What about these Phillies?
How can we continue to send teams that perform better?
Why continue to shatter the dreams of a club that thought it was built for the playoffs?
How did they hold one of the best batting lineups in major league history to a .186 batting average and three home runs in four games?
How did he basically turn the bullpen upside down to finish off the Braves and pick up those last few outs, which can be tough at this time of year?
“Winning teams find a way to win at all costs, right?” A shirtless Bryce Harper soaks in Phillies beer after his team clinches the National League Championship for the second year in a row, right? asked a rhetorical question in the House. “They’re a really, really good team. I really respect the Atlanta Braves as an organization and the way they approach and play. They have a great lineup from No. 1 to No. 9.
“And we just beat a really, really good team.”
They beat the Braves on pitching power. And hit at the right time. And with a long ball. And with a sense of speed. And with protection.
This isn’t the home run or bust offense of past seasons. It’s not the top-tier roster that it was when players like Harper and JT Realmuto first arrived.
This is a clubhouse with a mix of big-money stars, young players trying to establish themselves, and a few veterans looking to change the course of their careers.
“I can’t speak for other teams, but our players have come together really well,” President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We’re not done yet. I’ve always personally said that the best big league clubs have a great core of really good players, veteran players who are in their prime, and they also have some good young players coming up. I feel like they’re done.” That’s really important for the chemistry of the whole team.”
This team has pushed a lot of right buttons from hiring Rob Thomson as manager last June to taking over the bullpen staff and picking up unheralded and overlooked players who needed a second chance. It’s a team built by an experienced front office executive named Dombrowski.
“With all the statistics, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who has the talent to perform,” said managing partner John Middleton.
“It’s really about that person’s character. You have to know that that person is going to be hungry, and they’re going to be hungry every day. They’re going to be motivated to win. They’re going to win.’ Just like Bryce, it’s about staying motivated and working hard to come back from injury as quickly as possible. And in 10 years they will be just as hungry as they were on day one. And that’s all. character.
“That’s why I think Dave did a really good job, and frankly, (former GM Matt Klentak) did it before he did. We signed Bryce and then we signed Zack Wheeler. And obviously Matt was there when they traded for Realmuto. That’s how you do it. Get a really good team. ”
There’s no shortage of celebrities in the Phillies’ clubhouse. Guys like Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm, Garrett Stubbs, and Bryson Stott clearly love to party and set a festive atmosphere in the clubhouse. They might not feel comfortable being themselves if Harper, the leader and face of the series, wasn’t so relaxed. Harper has an extraordinary aura, but he does not walk around like a king in a castle. He does not make young people or newcomers nervous with his presence.
As Jeff Hoffman said, he’s just a regular guy.
“The millionaires we have are just men,” Hoffman said. “They’re teammates. They want to win. I can’t say enough about that group. All the guys who say they’re rich are just guys. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s unbelievable. No.”
There’s something about the Phillies’ recklessness. I feel like they are the best team anywhere. It doesn’t matter that the Braves finished with a 14-game lead for the second year in a row. The Phils have confidence in the level of talent on their 26-man roster, their ability to make game-winning plays late in games and their ability to cope when they get punched in the face.
“I think there are a lot of people who are in this situation, not just now, but throughout their lives,” Harper said. “We’re just together and there’s a good vibe.”
With only six games left until the 2023 playoffs, the Phillies have produced so many interesting storylines.
Harper and Wheeler are building potentially legendary postseason resumes.
Nick Castellanos, who hit two home runs in Game 3 of the NLDS and two more in Game 4, looks better at the plate than he has at any time in the past two seasons. Both nights, his first home run tied the game in the half inning after the Braves had taken the lead.
The Phillies didn’t trail for a full inning at any point in the four-game series, but this was mainly due to a strong right fielder.
“What a stud,” Realmuto said. “He’s an absolute guy. No one in the dugout was surprised by his game today. He looked great at the plate. He’s got a killer mentality in him.”
Trea Turner was the difference in every way the Phillies had hoped for in October, hitting 12-for-24 (.500), four doubles, two home runs, and four stolen bases against the Marlins and Braves. He showed great success in creating.
Aaron Nola discovered something late in the season and made a mechanical adjustment to point his shoulders toward home plate. Since then, he’s had four straight strong starts, including two in the playoffs.
In the middle of the summer, Seranthony Dominguez’s ball velocity and whiff rate decreased. No more. Ranger Suarez was inconsistent in the final two games of the regular season. Not in the playoffs. Craig Kimbrel blew his last two save chances in September. He responded with three scoreless innings in October.
The pitching staff in particular deserves great praise. Ronald Acuña Jr. will likely win National League MVP. He was not affiliated with the NLDS. Matt Olson led the majors with 54 home runs and 139 RBIs. He was not affiliated with the NLDS. Marcell Ozuna wrecked the Phillies in the regular season. He was stranded in a small village in the NLDS.
“Trust us, that’s really all we had,” Realmuto said. “We have a lot of good players who can move up and down the entire starting rotation and the bullpen from top to bottom, mix positions, mix speeds, keep hitters off-balance. You have to be able to keep them guessing, and we were able to do that for most of the series.”
Thompson replaced Dominguez, Alvarado, and Kimbrel in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, leaving left-handers Gregory Soto and Matt Stram to man the right-handed section of the Braves’ lineup for a two-run game in the ninth inning. Soto had a runner on the corner unattended. Stram, who recorded two saves throughout the year, joined the team.
Pop-ups, fly-outs, strikeouts. game over.
“That’s why I came here,” Stram told Dombrowski as the two hugged outside the clubhouse after the game.
And then there was Johan Rojas. The Phillies’ rookie center fielder may have saved the Phillies’ season when he smashed an Acuña line drive with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning. If you’re an average center fielder, maybe even a slightly above average center fielder, that’s a bases-loaded double.
“I knew he could play center field. I didn’t think he would be a catcher.” that “When the ball hit me, I thought it went off the wall,” Dombrowski said. But if it’s in the ballpark, he can catch it. He’s been phenomenal for us and he’s going to be a really good player. But the great thing about him is that he has always shown that no moment is too big for him. he values it. And he will continue to get better. ”
The Phillies ended the Braves’ year not because of one, two, or three players, but because they were the better team. Next up is the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Games 1 and 2 will be held Monday and Tuesday nights at Citizens Bank Park.
When the Phils advanced by defeating the Marlins in the wild-card round, Realmuto said he told his teammates the same line before every series: “Don’t give the Phils a reason to party.”
That message didn’t reach the National League East.
“We’re not at the next level yet. Our ultimate goal is to win the World Series. It wasn’t about getting to the postseason or beating the Braves,” Realmuto said. “It’s fun and we’re going to celebrate it, but this team is built to win the World Series. We still have a lot of work to do.”