Only the foolish will take this past weekend as a statement
by John Kincade
Yes, this weekend absolutely sucked in Philadelphia sports. They don’t get much worse. The discussion now will turn onto how much credence you put into what you saw. Your eyes told you one thing, your heart maybe another, but the reality is you’re in danger of making a grand pronouncement you could later regret. What should you believe and what is fake? Let’s discuss.
PHILLIES GET SWEPT IN TEXAS
1.85% of the regular season has been completed. I’ve already been flooded with the “last year was a fluke”, “this team has sucked the life out of me” tweets. I’m out on all of that nonsense. I’m completely in agreement that the performance was sub par and certainly a huge disappointment. I’m not going to read much more into it than that. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few legitimate concerns;
NOLA
Aaron looked completely spooked once the Rangers got their first rally mounted down 5-0. Every concern about whether he would handle the pitch clock pressure well was answered. That was just one test though. I’m not going to pronounce that he can’t handle it or say that he’s ill equipped to adjust. I know that flies in direct contradiction to the Twitter culture. Check back with me after a few weeks of starts.
Am I concerned about his debut? I’m always a bit put off by it. Nola is so erratic and it’s been his career calling card. The dramatic starts against the Astros to clinch the division, vs the Cardinals in Game 2 and vs the Braves in Game 3 were also just as important to remember.
BLAMING THE UMPIRE IN A 16-3 LOSS IS LAME
Let’s agree to not give CB any more attention than he desires. We all believe he stinks. What I refuse to do is try to do some quantum physics that would be required to claim he was the reason they lost by 13 runs. It’s weak, it’s dumb and I won’t engage. It’s like believing a holding call lost Super Bowl 57. Did it contribute to that brutal defeat? Yes! Did it cause the fumble return for a touchdown and the horrible punt return coverage that lead to first and goal late in the game? Nope.
76ers LOSE IN MILWAUKEE
The Sixers ended the season series 2-2 with the Bucks and despite the lackluster showing on Sunday night, I believe they would have every opportunity to win a playoff series vs the Bucks. As they look secure in the 3 seed and the Bucks are set in the top seed, they won’t potentially meet until the Conference Finals. Handicapping that future series is foolish considering we haven’t seen the 76ers advance to that round since 2001. Coming off a terrible loss to the Celtics I fully expected the Bucks to show up in a foul mood. That was a terrible spot. I’m not too concerned. Unless we find out that James Harden won’t physically be up to the challenge, I’m expecting the Celtics to be the hurdle they must overcome in Round 2. They get one last chance to beat Boston on Tuesday night as they are currently (0-3) vs the Celtics this season.
Summary
I don’t watch less than 2% of a movie and walk out in disgust thinking I know the conclusion. I don’t read 2% of a book and describe the work as awful. I am one of those boring people that lets things breathe. In my opinion, a baseball season deserves at least 50 games to create an opinion. Last season the Phillies were 21-29 after 50 games. What was your opinion of them then? I thought so. If there was ever a lesson in taking a deep breath and learning from it that was the 2022 season.
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