Phillies fans were excited. The team had a shot to catch up to either the first place Atlanta Braves or catch up to the second wild card. But it appears that even players on the Phillies do not seem to think what they have will be good enough.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports caught up with unnamed Phillies players who provided some comments about the team's chances.
First, the pessimism:
One cited the Phillies’ poor defense — the team ranks 23rd out of 30 in the majors in defensive efficiency, a statistic that measures the rate at which a team converts balls in play into outs.
Another said, “A lot of things will have to go right for us — a lot of things.
Some optimism:
“It’s there for the taking,” one player told me. “A little ‘pen help, and we’d have a shot.”
Oh. For the team to be optimistic they have to have "a little pen help".
But Rosenthal thinks that fans are smarter than to think that the Phillies actually have a chance to make the playoffs:
Fans are smarter than teams think.
I’m not talking about the knuckleheads on Twitter who concoct lopsided trades and offer knee-jerk criticisms.
No, I’m talking about the fans who are more informed about their favorite clubs than ever before, fans who are savvy enough to understand when their team is truly a contender and when it is not.
So are you "more informed" or just a dumb fan who thinks the Phillies have a chance to win the division? I think the most telling thing about this – the Phillies player who thinks that the Phillies have no chance and the one who thinks that they need to add to have a chance – shows that maybe those fans could be on to something. How can fans believe it if the players don't?
