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

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.