By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
There are many reasons to explain why the Philadelphia Phillies went from 10-plus games over .500 with a multi-game National League East lead, to dropping 23 of their last 34 games with a now-7 1/2-game division deficit.
To explain the Phillies' collapse, consider theirstellar first-half starting pitching coming back to reality, and poor hitting against non-experienced starters like Washington Nationals rookie Erick Fedde. The additions of Wilson Ramos, Justin Bour, Jose Bautista, Asdrubal Cabrera, Luis Avilan, among others, also significantly impacted the makeup of the clubhouse.
Report: Phillies Discussed Trading Santana, Moving Hoskins Back to 1st Base
Phillies left fielder Rhys Hoskins told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Michael Barkann on "The Pick Up" that "there’s an adjustment period in terms of the clubhouse" whenever teams add new players.
"There’s new people. People that weren’t there before, there’s people that were there that aren’t anymore," Hoskins said. "You’re kind of trying to figure out who these guys are as baseball players, and they’re trying to figure out, ‘hey, how can I fit into this clubhouse?’ I think, with that, comes maybe some growing pains."
In theory, a defined, respected leader within a clubhouse should be able to lessen the impact of changing variables like player acquisitions. Per Hoskins, however, the Phillies have instead adapted a "leadership-by-committee" approach.
"I think there are a lot of leaders in our clubhouse. Some have a lot of experience, some don’t," Hoskins said. "When you have that, I think the leadership-by-committee has worked. I think it’s something that’s healthy.”
Hoskins, who leads the Phillies in doubles (32), home runs (30) and RBI (89), said he does not feel he is the leader in the clubhouse. “I don’t feel way … not that I don’t accept that if other people think that," he added.
Kapler: Phillies Will ‘Fight, Scratch, Claw’ Until the 'Finish Line'
Just 17 games remain in the season. Given the club is not yet mathematically eliminated, the Phillies themselves are not giving up on trying to clinch their first postseason berth in seven seasons. Hoskins said "things can always get better."
"I think with the personnel that we have, we’ve chosen to try to have more offense," Hoskins said. "I think [you can] couple that with maybe some of the arms we have … who have the ability to strike out 10, 12, 13 guys every time they take the rubber.
