Wait Til Next Year - Again

And, it’s over. Today’s loss to the Nationals means the Phillies will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year and the 122nd time in franchise history. They still have a chance to finish with a winning record, provided they can find a way to win 3 of their remaining 6 games.

There’s plenty of blame to go around. Lousy starting pitching, bullpen injuries by the dozens, and the complete disappearance of Rhys Hoskins as an offensive threat leap to mind.

I thought they’d make the playoffs after signing Harper, McCutchen, and trading for JT Realmuto. But the pitching was never there and they couldn’t string together a winning streak of more than 4 games. But after starting the season with 4 straight wins, they've been a sub-.500 team ever since.

It should be a very interesting winter as the team tries to find a way to stop the rebuilding and actually play in October. Some familiar faces will probably be released or traded (Cesar Hernandez, Mikael Franco, Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez). And then there's Gabe Kapler–will he be back for a third season? I can almost guarantee you'll see a new pitching coach and a new hitting coach as well, since Charlie Manuel said he'd work for the rest of this season only.

This team has a long way to go to compete with the likes of the Braves and Nationals and even the Mets in their division. Sigh.