Hold Your Complaints, This Phillies Team is Near-Perfect
It is still early, but this has been one of the most fun Phillies seasons in my memory. The last two years the Phillies got off to slow starts, and were out of the division race early. Even back in 2011, when they broke the franchise record for wins, the Phillies were not quite this fun. And even when they won in 2008, the season itself wasn’t like this.
Obviously they will have to finish it. October is what really matters. But October is still 4 months away. As we learned the last two years with the Braves and Dodgers, there is nothing we can do about what will happen in October right now.
If things go south in the playoffs, we can address it then. But for now, can we just enjoy this team? Do we need to nitpick the few things that are not perfect?
Some People Finding Reasons To Complain About The Phillies
There was a Tweet for the account Phillies Tailgate showing how the Phillies had 4 starters in the top 6 of ERA for the NL. When I clicked on it, most of the replies were people complaining about Taijuan Walker.
I have seen Phillies fans complain about how the bats went cold against the Diamondbacks. People complain about what pitcher Rob Thomson uses out of the bullpen. When Bryce Harper didn’t run a ground ball some people were mad about that.
But Andrew Sacliunas recently said something that I am 100% behind. Andrew suggested from now until the trade deadline, we not have any conversation about the Phillies that has any negative spin on it.
This Phillies Team Is Nearly Perfect
The Phillies are 44-19. They and the Yankees have gone back and forth for who has the best record in the league. Outside of one bad West Coast Trip, the Phillies have won every series since the second week of the season. They just swept the Brewers who are also among the best teams in baseball.
This Phillies team does almost everything well. Their starting rotation is the best in baseball and goes deeper into games than any rotation in baseball. As already mentioned, 4 of their 5 starters are top 6 in ERA in the NL.
Their bullpen has been nearly perfect after a shaky first 2 weeks. The bullpen pitchers who are still on the roster, so excluding guys like Ricardo Pinto, Connor Brogdon, etc, have a 2.30 ERA since the 2nd game of the season.
They have the 2nd most runs per game in baseball. That is without Trea Turner for over a month.
What on Earth is there to complain about? The 5th starter? The last guy off the bench? That they occasionally run into an out?
None of those things are preventing them from being the best team in baseball right now. and none of those things will hurt them in the playoffs.
Taijuan Walker won’t see the field in the playoffs. Turnbull might as a long man, or as a reliever. But in order for him to still be effective at that time, they need to manage his innings. If that means more Taijuan walker starts, so be it.
Whitt Merrifield has been terrible. But we hardly saw the bench players in the postseason last year. If he is still struggling, they just won’t play him. But right now with Marsh, Turner, and Clemens hurt, they need someone to fill in. They still swept the Brewers with him out there. So who cares?
This team is awesome. They are as close to flawless as a team can be. Why go digging for flaws? Especially when those flaws won’t even matter in the playoffs.
No Dire Needs
Can they improve? Sure. There are already rumors they might go after someone like Luis Robert Jr. If they get him, awesome, their amazing lineup just got better. But there is no pressing need there, even if I did see someone on Twitter say that they cant wait until the deadline to address the OF.
RELATED: Phillies MLB Trade Deadline Candidates: Luis Robert Jr.
Close To Perfect
Most teams in the league would love to have the “problems” the Phillies have. While other teams have to do bullpen games, Phillies fans complain that Turnbull isn’t in the starting rotation.
There is no flaw on this team worth complaining about. Just enjoy the ride. If things so south, or glaring flaws emerge. Sure, go ahead and call it out. But if your complaints are Walker, Merrifield, Stubbs, or baserunning, please just save it.
This team is too good to nitpick. This team is special. They are doing things we haven’t seen any other team do. I mean just look at this quote from Jayson Stark, and tell me how you are going to complain about anything this team has done in the first two months.
So please, just save your complaints. Enjoy the run. This Phillies team is on one hell of a journey, and it would be a shame if you missed it because you were upset about something as pointless as the 5th starter.
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The All-Time Roster Of Phillies Players Acquired In Free Agency
1B- Jim Thome (2003-2005) and (2012)
.276/.402/.554/.956
612 HRs, 1583 Runs, 1699 RBIs, 19 SBs
Thome is one of the greatest 1st basemen period. He is a member of the 600 HR club and a Hall of Famer.
He was great in his short time with the Phillies. The problem was the team around him was bad. And his presence was blocking Ryan Howard. Still, he gave us some memorable moments. Like hitting his 400th HR at Citizens Bank Park.
He came to the Phillies via a 6-year $85 million contract. Before that, he had spent his whole career with Cleveland.
3B- Placido Polanco (2002-2005) and (2010-2012)
.297/.343/.397/.740
104 HRs, 1009 Runs, 723 RBIs, 81 SBs
Polanco is very similar to Dave Cash. He doesn’t have much pop, and his speed was only okay. But he was a hitting machine.
Like some of the infield positions, there was a lack of good options here. The best 3rd basemen, all came up with the Phillies. Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen, Dick Allen, all were homegrown players. Polanco was the best of the bunch when you only look at free agents or trades.
He came to the Phillies via the infamous Scott Rolen trade. Before that, he had spent the first 4 years of his career in St. Louis.
LF- Raul Ibanez (2009-2011)
.272/.335/.465/.801
305 HRs, 1055 Runs, 1207 RBIs, 50 SBs
I feel like we underrate how good Ibanez was here, especially in that first season. Similar to the way we underrate his predecessor, Pat Burrell.
In 2009, Ibanez had a slash line of .272/.347/.552/.899. It fell off in his other two seasons here, but he was a special part of that 2009 team that almost won a 2nd straight World Series.
There is also the fact there is not much competition among free-agent Left Fielders for the Phillies. The best left fielders, all started with the Phillies. The only other option was Kyle Schwarber. But because we were able to slot him in at another position, Raul still made the list.
CF- Shane Victorino (2005-2012)
.275/.340/.425/.765
108 HRs, 731 Runs, 489 RBIs, 231 SBs
The Flyin’ Hawiian was up there amongst my favorite Phillies from that era. He started his career as a disappointing player for the Padres. So the Phillies snatched him up in the rule 5 draft, and he went on to be a key piece of the 2008 team.
At times he could be frustrating. But he also played Gold Glove defense in Center and gave them a great power speed option behind J Roll and ahead of Utley.
RF- Bryce Harper (2019-Present)
.281/ .38/ .52/ .911 336 HRs, 1082, 976 RBIs, 140 SBs
There was no other option here. Harper has a chance to go down as one of the greatest Phillies of all time. He already feels like a lock to be a Hall of Famer. He is going to get to 400 HRs here, and there is a good chance he will get to 500 as well. Harper signed with the Phillies in 2019. It took a couple of years, but he eventually pulled them out of the dark ages. He already has multiple legendary moments, including Bedlam at the Bank, his walk-off Grand Slam, and the stare-down in the 2023 NLDs, just to name a few. Harper is a Phillies legend. To the point, that in a few years, if we remake this list, he might surpass Jim Thome at 1st base. That is how good he is.
He is a 1st baseman now. But he has said that he would move back to the Outfield if it meant adding a great 1st basemen to the team. In the context of this article, Jim Thome is that great 1st basemen Harper is moving back to the OF for.
