4 overreactions from the Phillies’ disappointing opening weekend against the Braves

After dropping the first two games of the series in a somewhat embarrassing fashion to the Atlanta Braves to start the 2024 MLB season, the Philadelphia Phillies gained some redemption in the finale, prevailing 5-4 in a come-from-behind victory over their division arch-rivals. Not only did it help salvage some pride and confidence for the ballclub heading into the new week, but it showed their resilience despite being dominated for much of the entire weekend.

After witnessing what occurred in this opening series, there were quite a few overreactions to the Phillies' overall performance. Here, we will look at four overreactions that should have Phillies fans both worried and excited.

The Phillies have 'zero' chance of winning the NL East

When the Phillies surprisingly knocked off the Braves in just four games in the NLDS last season, many believed that the team could actually match toe-to-toe with their divisional rival when given the chance. Despite the Braves being predicted to likely repeat as NL East divisional winners this season, the Phillies were brought up in the conversation, potentially giving the Braves a run for the title given their strong pitching staff and potent offensive bats.

However, all of that strong pitching and prolific hitting was alarmingly absent during much of the three-game series. The Braves outhit the Phillies 39-22 and outscored them 25-12 in commanding fashion. If the Phillies hadn’t managed to salvage a victory on Sunday with their late-inning comeback, things would feel even worse on Monday morning.

In retrospect, the Braves have also taken the season series against the Phillies in each of the past three years. So maybe Braves manager Brian Snitker’s comments were right about the disappearance of his team's offense during the 2023 playoffs being due to the long layoff, leading to their ultimate defeat at the hands of the Phillies. There was certainly no five-day break this time prior to the series, and boy, did Atlanta tee off big time.

The Phillies made a big mistake signing Aaron Nola to a massive contract

One of the Phillies’ key moves this past offseason was re-signing Aaron Nola to a huge seven-year, $172 million contract to remain in Philadelphia until the next decade. By doing so, they were looking to have Nola and Zack Wheeler be the one-two punch in their starting rotation in their pursuit of a World Series championship or two and a potential Phillies dynasty.

However, in his first start of the season, Nola threw a clunker in which he gave up an astounding seven earned runs on 12 hits in just 4 1/3 innings pitched. Even more worrisome was the fact that he yielded two home runs in the process. The long ball plagued Nola pretty much all of last season when he gave up a career-high 32 in just 193 2/3 total innings. On top of that, the seven runs that he gave up tied for the most that he surrendered in all of 2023, so he definitely got off to a miserable start.

Getting frequently scored upon has become more of the norm for Nola in recent years, as just last season, he gave up four or more runs in 15 of his 32 total starts, leading to an uncharacteristic 4.46 ERA. When the Phillies invested big time by bringing him back for the long haul, they were hoping that he would revert to his usual form seen in his dominant years prior to 2021.

An underwhelming start like this certainly casts many doubts. If his regression progressively continues, the Phillies may be stuck with an albatross of a contract for quite a while.

Give Bryce Harper the Gold Glove Award already

When it comes to superstar Bryce Harper, we all know what he can do with his bat. After all, the former NL Rookie of the Year, two-time NL MVP, seven-time All-Star, and three-time Silver Slugger knows a thing or two about hitting a baseball. But how about his play in the field, especially now that he has moved to his new position permanently at first base for 2024?

Last season, in 36 starts at first base, Harper actually fared quite well already, committing only one error in 279 total chances for a .996 fielding percentage and a respectable 1 DRS. Will those numbers eventually evolve into Gold Glove-caliber defense?

Well, one thing is for sure: Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski truly believes Harper can become a star in the infield as well. Back in November 2023, at the GM meetings, Dombrowski mentioned to reporters, “We think he’ll [Harper] will develop into a Gold Glove first baseman ... he’s committed to doing that.”

It has been only three games into the new season, but Harper sure wanted to get a head start in making true to that statement. In just the first inning of his first game of 2024, he did this:

Pretty good reflexes for someone who has played mainly in the outfield for the bulk of his career. If he manages to keep this up all season, and not risk any serious injury by tumbling into camera wells trying to make the impossible play, we say he does it.