4 mistakes Rob Thomson made that cost the Phillies the NLDS
Could Thomson have done some things differently to lead to a better outcome for the Phillies?
It was truly a disappointing showing by the Philadelphia Phillies, to say the least, in the 2024 NLDS against the New York Mets. Who would have predicted that the Phillies’ bats would suddenly go ice cold while their trusted bullpen would implode at the worst possible time?
As much as the blame should be on the players for not performing, there were certainly some questionable calls by manager Rob Thomson during the series that may have ultimately led to the team's undoing. He'll surely be evaluated in the front office's post-mortem on the season. He still has one more year on his contract, and while some fans want to see Thomson gone, it's hard to imagine him not returning.
Let’s take a closer look at four mistakes made by the Phillies manager that ended up costing the team the NLDS.
4 mistakes Rob Thomson made that cost the Phillies the NLDS
Ace Zack Wheeler wasn’t used in the do-or-die Game 4
When the entire season is on the line, a team should do anything they can to make sure that they give themselves the best chance at winning. If the Phillies were to go down, they should go down with their best. With that in mind, Thomson should have taken the unconventional route and given the ball to ace Zack Wheeler on short rest in Game 4 of the NLDS.
There was no doubt that he probably wouldn’t have been able to repeat the dominant seven innings of one-hit, shutout masterpiece from Game 1. But knowing that Wheeler always does his best in the biggest games, he would have provided more stability and length for the Phillies than what Game 4 starter Ranger Suárez did. It would have minimized the usage of their unstable bullpen, which ultimately gave the game away as a result.
If the Phillies did still end up losing as a result, at least they tried with the best that they had with no regrets.
Benching Bryson Stott following one of the biggest games of his life
When someone suddenly has the hot hand, they should be rewarded for their efforts. After struggling for the bulk of the season, pretty much from June onwards, Bryson Stott had perhaps the biggest game of his life in Game 2. In the most crucial junction of the game, he came through with a clutch two-run triple to put the Phillies ahead at the time, in which they ultimately won 7-6.
Rather than riding that momentum while it was at an all-time high, Stott never got the chance to do so as he was relegated to the bench to start Game 3 due to matchups. By the time he was inserted back in the lineup for Game 4, all of his built-up fire fizzled, and he went hitless. Going with analytics and by the numbers may work out sometimes, but in some cases, Thomson should just go with the gut feeling that could have worked out even better.
His usage of closer Carlos Estévez
There was a reason why the Phillies sacrificed two promising pitching prospects to get elite closer Carlos Estévez at the trade deadline. They truly believed that he could be a huge difference-maker for the club and be able to shut down the opponents in the most crucial parts of the game. Well, the deployment of Estévez by Thomson turned out to be a huge head-scratcher in the end.
In Game 1, when the Mets had the strongest part of their lineup coming up in the eighth inning, Estévez should have been used instead of Jeff Hoffman to shut them down with the game on the line. However, he never ended up seeing any action as the Phillies eventually lost 6-2.
In Game 2, when Estévez finally made his playoff debut, he should have gone more than one inning to help preserve the lead. After all, he threw just eight pitches in the eighth inning and should have had plenty left in the tank to seal the win in the ninth. The Phillies’ bullpen yielded the tying run in the ninth inning but luckily escaped with a win in the bottom half of the inning.
In Game 3, with the Phillies already down 6-2, Thomson shouldn’t have used him at all to keep him fresh for the following game. Finally, in Game 4, Estévez should have been brought in earlier, before Hoffman loaded the bases. Instead, he was handed a tough situation to get out of, especially for someone who gives up contact. Bringing him in at the wrong time led to disastrous results, as the Phillies painfully learned.
The fatal sixth inning of Game 4
But when it came to moves that Thomson likely messed up most on, it was the pivotal sixth inning in Game 4. During the fifth inning when starter Ranger Suárez got into a little jam, Hoffman was brought in to clean things up. He did a fine job as he got Mets slugger Pete Alonso to strike out and infielder José Iglesias to ground out to end the inning.
However, Thomson kept Hoffman in the game by sending him back out in the sixth despite a long half-inning in the dugout. Even when he showed signs of faltering, especially when he started to get wild by uncorking two wild pitches and a hit batter, he was still left in there until the bases were loaded.
At that time, Thomson finally made the move to bring in Estévez. But Estévez is prone to contact and works most effectively starting an inning. With other arms available, Thomson never swayed away from his decision. One hit later, the game, the series and ultimately the season was over.
All of the moves Thomson made seemed like minor decisions at the time, but they had huge implications in the end. A little bit of this and a little bit of that could have changed the whole complexion of the series. Nevertheless, there’s no use in pointing fingers now as the Phillies have the entire offseason to think back about what they could have done better as a whole.
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