Out Of All The Tragically Dog Shit Ways For The Phillies Season To Come To An End, Orion Kerkering Throwing The Ball Away With The Bases Loaded Takes The Cake
I mean...what the fuck? What the fuck did we actually just witness here?
I'll tell you exactly what we witnessed--it was the culmination of everything that has haunted the Phillies in the postseason for the past 3 years in a row now. It encapsulates everything that is so flawed with this horrifically moronic baseball club.
For starters, it's a 1-1 game in the bottom of the 11th inning. Trea Turner is 0-for-5. Bryce Harper is 0-for-4. Kyle Schwarber is 1-for-5. You have 1 goddamn hit out of $700 million worth of contracts. I know they showed up in game 3, but what the fuck was it even for if the big 3 were going to go a combined 1-for-14 in game 4. Bryce Harper just went an entire playoff series where he was MAYBE the 18th best player in the series. 3 hits in 4 games. Zero home runs. And just constantly trying to chase after a moment that never came.
So the offense gives you absolutely nothing, as has been the case in 3 straight playoff exits now. They went ice cold against Arizona in '23, ice cold against the Mets last year, and now they barely showed up for 1 night in '25. The other achilles heel for the Phillies has been Rob Thomson consistently being the dumbest sack of shit in the building. He's constantly making the move that literally everybody else on planet Earth knows is going to blow up in his face. Everybody knows that Orion Kerkering can't pitch if he inherits runners. He's a total spaz. He cannot do it, and especially not in as big of a moment as needing to get 1 out in the bottom of the 11th. But that's not going to stop Rob Thomson from making that dipshit decision anyway, because clearly he knows best and he trusts his guy.
LOOK AT WHERE THAT FUCKING GOT YOU, ROB.
Orion Kerkering is not built for this. He proved that in Arizona a couple years ago. And he solidified it tonight. He either didn't know there were 2 outs, which is a cuttable offense. Or he just totally panicked, couldn't handle the pressure of the situation, spazzed out and had his brain malfunction. Which is also a cuttable offense.
He should have never been in this spot to begin with, so clearly that's a Rob Thomson issue. There was never a situation where Orion Kerkering wasn't going to blow this game, but holy shit he chose the most humiliating way possible. He would have easily had the out at 1st, but it was too much for him to handle. The same way these games have been too much pressure for the offense to handle, and too much pressure for Rob Thomson to handle.
Outside of the starting pitchers, nobody on this Phillies roster is built to lead a team to a World Series. It's over for this team, and to think that was the final play in this era of Phillies baseball. There are so many guys who need to go, and Rob Thomson is clearly at the top of that list. You can't sign Schwarber after that performance. You need to move on as far away as possible from the daycare. You'll never be able to trade Trea Turner with that contract, but man would that be a delight.
What a disgusting way for such a disgusting team to go down. A 2-1 loss in a game where you walked in a run, and threw the ball away with bases loaded in extra innings. I can't believe that just happened, but it's exactly how this team deserves to go out. As a complete and total embarrassment. Fucking losers.
P.S. -- Flyers lose. Phillies lose. Eagles in jeopardy of losing to the Giants. Welcome to hell, Philadelphia.