After the axing of Joe Girardi back in 2017 by the Yankees, a significant portion of local fans were left in shock. After all, the 2009 World Series-winning skipper had just brought a team seemingly a few years ahead of schedule to within one game of the World Series.
Right before the 2020 season, he was scooped up by the Philadelphia Phillies in what felt like a perfect match and a steal in the same breath. The Phillies were banking on Girardi to do more of what he did with the Yankees, and also to help them break their eight-year playoff drought.
Now, the drought is 10 years, and Girardi is no longer at the helm. Expectations heading into the year couldn’t be less than met, as the first-place envisioned ballclub fell flat on their faces out of the gate to the tune of a 22-29 record in their first 51 games.
In the offseason, the team acquired big names such as Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber to help bolster the offense and try to compete with the new and improved New York Mets and reigning World Champion Atlanta Braves. But the problem lies not with the offense; it’s with the defense. The Phillies are 7th in MLB in runs scored and 17th in runs allowed. A UCL injury to superstar Bryce Harper has taken his glove out of the outfield, forcing below average defenders in Castellanos and Schwarber to assume more of the workload than they were brought on to.
As it stands, the Phillies have committed the 10th most errors in baseball. What also doesn’t help is their schedule. They’ve been lined up against top team after top team, but when new, proven blood is brought in to get them past the hump and winds up putting out a product that is just as worse off as before, then it’s the man tabbed to be in charge who is the first to go. Every single time. Hence, bye bye Joe.
“It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities,” said Phillies President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski. “While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around. I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track, and I am confident that Rob, with his experience and familiarity with our club, is the right man to lead us going forward.”
Rob being Robby Thomson, the bench coach for Joe Girardi during his time with the Phillies and also the Yankees; a new “voice,” or more so a contradiction, as Thomson and Girardi were in philosophical lockstep for years. Therefore, how much could we really expect things to
change?
Well, since the firing of Girardi, the Phillies are 4-0 as of Wednesday. They still have a long path to travel in their efforts to charge back into the playoff race, but that’s what summers on the ballfield are all about. You just can’t predict it; especially in baseball, anything can happen.
What may hurt Phillies fans the most is the firing came a day after they played the San Francisco Giants, one of the better teams in baseball this year and last while under the management of Gabe Kapler, who the Phils canned to make room for Girardi.
After the hot streak wears off and a non-interim replacement at the manager’s post is conducted, the Phillies may have to look themselves in the mirror and wonder, ‘is it really the manager, or is it a deeper internal issue?’ An abysmal bullpen and subpar defense can only
take you so far.
When asked about it during his MLB Radio interview slot mere hours after his removal, Girardi said, “I just pray they get better and that they get to the playoffs.”
The Phillies have made countless roster moves to try and improve. Beyond Castellanos and Schwarber, they snagged catcher J.T. Realmuto and pitcher Zack Wheeler, and of course, the big fish reel-in of Bryce Harper in 2019. However, the end-result has yet to change. Why can’t
this All-Star roster figure it out?
Over the past three seasons, the Braves and Washington Nationals (Harper’s old team) have each won titles, and the Mets have a chase realistically in their sights for the first time since the mid-2010s. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has not even sniffed the playoffs. Could a major overhaul be in store, or are they just one more missing piece or alternative leading voice away from winning with this current crew?
Only time will tell. Harper isn’t going anywhere, but everyone else sure can if they don’t act fast.
