It seems to be a yearly rite of passage for Phillies fans – getting through the month of April without losing our minds.
It is an arduous journey, fraught with infielders falling to the turf as they’re about to field an inning-ending ground ball, a pitcher and catcher miscommunicating on a pitch resulting in a 97 mph fastball smashing the catcher’s hand and causing a passed ball allowing a run to score, an error that allows their ace to give up a back-breaking grand slam, and their power-hitting former MVP compiling the same batting average as their struggling No. 9-hole hitter.
Yup, that about sums up the first 16 games of the Phillies season thus far, and yet, they enter Monday’s series against the woeful Colorado Rockies, 8-8. It is an improvement, albeit not a drastic one, from last year’s 6-10 start. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are just two games behind the suddenly vulnerable Atlanta Braves in the NL East, who must play the rest of the season without their ace Spencer Strider, who underwent Tommy John surgery over the weekend. The Mets, Nationals and Marlins are all going to lose a lot of games this season, and no one is running away with anything just yet.
Of course, we were all hoping for a “hot” start to the 2024 season, but given how terribly the 2022 and ‘23 seasons began, maybe we should consider anything other than falling on their faces “hot.” The team is treading water, which is no fun to watch, but certainly better than drowning, so why are we so upset? On the latest Hittin’ Season episode, Justin Klugh, Liz Roscher and I attempted to put into words our frustration.
The high-priced and high-powered bats are averaging 3.63 runs per game. Only four teams (White Sox, A’s, Mariners and Twins) are averaging less. Their .664 OPS is 24th out of 30 teams. Despite an improvement in their strikeout and walk rates and a reduction in how often they chase balls out of the strike zone, they are still not slugging the ball.
Since his 3-HR game on April 2, Bryce Harper is 8-for-43 with three doubles, 11 strikeouts and 5 walks, good for a .186 batting average, .271 on-base percentage and paltry .256 slugging percentage. In his last seven games, he’s hitting .074, 2-for-27.
One of the most frustrating things a fan can watch is their team failing to hit with runners on base. Through 16 games, the Phillies are hitting a meager .203 with runners on base, 5th-worst in baseball. They are tied with the Rockies for grounding into the most double plays, 16 so far. Harper has accounted for five of them himself. They have just five home runs with runners on base, only four teams have fewer.
The offense is frustrating enough, but the defense has also made a number of boneheaded errors that have directly led to runs. Take this weekend alone for example:
- Trea Turner trips and falls as he’s fielding an inning-ending grounder that results in the tying run to score.
- J.T. Realmuto miscommunicates with Yunior Marte on a pitch that ends in a strikeout but results in a run scoring when it hits his wrist and deflects to the backstop.
- Alec Bohm commits an error to kickstart Sunday’s five-run meltdown to the Pirates.
- Realmuto air mails a throw into center field on a delayed double-steal, allowing Pittsburgh to score a run with two outs and two strikes on the batter.
The Phils have committed 12 errors in 16 games, and that doesn’t even count all the ground ball double plays they’ve failed to turn. Just six teams have committed more errors.
All of this sloppiness has overshadowed the solid work by the starting rotation and bullpen. The Phillies are incomprehensibly 0-4 in Zack Wheeler’s first four starts of the season, scoring just six runs for him in those outings. Yes, Wheeler’s mini-implosion in the 6th on Sunday while holding a 2-1 lead is partially on him, but no one on the staff has had any room for error.
Yet, the outstanding work done by the starters and bullpen should not be overlooked. They are the reason the Phillies are at least at 8-8, averting what could have been a disastrous start.
This week, the 4-12 Rockies and 2-13 White Sox come to town. If ever there was a time for the bats and the team overall to get right, it’s this week. Colorado’s team 6.29 ERA is by far the worst in baseball, while Chicago’s 4.97 is 6th-highest. And if you thought the Phils’ offense was struggling, the White Sox have averaged just 2.27 runs per game through their first 14, dead last in baseball, while the Rockies are at 4.31, 18th in MLB.
There is no excuse for the Phillies not to win all six games this week. No, the season isn’t over if they don’t, but a World Series contender should be able to make that happen.
If they can, we’ll all feel a lot better about things seven days from now.
