MLB | Might wanna take more realistic view on Phillies right about now

by Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

This just in …

That playoff push by the 2016 Phillies, it ain’t gonna happen.

Sorry to burst any bubbles out there.

By all means, anyone bleeding pinstriped red should thoroughly enjoy every single sign of progress this group shows, and, frankly, wouldn’t be out of line to bask in the glow of an absolute revelation being unearthed in center field.

But a postseason run?

Puh-leeze …

With reality slowly starting to rear its often ugly head courtesy of cold slaps to the face on visits to Detroit and Chicago, the fact of the matter is the Andy MacPhail-led reclamation project we’re watching here isn’t going to be a quick fix and never was meant to be.

For all the poking fun done here at mismanagement that may go on with the pro sports franchises in Philly, it’s still hard to ignore when “organization” and “plan” somehow find themselves magically coexisting under the same roof.

Put it this way, even the good moves former GM Ruben Amaro made seemed to reek of panic-ridden or ego-driven mass tossings of shit against the wall to see what would stick. Not so under the new regime, which appears to have the patience to realize that this “rebuild” is going to – gulp – take time and the wherewithal to – double gulp – actually take that time.

Hard to believe, sure, but that is possible.

No, seriously …

Cutting through the David Puddy “gotta support the team” dedication, only two legit everyday players reside on the current roster, third baseman Makeil Franco and the aforementioned blossoming star, Odubel Herrera. First baseman Tommy Joseph may turn out to be, and, if you really want, go ahead and argue the case for good ol’ country boy catcher Cameron Rupp, too.

Everyone else, uh, no … and that’s coming from someone who actually likes Freddy Galvis a little bit and appreciates the unlikely half-decent production from outfield afterthought Tyler Goeddel.

Oh, and, umm, Cody Asche would not be an upgrade anywhere, either. So, just cut out that rationalizing crap.

Perhaps Aaron Altherr would be, but let us digress …

The pitching? Yo, if you got average-everything Aaron Nola as anything higher than your No. 3 in the rotation, you ain’t going many places far beyond .500. The Phillies have one starter with serious stuff in Vince Velasquez and a relief corps that still seems to be doing solid things with smoke and mirrors.

So, it truly has been an amazing stretch leading up to Memorial Day. That they go into play today, the Saturday before the holiday, at 26-22 defies all logic, especially considering they’ve been outscored by 35 runs thus far this season.

But the massive, no-support-for-the-pitching chinks in the armor are starting to show, as evidenced by two straight series losses, including one to lowly Atlanta, followed by Friday afternoon’s undressing at Wrigley Field by a Cubs squad just going along at cruise control.

With 11 of the Phillies’ next 15 games against two of the best clubs in Major League Baseball, five more against the NL Central-leading Cubs starting this afternoon and six with NL East-leading Washington, consider that the calm before the storm.

Positives? Yeah, there will be a few … along the lines that this is a developing team and it still needs help everywhere.

For your own sake, just be pleased should the team eclipse 70 wins, which would be a nice jump from last season’s bottom-feeding effort of 63, and be happy to claim Herrera and Velasquez as all-stars.

Better days, including those in the postseason, are ahead. Just not this year.

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By all means, anyone bleeding pinstriped red should thoroughly enjoy every single sign of progress this group shows, and, frankly, wouldn’t be out of line to bask in the glow of an absolute revelation being unearthed in center field. But a postseason run? Puh-leeze … With reality slowly starting to rear its often ugly head courtesy of cold slaps to the face on visits to Detroit and Chicago, the fact of the matter is the Andy MacPhail-led reclamation project we’re watching here isn’t going to be a quick fix and never was meant to be. For all the poking fun done here at mismanagement that may go on with the pro sports franchises in Philly, it’s still hard to ignore when “organization” and “plan” somehow find themselves magically coexisting under the same roof. Put it this way, even the good moves former GM Ruben Amaro made seemed to reek of panic-ridden or ego-driven mass tossings of shit against the wall to see what would stick. Not so under the new regime, which appears to have the patience to realize that this “rebuild” is going to – gulp – take time and the wherewithal to – double gulp – actually take that time.