Poor Little Nick Castellanos Now Says The Phillies Are Too Scared Of Getting Boo'd By Philly Fans At Citizens Bank Park In The Playoffs
Emilee Chinn. Getty Images.The Athletic -- The magic is fading inside this ballpark.
“The stadium is alive on both sides, right?” Castellanos said. “When the game is going good, it’s wind at our back, right? But when a game is not going good, it’s wind in our face. So, the environment can be with us, and the environment can be against us.”
Okay so first of all, here's the thing. And this is just me speaking here. But if I were Nick Castellanos? Personally? Well I would simply shut the fuck up. The only reason he's playing right now in the first place is because Harrison Bader got hurt. So pipe down, Scooby Doo.
But since this idiot decided to talk, let's actually talk about the magic that used to be The Bank during Red October.
When this whole run started in 2022, Philly fans gave this team absolutely everything we have. The fans created one of the most intense, and beautifully chaotic atmospheres in all of baseball. Going to Citizens Bank Park was like taking a trip to hell for opposing teams. And after that run in 2022, it wasn't just the postseason anymore. On any given night in June or July, you would have that place sounding like an elimination playoff game. The fans completely bought into this team, and the team earned it at first. Sure, they had some downfalls here and there. But we were willing to look past those flaws, and willing to make excuses for this ball club because the city of Philadelphia yearned for a legitimate contending baseball team again. The vibes, the songs, the dances. We bought into all of it because we thought this team deserved it.
But something happened during that NLCS collapse against the Diamondbacks in 2023 that this team was never able to recover from. From a foundational standpoint, this team was always doomed. The glaring holes in the bullpen and the middle of the lineup were never addressed by ownership, and the team kept running back the same core year after year thinking they'd get a different result. Maybe they were never built to truly win, but it didn't have to end like this. Instead, that NLCS collapse stuck to their soul and they haven't been able to shake it since. Once the team realized they weren't invincible playing at home, they started pressing.
You can feel it every time Bryce Harper is up to the plate right now. You can feel it every time Kyle Schwarber is up to the plate right now. These guys are so desperately trying to chase what they had in 2022 and 2023. Instead of just moving guys around the bases, they are constantly trying to recapture those massive moments. And they are failing miserably. The stars have come up so, so small in 3 straight postseason series losses now. The manager has continued to be the biggest dunce on the planet in 3 straight postseason series losses now. The bullpen has been a complete and total liability in 3 straight postseason series losses now.
So no, Nick. The fans didn't do this. The fans didn't flip the tables on the team at Citizens Bank Park. The fans keep showing up to do their job, but the players haven't. The fans delivered, but the lights got way too bright for this team. I mean you have Alec Bohm literally admitting that the moment is too big for most of these guys.
The fans gave this team everything, but now the team is giving the fans absolutely nothing in return. 2023 was a collapse. 2024 they lost to a team they shouldn't have lost to. And now in 2025, they just haven't even shown up outside of a few hits in the 9th inning last night. The fans didn't create this overwhelming sense of pressure for the Phillies to play well in front of them. It's just that the team has failed to play up to the standard that they set for themselves. The fans didn't turn on the team, the team just forced the fans to start holding them accountable. No more free passes. No more standing ovations just to help a $300 million player get out of a slump. If you don't show up when it matters the most, the fans have no other choice but to boo.
Anyway, this just sounds like someone who knows that he's played his final game at Citizens Bank Park as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. So I'm glad Nick Castellanos got to give his parting remarks to the fans.