Joe Girardi thinks Phillies are better than 80.5 over/under

Philadelphia Phillies full-squad workouts are underway down at spring training in Clearwater, Florida. In just days, the 28-game Grapefruit League schedule will get underway.

Before you know it, Opening Day on April 1, home against the Atlanta Braves, will be here.

On paper, the Phillies have high hopes for the 2021 season, their second under manager Joe Girardi. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said the club is setting the goal to compete and win this season — rather than to “transition” or “retool.”

Phillies manager Joe Girardi believes the Phillies will win more than 80 games.

The initial over/under win total for each Major League Baseball team was recently released. Las Vegas projects the Phillies — who have not had a winning season in a decade — to continue their struggles, setting the club’s mark at 80.5 wins.

Girardi believes the team is better than that win total. “I believe so. I know our players believe so,” the skipper said Tuesday morning on SportsRadio 94 WIP. “We have to go out and do it on the field. It’s one thing to have belief. You just have to go out and do it.”

The main reason why the Phillies manager thinks the team will win 81 games or more is that the team has added a lot to areas where they really struggled during the 2020 season. “It was really in our bullpen, and I think it was in our rotation pitching depth,” he said. “We’ve added a lot to that. Dave, Sam [Fuld], and their staff have done a wonderful job in giving us arms and different options. Now, we have to go get it done.”

While Girardi likes the current makeup of the team, he acknowledges that they are still in the stage of being “on paper,” in bullpen sessions and taking batting practice. For him, it is all about taking what they work on in spring training to the regular season and achieving success.

“People are going to make predictions all the time. That’s the business they are in,” Girardi said. “We’re in the business of going out and winning ballgames. That’s what we need to do.”