It’s been ten days since the Phillies were eliminated from the 2026 postseason tournament. The top four teams are the Brewers, Dodgers, Rays, and Guardians. That seems about right; the Phils are nowhere near any of those clubs in terms of talent or execution. Given the parochial nature of the typical Philadelphia sports fan, attentions…
Welp…
As we used to say in art school during finals week, “It’s all over but the crying.” The Phillies’ 2026 season ended meekly. They gave the fan base hope after an electrifying win in Game 2, showing the sort of guile that makes postseason baseball the greatest theater in professional sports. To expect them to…
Hits and Runs
Get ready for some hardcore analysis, fully backed with data-driven evidence. Back in June, I wrote about Kyle Schwarber’s overall lack of run production. This was despite his leading the league in home runs with 23, which combined with only 40 RBI put him on a historic pace. According to StatMuse, only two players in…
“Anything Can Happen”
A tumultuous week ended with a relatively subdued celebration. The Phillies are in the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. They didn’t exactly blast into the playoffs with tremendous momentum, but they’re in the mix to represent the National League in the World Series. I don’t know what to expect from the Phillies. They’ve been…
The Grand Finale/Finally
Someone asked me if the Phillies’ recent tailspin represents their worst choke in franchise history. Although I attribute that question to recency bias, I can understand how an 8-14 September record can arouse such concerns. (For the record, I consider the worst choke in Phillies’ history the final two games of the 2023 NLCS. Yes,…
Magic Numbers and Personal Catchers
The Phillies remain stuck at 87 wins, the total I predicted at the start of the 2026 season (plus or minus five wins). There are four games remaining: one more with the Milwaukee Brewers before a weekend series with the Tampa Bay Whatever-They’re-Called-Today to close the season. The “magic number” for the Phillies to make…
Running to a Stand Still
The Phillies went 4-6 during a crucial ten-game swing against the Braves and Astros. Along the way, the team reverted to some of the same habits that have plagued them for the entirety of this season: wildly swinging at pitches, erratic baserunning, porous fielding in parts, and a bullpen that simply cannot hold another team…
Ides of September
The month of September is when good teams separate themselves from bad teams. The Phillies concluded a 6-3 west coast road trip with a flat but encouraging defeat to Arizona. Andrew Painter continued his emergence with arguably his strongest start of the season. The lineup failed to score in the 1-0 loss, but I’ll chalk…
“Small Ball”
Last night, the Phillies beat the Cardinals 7-6 for their seventh consecutive victory. For a team that two weeks ago looked to be at risk of falling out of contention for anything beyond mediocrity, the recent surge is an encouraging sign that maybe this team can do something interesting in 2026. What is even more…
Bullpens Are Weird
“When are you going to write about how much José Alvarado stinks?” read the message I received. You can replace Alvarado’s name with Orion Kerkering, Chase Shugart, or any other reliever currently pitching for your 2026 Phightin’s. Bullpens are weird and mercurial by nature. For the 2026 Phillies, however, the bullpen has been a crucible…