5 Things the Phillies must learn from the Braves’ championship season

2. Bullpens win games

In the new era of pitching, a starter is considered good if he can consistently go five or six innings every turn through the rotation. The Phillies didn’t have much of that, but they also had one of the worst bullpens in the history of baseball, and that’s not hyperbole.

Until the very end of the season, the Phillies led MLB for most of the year in blown saves. They tied the all-time record of 34 blown saves set by the 2004 Colorado Rockies. Thankfully, the Washington Nationals swooped in and blew 35 saves for a new MLB record.

Meanwhile, Tyler Matzek was absolutely monstrous on the postseason mound for Atlanta. Dylan Lee made his first career big-league start in the World Series, which must be an utterly terrifying way to do it. He only recorded one out, but the Braves won anyway.

The Phillies must rebuild their bullpen this offseason. With an even remotely effective Arm Barn, they are a contending team.

3. Embracing personality and fun make for better team chemistry

Joc Pederson’s pearls were one of the most fun postseason storylines in years. Why? Because it’s unique and fun.

The Boston Red Sox threw each player into the laundry cart for a ride down the dugout after they’d hit a home run. FUN.

Atlanta coach Ron Washington was giving his players different quotes every day to exercise their minds as well as their bodies. Pederson was going around hyping up his new teammates. The watchword in the clubhouse was “love.”

Look where it got them.

Meanwhile, the biggest storylines about the Phillies this season were Harper (fun), how bad the bullpen was (not fun), and how few players were vaccinated (dangerous and not fun). They should find ways to shift that balance in 2022.

Encouraging personalities to shine, building team chemistry, it all plays into both collective and individual success.

4. The Phillies need to get younger

The Phillies have developed a reputation for being unable to develop prospects. At least they know how to develop something.

But in what feels like an over-correction, they’ve got too many players on the wrong side of 30.

Last offseason, the Phillies signed too many veterans. Matt Joyce, Brandon Kintzler, Chase Anderson, Neftali Feliz, and Matt Moore are all between 32-36 years old. Most of them didn’t even last the full season.

And when the Phillies did make moves at the deadline, they added Kyle Gibson (33) and Ian Kennedy (36).

Kennedy, Andrew McCutchen, Hector Neris, Moore, Freddy Galvis, David Hale, and Miller are all 31 or older. Aside from McCutchen, whose option the Phillies could pick up, they are all free agents now, and should likely stay that way.

The Phillies need to overhaul their player development, which is already in progress, but also think younger at the big-league level.

5. The Phillies need to believe in themselves more

While the Phillies did make a few moves at the deadline, including a mega-trade with the Texas Rangers to acquire three pitchers and some cash, they clearly could have done more.

When the Braves made their many moves at the deadline, they were a below-.500 team. But they made moves anyway, and look where they are now.

It’s obviously not as simple as collecting players like Beanie Babies, or throwing money at everyone (which clearly didn’t work for the Dodgers), but the contrast between how the Phillies pursued Harper and how they’ve built the team around him is stark. Nearly every pitcher they signed last offseason was either mediocre or terrible. It’s like they ran out of gas halfway through the race.

The front office needs to be aggressive. Dave Dombrowski, now in his first full offseason as their President of Baseball Operations, has more than enough experience as a shark. He’s built some of the best teams in baseball history, and the Phillies deserve to be added to that list.

But if the front office doesn’t believe that the team is worth upgrading, the team will continue staying home in October.