Will the Phillies make a managerial decision based off of the final two weeks of the season?
Gabe Kapler, the Phillies much-maligned manager, is entering the most important two week stretch of his career. Win, and the Phillies have a chance to get into the playoffs. Lose, and he could be out of a job after just two years in Philadelphia.
From day one the heat has been on Kapler, whether it’s making a mockery of his physique, questioning his in-game decisions, or lamenting over his overly-positive approach.
With 16 games left, all but three against playoff-contending teams, the Phillies sit two and a half games out of the second Wild Card spot. They’ll have a stretch of 14 straight games, including a crucial five-game series in Washington with a Tuesday doubleheader against the current Wild Card leader.
That Washington series will likely make or break the Phillies playoff chances, which currently sit at 6.4 percent on Baseball America. Winning that road series would put Philadelphia in a tremendous position to make a run, especially if they can handle the Marlins at home to end the season.
With less a less than seven percent of making the playoffs, a lot of pressure falls on Kapler to pull something out of his club.
Two high-profile candidates with local ties have already been linked to a potential opening in Philadelphia: former Angels manager Mike Scioscia and Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
Jon Heyman reports that Scioscia, a native of Upper Darby, is very interested in managing his hometown team. Would John Middleton be interested in a manager who went nine years without a playoff win despite having Mike Trout for the majority of that run?
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Should the Cubs miss the playoffs for the first time in Maddon’s five-year tenure, the man who lost the 2008 World Series to Philadelphia could be on the open market. If Maddon is the Phillies’ white whale, a decision to fire Kapler could come down to what the Cubs decide to do with Maddon, who managed Kapler for two years in Tampa Bay.
Philadelphia and Chicago would both need epic collapses with the Nationals and Brewers likely taking home the two Wild Card spots for both Kapler and Maddon to be out of a job.
General manager Matt Klentak had an opportunity to declare Kapler’s job safe last week on MLB Network, but he said that the results are what’s going to matter.
A lot certainly rests on whether or not Kapler can get an injury-ridden team through the final two weeks of the season. If he can, it gives fans at least one postseason game for the first time since 2011. If not, Kapler could be sent packing.