The Philadelphia Phillies have nobody excited about baseball in 2016. If you go five hours east, you’ll meet their Pennsylvanian cousins in Pittsburgh who are in playoff contention. If you go two hours north, you find the NL pennant contending New York Mets. However, if you stay in Philly, unfortunately it seems you’ll be destined to watch mediocre baseball for the rest of the year. It’s a team on the bottom looking up with little to no help on the way this season. Keep in mind, we emphasize… “this season”!
Don’t get all down and out, the day is always darkest before the dawn. Odubel Herrera is on pace for a career year in multiple categories, while Maikel Franco is in the same boat and currently leads the team in home runs. Now while the young guns are beginning to truly pique the city’s interest, their play hasn’t been fun to watch. The team is currently coming off a nine-game losing skid. The recent slump has left the Phillies with +10,000 odds to win the NL Pennant, so it’s time to lower the expectations (if they were ever raised that is). What we just saw may be a sneak preview for what else is on the ever so close horizon.
However, the good news, is that this team’s drought shouldn’t last too long. They are actually in a very solid position for 2017, despite what the 2016 standings might say. The Phillies’ average age is 27-years old, which is tied for second lowest/youngest in the bigs. So what you’re witnessing is a heavy set of growing pains and considering this team had back-to-back World Series appearances inside a decade ago, they were expected.
It’s a brutal feeling watching a losing franchise. Philadelphia baseball fans have been pretty spoiled over the past ten years watching names like Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Utley. There’s been a changing of the guard though, and with the advancing development of the new breed, the Phillies are progressing quicker than you might think.
Proven strategies in the past have been a very solid mix of young and veteran players. The Phillies didn’t see the need for that in this current campaign and who can blame them? Watch for management to add some much needed elder infrastructure this coming offseason to compliment the young guns. Once these pieces are in place, the sky is the limit for how far this young and extremely talented core could go.
In the meantime though, let the kids play and let the growing pains continue. It’s for the best.
