What’s Left To Learn About The Philadelphia Phillies In The Regular Season?

The Philadelphia Phillies spent their Sunday in Williamsport as they took on the Washington Nationals in the annual Little League Classic. Unfortunately, the game didn’t go their way, somewhat souring an otherwise fun experience for Phillies fans and players alike. In fact, that loss to the Nationals was the 2^nd of the series, as the Phils dropped the series to the team currently holding last place in the NL East. If you were frustrated by this weekend’s series, you have every right to be. The Phillies are a significantly better team than the Nats, and they should be stacking wins right now to cement their top wild card spot in the National League. Here’s the thing, though. That spot may very well be close to cement already, and even if it’s not, I don’t know if there’s much still left to learn about this year’s version of the Philadelphia Phillies.

For this next part, I’m going to need you to be completely honest with yourself as a baseball evaluator. I don’t think it’s a very difficult conclusion to reach. The teams currently trying to chase down the Phillies in the wild card race are the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Marlins, and Diamondbacks. Think about those opposing rosters and the realistic ceilings of those squads. We know from last year’s Phillies’ run that anything can happen, and a team can get hot at the right time, but the Phils are a more talented baseball team than each and every one of those teams chasing them down. Even if the Phils continue to be inconsistent for the final month and a half of the regular season, the Phillies will still have the highest ceiling out of those rosters simply based on the talent that they have in red pinstripes this season. Short of injuries (pause to knock on wood), that’s not changing as the playoffs draw closer.

Ok, let’s go the other way now. The 3 teams better than the Phillies in the National League right now are the Milwaukee Brewers, LA Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves. Sure, the Brewers are up a half game record wise on the Fightins, but are we really sitting here saying that Milwaukee is better than them? That’s not to say that the Phillies couldn’t lose a playoff series to them, or any of the other teams in the NL playoff picture, but they have the more talented roster. On the other hand, the Braves have been year long juggernauts and the Dodgers are starting to make their push for the top spot in the NL as well. Are you really going to see anything over the next 6 weeks that convince you that the Phils are in a better spot than the Dodgers and Braves? If you answered yes, I think you’re lying to yourself. Those teams are a clear-cut step above every other in the NL, and again, that doesn’t mean they’re infallible… just, better.

That’s the point of this, right? The Philadelphia Phillies will still be fighting for standing, and we’ll have plenty to be interested in, but we know what the regular season version of this team is. That’s why I would caution you to make any grand proclamations about how good or bad this team is. They have their flaws, they have their upsides, and they’re going to head into the playoffs with all of them in tow. So, what does this change for you as a fan? Well, hopefully, this can get you to a place where the stress of losing a series to the Nationals doesn’t become a total indictment of the team. For better or worse, the Philadelphia Phillies are what they are, and nothing over the course of the rest of the regular season is going to change that.