Even if it wasn’t nice, the Philadelphia Phillies won their first weekend series against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. While there is a little sense of comfort among supporters that their division foe, the Phillies, did not sweep them—even at home—the outcome isn’t what many had in mind before the season started.
While some people think the Phillies have a good chance of winning the NL East this year, others don’t. It’s okay, we all have the right to express our ideas.
What’s more, the group thinks it. Or, at any rate, that’s what they stated during the winter and early spring.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto stated on the SportsRadio 94 WIP Midday Show late in spring training, “There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to compete with them and beat them for the division.” “We just have to first of all get off to a better start and then just be more consistent throughout the season.”
“You can see it when we get in the postseason, we have all the talent in the world, we have the team that can win every single game of the regular season,” said Realmuto. “We just need to shift our perspective during the regular season, even though you’re obviously never going to do that.”
They most definitely didn’t play consistently over the season’s opening three games. However, we won’t know for sure until at least the following month, so it’s still early.
Over the weekend, the Phillies failed to demonstrate that they are on par with the Braves.
Fans want to see the front office’s evaluation of the current squad supported by on-field performance, especially against the Braves, regardless of whether they win the division. If not, this team’s quiet offseason—which was motivated by internal confidence—might be remembered as a lost chance to close the distance between them and the NL East leaders.
Unfortunately, the unbridled optimism of the preseason quickly gave way to early despair on Friday after Zack Wheeler left the home opener with a 2-0 lead, and things went off the tracks.
It’s only three games into a six-month marathon, but Phillies fans have already had their fears confirmed that perhaps their beloved team still can’t compete with the Braves, at least in the regular season. Even if we haven’t expressed it, it’s still there for some fans — an underlying wariness about the ability of this team to compete with Atlanta, lurking just beneath the surface, but there nonetheless.
While the Phillies faithful can hang their hats on the team’s undeniable success against Atlanta in the past two postseasons, it would be nice to go up against the Braves as a true equal, not the underdog.
On Sunday, the Phillies did win 5-4, but it was a close victory that needed some luck.
I take it that’s baseball? After the game, Bohm stated, “You think the inning is over, you let your guard down a little bit and you get some luck,” as reported by Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “That’s all you need sometimes.”
Not to mention that during the previous eighteen innings, they had been outhit 32–13 and outscored 21–7. The general sentiment among supporters leading up to Easter Sunday appeared to be one of impending doom at the possibility of being swept. Very serious content for the season’s third game.
Thankfully, things didn’t work out that way.
“You wish to avoid being swept away. We definitely wanted this game when we came in today for our third game of the season, according to Bohm. “Have some luck like that, kind of regain the momentum, and our guys are now leading and smelling victory in the bullpen.”
The Phillies now have until July 5, when they play the Braves again, to put themselves in a position where they can prove they can contend with the NL East’s titans on par with Atlanta. That three-game series begins on July 5. If not, Phillies supporters might have to accept that the present team is still unable to compete with the formidable Braves.
