In Topper we trust. Ever since the Canadian took over for the lousy Joe Girardi in 2022 as the interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, things began to look up in a quick period of time. The Phillies went from a disappointing 22-29 to winning the next 13 of 15 games to, "Oh hey, we're in the World Series," taking games from the all-powerful Houston Astros.
The following year, the same effect took place after Rob Thomson was named the permanent manager for the squad, only ending a series earlier as the Diamondbacks rallied back in seven games to advance to the World Series.
In both of those series, the 2022 World Series and 2023 NLCS, notable moves by Thomson did not resonate well at all with fans. In the pivotal Game 6 of the World Series, Thomson pulled star ace Zack Wheeler from the game at 70 pitches. Thomson then brought in José Alvarado, and we all know how that ended, so there's no need to repeat it.
In 2023, we began to see the decline of then Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel, and rookie Johan Rojas only showed his skills on one side of the field and never at the plate. Rojas' batting average was an astounding .093, with four hits in 13 games. Kimbrel had a 0-2 record, only three saves in seven appearances and a 6.00 ERA, but hey, five strikeouts thrown in there.
Sure, you can pin some of it on the players' performance but at some point, someone should step in and make a change for the better of the team. And Thomson, at times with these certain situations, never really did the right thing and the team paid the price.
Expect Rob Thomson to take different approach with struggling players this postseason
This year, as the Phillies clinch a bye and await their NLDS opponent at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, Thomson continues to have his doubters among the fans, from throwing Taijuan Walker at all during the season to resting players too much to not resting players enough, leading to either slumps or injuries.
But even with all of this in mind, the president of the organization, Dave Dombrowski, has complete faith in his manager this year as he has been through these situations for a couple of years now and has a better grasp of what to expect.
In a recent appearance on the 94WIP Morning Show, Dombrowski mentioned the big three in Harper, Schwarber and Trea Turner and how in that case, it's on them to turn it around. But for players like Rojas or even Austin Hays (who is injured again) and Brandon Marsh, it can go either way. He also mentioned the bullpen and its depth this year compared to last year and how Thomson was dependent on Kimbrel (now released by the Orioles).
"Yeah, I think learns from that and he gains experience from that, and will be much more proactive maybe in some . Again, every circumstance is different and every situation," Dombrowski said.
Dombrowski was also asked about seeing left-handed batters like Bryson Stott and Edmundo Sosa going up against left-handed pitchers and if Ranger Suárez can bounce back in the postseason (it's looking shaky at this point). He didn't give a clear answer to either of these cases.
At the end of the day, it is all up to the manager to complete the puzzle every game or every series and see which pieces can go where and which need to be replaced. Obviously, it would help if the top three batters go better than 1-for-11 in an elimination game, and players like Nick Castellanos does better than one hit for 24 plate appearances in the NLCS last year.
But now with the added experience and being more in the driver's seat this year with a playoff bye going straight into the NLDS at home, it's reasonable to believe we can all have a little more trust in Topper in 2024.