Is it the manager’s fault? What about the hitting coach? Or Alec Bohm, he’s been pretty awful.
The last time the Phillies failed to win ten of their first twenty-five games, Ben Revere was leading off, Ryan Howard was batting cleanup behind the 35-year-old Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels gave up ten hits over six innings in a loss that dropped the team to 8–17. That was 2015, when the franchise was oddly still holding onto the core that had won a World Series seven years earlier. Aaron Nola, the only current Phillie who remembers such a dismal April, was on that roster.
Heading into Thursday’s series finale in Chicago, Philadelphia had the worst run differential and the longest active losing streak in the majors. That skid stretched to nine games after a gut-wrenching 8–7 loss, during which a comeback fell just short. Notably, the Phillies scored runs in multiple innings for the first time since the losing streak began.
“I can’t remember anything like this in my career,” Bryce Harper told reporters before the North Side matinee (h/t ESPN). “We have to get through it. Obviously, we don’t want to be where we are. … I know teams that have been through the mud and climbed out. Yeah, we have to do it.”
The Phillies know what needs to be done. But can they do it? Baseball is the ultimate individual team sport, and this has been a collective failure. Still, who deserves the most blame for this brutal start?
Dave Dombrowski
The Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations had an offseason plan: keep the core intact, using the 1990s–early 2000s Atlanta Braves as a blueprint. Those Braves won 14 NL East titles in 15 seasons but only one World Series. Dombrowski believes that if these Phillies just keep making the playoffs, their talent will eventually break through. In his defiant commitment to that approach, he’s committed several baseball sins: punting on a true cleanup hitter behind Harper and Schwarber; making only minor tweaks to an already weak bullpen; letting proven talent like Ranger Suárez walk; repeatedly passing on splashy trade-deadline moves in favor of marginal ones; and handing out massive nine-figure deals to Jesús Luzardo, Trea Turner, Aaron Nola, Nick Castellanos, plus $72 million to Taijuan Walker (who was cut on Thursday). Maybe the problem starts at the top.
Rob Thomson
Next in line is Thomson, hamstrung by his roster but clearly unable to get the best from a group with a track record of success. He’s made some questionable calls—e.g., using the struggling Walker in the second inning on Wednesday after having Kyle Backhus “open” the game. The combination of Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Adolis García, and now Felix Reyes is hitting .198 with two home runs (25th) and 12 RBI (18th). Thomson’s job is to pull the right levers, and for four seasons he’s been one of the best regular-season managers. So what’s different now?
Alec Bohm
Bohm was Opening Day’s cleanup hitter. On Thursday in Chicago, he hit seventh, went 1-for-4, and actually raised his average to .151. Subject to trade rumors for years, Bohm becomes a free agent after 2026. This was supposed to be his “prove it” season, but instead he’s basically an automatic out.
Kevin Long
Bohm isn’t alone the entire hitting group has been terrible, showing almost no adjustments. If the team doesn’t move on from Thomson, the sacrificial lamb could be hitting coach Kevin Long. Through 24 games, pull rates suggest the Phillies are late at the plate, doing exactly what defenses set up for, which partly explains their dreadful BABIP. Marsh and maybe rookie Justin Crawford are the only hitters off to a good start.
Jesús Luzardo
The Phillies gave Luzardo a five-year, $135 million extension this offseason after just one year in Philly. He’s the 14th-highest-paid starter by AAV, implying he should pitch like an ace like Zack Wheeler or Cristopher Sánchez (Sánchez’s rough Thursday aside: 12 hits, six runs). Instead, Luzardo has been awful at 1–3 with a 6.91 ERA. Apart from the released Walker, Luzardo has been the rotation’s most devastating arm and deserves singling out through five starts.
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