The Philadelphia Phillies recent losing skid has caused panic among some in the fan base who may have forgotten what this season is supposed to be about.
Over the past week, social media has been about as enjoyable as filling out my end-of-year report cards as a teacher. And trust me…that is not an ounce of fun.
To be fair, if I were filling out a report card for the Phillies, it would not be good. Not at all. But should it be? What did fans really expect?
Before the season, the Phillies were picked by many to finish in the cellar of the division, league, and all of baseball. Some talking heads destroyed their rebuild, calling it a tanking. The team was given about as much of a chance to succeed as you and I have to even see a Clayton Kershaw curveball.
Then, the Phillies gave us an extremely enjoyable April and May. They reached seven games over .500 for the first time since the glory days of the early part of this decade.
The pitching was tremendous. They were not hitting, and while that aspect has not changed, they were getting timely hits. Bu those big hits have not been coming over the last week or so.
And, my friends, that is fine.
It was fun, and who knows, maybe they will turn it back around at some point. But this was not supposed to be the year anyway.
This was the year they were going to start the rebuild with a few dinosaur-like veterans surrounding the kids. We were expecting more fun (which we have gotten), but we were not expecting the amount of wins that the team reeled off early.
The wins were, of course, welcomed. But we expected this to crash and burn in some fashion at some point. What more appropriate point in the season than playing a red-hot Detroit team, the best team in baseball in the Cubs at historic Wrigley, finishing it up with the NL East-leading Nationals?
Success during such a stretch against extremely talented teams was not in the cards for a young Phillies squad. And once it started to fall apart, they crumbled. Again, to be expected for a rebuilding team.
Look, I am not saying you have to be happy with losing. There is, however, a strong difference between being upset with the losing and being unable to accept it.
I am unhappy with the Phillies losing, especially seven games in a row, but I understand it is part of this process. I was ready to accept losing, and that does not make us bad fans. It makes us realistic fans.
This team has two regulars (maybe three), and four or five pitchers (three rotation pieces and one maybe two bullpen arms) that may be here when they are ready to win.
Tommy Joseph (maybe)
Colton Murray (again, maybe)
The rest of the top prospects are going to come at some point, just not yet.
Soon, J.P. Crawford will be manning shortstop. Nick Williams will be coasting under deep fly balls in right field. Roman Quinn could be flying around the base paths. Jorge Alfaro and Dylan Cozens will be hitting moonshots into the CBP bleachers. Jake Thompson and Zack Eflin will fill out the remaining two spots of the rotation. The kids will get here soon.
And in the meantime?
Keep a close eye on the ones I previously mentioned. Look for Franco and Herrera to continue their early career success. See if Joseph can develop into an everyday first baseman after all his speed bumps.
Can Nola and Velasquez continue to develop into what looks like a 1-2 combination for the next eight years? Is Neris a guy they can count on to close out games when they are winning 90 in a season?
My cousin and I have discussions about the best times to be a fan of a baseball team. The first is obviously when they are winning games night in and night out. What is better than knowing what we knew from 2007-2011? There’s a game tonight and we have a better shot at winning than losing.
The second most exciting time to follow your favorite organization? Watching the kids develop during a building period.
When Crawford, Quinn, Cozens, Thompson, Eflin, and the rest get here and start winning, there should be a different feel.
You were there for their development. You were patient while they came up and suffered through the difficult seasons. But it was completely worth it to watch these kids come through the system one step at a time.
When the rest come to join the group that is already here, the real fun will begin. All we can do until then is be patient.
No matter how much we hope and wish, we will not be able to speed up this process. Think about it, they were at this point back at the turn of the century, before all the winning of the mid-2000’s had begun. And then…
Well, you know the rest.
So I ask you once more. Relax a bit. Sit back and watch the kids develop. We are unable to make it come more quickly than it is meant to.
For now, enjoy them overachieving a bit. This losing streak was destined to pass, and it finally did last night. Baseball is cyclical. If a team does it right, the cycle is just a constant flow of success.
The Phillies did not do it right for a while, but they are getting back in gear. The fun part of the cycle is coming. Hold on tight, my friends. We are almost there.