On 8/20/18 the Phillies had a record of 68-56 and were two games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves. They played Washington, Toronto, the Cubs, Miami, the Mets, Atlanta and Colorado the rest of the way … those teams had a combined winning percentage of .487 on 8/20 … the Phillies went 12-26 and finished 80-82
On 8/20/19 the Phillies had a record of 65-60 and were in third place … nine games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves but firmly in the hunt for a wild card spot. They played Boston, Miami, Pittsburgh, the Mets, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Cleveland and Washington the rest of the way … those teams had a combined winning percentage of .503 on 8/20 … the Phillies went 16-21 and finished 81-81 … the first Harper/Realmuto/McCutchen year.
On 8/20/20 the Phillies had a record of 9-12 and were tied for the last spot in the division trailing the Atlanta Braves by 3 games. In the Covid shortened season they played Atlanta, Washington, the Mets, Boston, Miami, Toronto and Tampa the rest of the way …those teams had a combined winning percentage of .490 on 8/20 … the Phillies went 19-20 and finished 28-32.
This year … today 8/20/21 the Phillies are 61-60 and are 4 games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves. They play San Diego, Tampa, Arizona, Washington, Miami, Milwaukee, Colorado, the Cubs, the Mets, Pittsburgh and Atlanta to finish the year … those teams have a combined winning percentage of .475 … it remains to be seen how this year ends 🤷♂️
The bottom line is that no team makes the playoffs by playing sub .500 baseball in the stretch run when trailing going into the hunt … stars gotta step up and shine when the grind becomes the sprint … they haven’t the past three seasons and a combined 2 for 33 during the three game sweep in Arizona from the Harper/Realmuto/McCutchen trio was far from shining.
Throw out the opposing team’s records, doesn’t mean diddly … it’s time to step up regardless of the opponent. It’s not the manager, wasn’t in 2018 or 2019 either … players need to play ball like we think they can … they need to have an attitude that’s conducive to winning and no self doubt else we are looking at a similar end to this year as has been witnessed in the past three.
Time to play, not press … to battle each AB and play each out like it’s the game ender, to earn, not expect to receive … bottom line it’s time to shine … else be the reason for change … it’s go time !
I cheer for our boys to win, pessimism lays the ground work for failure, I’ve never known anyone to succeed at anything by not believing they could. You will never get a doomsayers prediction from this old fan …
Just sayin …
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
File Photo - Cheryl Pursell
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