Anthony Gargano’s Opening Diatribe- Therapy For The Phillies Loss

"This is a very odd week. It is a week where we put to bed the Phillies run. And because it was such an incredible time, there is a feeling of loss. So what we need to do, is we need to get over difficult losses. This loss to me was more gut-wrenching and less disappointing. This is where you have to purge everything. So I made a list of the top 25 excruciating losses over the past 50 years. What this is is therapy. You may look at this and go, oh no, really? Yea, it is therapy.

It is ok to talk about loss and defeat. In fact, the way you do it, is you talk about it, to get past it. And since the Eagles play on Monday night, it is a perfect time to talk about loss in general over the next couple of days. And then boom. You turn the page into Monday, and we are shot out of a cannon again. 

No one is happy they lost the World Series. It is just about being a rational thinker. They were an underdog, they overachieved, and they made the Wor;d Series. Of course, we all wanted to win it, and have a parade. But it's what happened. If you are a sports fan and understand baseball, you aren't going to have massive changes with the Phillies. That's ridiculous. 

This other notion, that this is the year and they can't get back, is foolish. Bryce Harper wants to win, and he is going to force the organization. And quite frankly, I don't think they need much forcing. John Middleton got a taste of this thing, and I don't think you have to twist his arm to spend money. He wants to relive what just happened. 

I think they are going to add a SS, you move Stott to 2nd, add a starting pitcher, and I think you are ready to get back there. The lesson of 2022 is that the best team doesn't always get there. Dodgers, Braves, and Mets, were all better than the Phillies in the regular season.  But you have to give your team a chance to be there. So I think the Red October thing will be there over the next 5-7 years."