What will Rob Thomson focus on in the final three weeks of the Phillies’ season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
THE Atlanta Braves They were a juggernaut last year. They won 104 games in the regular season. They hit 307 home runs. They easily won their sixth straight division title. It didn’t do them much good in October when they were eliminated in the division series.
Victory 101 Orioles and the 100 victories The Dodgers Both teams were eliminated in that round as well. There was some suspicion that the new playoff format, which gives the top four teams a bye into the first round, might not be an advantage after all. Days off are a good thing. But too much of a good thing can lead to a loss of rhythm and momentum.
“I’m not going to say it’s an excuse for us,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after he was fired by the Phillies“But it’s not ideal… It’s hard, you know, when you’re playing sports every day. I never liked having two days off. I think one is enough. But you know what? That’s the way it is, and you have to find a solution.”
With exactly three weeks left on the season schedule, Phillies manager Rob Thomson is trying to figure it out.
The Phillies haven’t won anything yet. But even after getting beaten 10-1 by the Marlins on Sunday at Depot Park, they’re neck-and-neck with the Dodgers for the best record in baseball and three ahead of the Brewers to avoid getting their hands dirty by having to play a wild-card series. They have more wins than the Yankeescurrently the winningest team in the American League.
That means there’s a good chance the Phillies will be all dressed up and have nowhere to go between the regular-season finale on Sept. 29 in Washington and the start of the division series on Oct. 5.
“I think you would have intra-squad games,” Thomson said, thinking aloud Sunday morning at Miami“I’m talking about bringing some extra people in here to make it a little more realistic. But other than that, I don’t think teams on bye don’t have as much of a chance to go deeper in the playoffs. I think it’s just a coincidence, really.”
It is not out of the question that some of the organization’s minor league players will be invited to stick around after the year is over to represent the upcoming opposition.
What if we invited the fans into the park to create a more realistic atmosphere?
“I wouldn’t mind. But that’s someone else’s decision,” the manager said. “We’re not there, so we haven’t really discussed it. But that’s just what’s on my mind. You’d run the scoreboard. Like a normal game, as far as I’m concerned.”
In the past, they could broadcast crowd noise, as teams did during the pandemic.
Could the Phanatic be there?
“No, he needs a break,” Thomson said with a smile.
But seriously, the more games the Phillies play, the bigger their potential end-of-season reward will be. Kind of like the more points you earn shooting tin ducks in the aisles of a carnival, the bigger a Kewpie doll you can take home.
The first step is to win the division.
The second is to have one of the two best records to avoid a possible wild card ambush.
The third is having the best win-loss record in the league, which can be used to gain home-field advantage in the divisional rounds and championship series.
And finally, the big prize. The winner with the most wins gets home-field advantage in the World Series.
Thompson is going for the big one. And why not? The Phillies are 47-24 (.662) at Citizens Bank Park this year and 38-34 (.528) everywhere else. “I think they’re all important,” he said. “They really are. This game, if you have a chance to play at home the whole game, this World Series game could really make a difference.”
At the same time, there are strong competing currents that must be reckoned with.
“It’s all about health,” the manager said, repeating a mantra he repeats over and over again. “Any kind of pain or discomfort is a red flag at this time of year and you try to make it go away. So health is my biggest concern.”
“And then once we get to the last couple of games, there’s certain things I look at in terms of stats for each player individually. A guy might hit .300 or get 100 RBIs. Whatever that special number is, I look at that too.”
Of course, sometimes these goals contradict each other.
“That’s the balance that we have to find. Or at least try to find,” Thomson said. “It’s difficult. But when we get there – if we get there – we have to try to make the best decision possible.”
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