The vibes are at the lowest point for the Philadelphia Phillies' season. The 25-game sample isn't much overall, but the games have weighed much heavier on the hearts of the club and the fans. The Phillies finished getting swept by the New York Mets on Wednesday afternoon in Queens, dropping them to a 13-12 record.
Not a lot has gone right recently as the Phillies succumbed to their fourth straight loss. A day off Thursday gives Philadelphia a chance to get their mojo back before a two-game series against the first-place Chicago Cubs. Even with the Phillies' persistent hurdles, at least first baseman Bryce Harper isn't taking the approach that Ronald Acuña Jr. is.
The Phillies have a slew of issues that they're working through, with no known expiration. However, elsewhere in the division the Atlanta Braves got off to a historically bad start, sit last in the division at 10-14, and can add some controversy with their star player to their list of problems.
Per ESPN, their star outfielder Acuña Jr. drew attention after firing off a reply post on X to Braves manager Brian Snitker's comments about Jared Kelenic getting thrown out at second base after not hustling out of the box, something Acuña was pulled from a game for six years ago.
In a since deleted post, Acuña said, "If it were me, they would take me out of the game."
After Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. drama, at least Phillies aren't beefing with Bryce Harper during team's frustrating start
Controversy is never warranted, especially when it's the Braves' star player still recovering from surgery after tearing his ACL last season. The Phillies have their issues, but the city of Philadelphia couldn't even fathom an issue like this arising within the Phillies organization.
Acuña, when healthy, is one of the best players in baseball. As a younger veteran in the sport, he's already accrued an MVP along with being the founder of the 40 home run/70 stolen base club in 2023. The Phillies may have their downfalls, but the leadership in the clubhouse is never in question, and a blow-up like this seems highly unlikely.
There certainly could be deeper, underlying issues associated with Acuña's comments. Baseball is a stressful enough game without any added pressure. The Phillies aren't perfect the way they've been playing, and losing 10 of their last 16 games certainly can get under their skin. The bullpen has also not done them any favors.
Even with Harper being frustrated after the Phillies' recent play, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia, he still says the right things and won't be taking shots at his manager on social media.
"I'd rather you guys say it's a little early," a frustrated Harper said on Wednesday after being swept out of Citi Field, per Seidman. "I don't like that just because you should be wanting to play good baseball all year long, from April to November. Obviously, that's not gonna happen, you're gonna go through ups and downs and try to stay as even-keeled as you can. But we're a good team in here and we expect to win. Winning takes care of it all."
Again, April baseball won't make or break playoff hopes, and it makes it much easier when morale is still high. Confidence to bounce back is important, and the Phillies need to continue to just take it one game at a time.