If that were Sosa at the plate, it's a walk-off. If that were literally anybody besides the Phillies' big 3, then maybe there's a chance. But there's just not a shot in hell right now that guys like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, or Bryce Harper are rising to that occasion. They've all become too small for the big moment.
You can bitch and complain all you want about the bullpen and the manager. But at the end of the day, you live or die with your horses. And it might be time to put the Phillies' horses out to pasture.
No chance they take 3 in a row from the Dodgers. World Series loss. NLCS loss. NLDS loss in 5. And now an NLDS loss in 3 or 4. That window closed up real goddamn quick.