Phillies Embrace The Virtues of Tanking, Get Swept By Mets

Juan Samuel knows what’s at stake, y’all. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

No, I do not believe the Phillies are seriously tanking baseball games. So, all you readers who are furiously scrolling down to the bottom of the page to write nasty things in the comments section, just hold your powder. I know the Phils are not TRYING to lose baseball games.

The fact that they are, though, is sweet, sweet news at this point in the season.

With their 4-3 loss to the Mets on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies were swept by New York in their final series of the year at Citizens Bank Park.

Was it entertaining to watch? Absolutely not. Was it fun to attend in person? I highly doubt it. But was it good for the Phillies’ long-term future? Yeah, probably.

With their three losses this weekend, the Phils “improved” their position in The Bottom 10 and a protected draft pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.

For a while there, with Ryne Sandberg at the helm (now an official thing, as it turns out), it seemed like the Phils were going to be too good to finish with a protected draft pick.

Yes, of course, it’s nice to see the team win baseball games. It’s definitely better than losing. But there’s no harm in taking joy in the losses as well. Because, what are we, waiting around to win an Emmy or something?

This is what the Phillies have left to “play” for. A protected draft pick. And those protected picks only go to teams with one of the ten worst records in the league.

As you can see, it’s a race that’s going to come down to the final day of the season. The Phillies are currently tied for 9th with the Blue Jays and Mets, but just three days ago, the Mets were three games “ahead” of the Phils in this race. So a sweep at the hands of New York went a long way this weekend.

Not only that, the Phillies are only a half-game “ahead” of the Giants and just one full game “ahead” of the Padres.

The Phils have seven more games left. Three are against the Marlins, the worst team in the National League, and their final four are against Atlanta, who just clinched the NL East and will probably be resting starters at the end of the week.

Of course, you might see the Phils resting many of their starters too, just so Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and the like don’t break a hip or something.

No, we don’t want to root for losses. I get that, and that’s not what I’m doing.

But I am finding the silver lining in a weekend sweep at the hands of the stinking Mets. And that silver lining is a first round pick that cannot be taken away when the Phillies give Jacoby Ellsbury $200 billion and his own giraffe this off-season.

It’s going to be a week of thrills and chills. Buckle up, kiddos!