The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi three days ago after a 22-29 start.
The record itself wasn’t disastrous, but the team had been sliding for a while and expectations are, well, higher than that.
The team invested millions during the offseason to bring in some star-caliber players: outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos and reliever Corey Knebel are just a few of them.
The Phillies’ issues go well beyond their manager: scouting and player development are clear issues, as both staffs aren’t the most competitive around the league.
As a result, they are often forced to go to the free agent market and spend big bucks on reinforcements.
But there is no denying that the team has actually looked a lot better since Girardi isn’t around.
“Unreal how the Phillies look like a completely different team all weekend. They must have really hated playing for Girardi lol,” host James Seltzer wrote on Twitter.
Unreal how the Phillies look like a completely different team all weekend. They must have really hated playing for Girardi lol.
— James Seltzer (@JamesSeltzer) June 5, 2022
Are The Phillies Really ‘Back’?
Of course, three games aren’t nearly enough to conclude that the Phillies are suddenly World Series contenders, but they will gladly take any three-game winning streaks that come their way.
Their current situation is a bit baffling, because they have a positive run differential (+18) heading into Monday’s action.
That doesn’t really go with their current 25-29 record.
With a four-game winning streak, some impressive sluggers and a sneaky good rotation, the Phillies still have some time to fight their way back into contention for a postseason spot.
But they need to start winning… a lot.
They are 11 games behind the New York Mets for the division lead, but may have a shot at a Wild Card spot if they can maintain the level they showed over the weekend.
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