February 22, 2024
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 13: A photo from the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves on September 13, 2023 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. (Photo by Kate Frese/PhillyVoice)
What are the Philadelphia Phillies to you?
For years this question was answered with terms like “necessary distraction,” getting away from yet another failed Eagles season. Many saw that 2008 run as more than just that, it was a chance to bond with a winner – full of personality.
Fast forward to this year and the Phillies are just different – at least what they provide as an experience. Baseball is played over a ridiculously long season full of ups and downs, so it’s truly about the journey with these clubs – far more than with any NBA or NHL team. Certainly, most would like to forget the journey of this past year’s Eagles team.
There’s been plenty of discussion – even criticism – around the Phillies decision to run it back. This is the same team that came up short last year, even though they added star Trea Turner after losing in the World Series. The offseason addition of Whit Merrifield this year headlined a slow winter.
After every failed Eagles year, there’s always clamoring for someone to fix it. Fire this person, hire this person, sign this person, and please trade this person. It’s exhausting and counterproductive. It’s not the gold standard of anything but paranoia and disappointment. The Phillies looked at their club, what the pitching did – including Aaron Nola improving in the postseason – and decided to push their chips back to the middle of the table.
Great for them.
Nobody in the front office caved to sports talk radio demands or any other lunatic trying to fix this team with a Juan Soto trade. In fact, some of the internal moves made already improve this team, rather significantly. This is what a smart and successful team does. Meanwhile the Eagles are acting like a team that has never won before.
Let’s be clear, this isn’t the same as the 2012 Phillies, clinging to players from that 2008 title squad. The 2024 Phillies are loaded and dangerous at multiple spots from their pitching to 6-7 guys in the lineup. They have proven leadership behind an actual MVP, one that wasn’t begged for over the course of a season either.
Yes, shots are being fired.
Bryce Harper is everything missing from both Jalen Hurts and Joel Embiid as leaders. All three are tremendous talents but not all are leading equally, or at least efficiently. The worst thing anyone can do is gauge leadership based on how a team does, it’s more how a team gets there. Back to the journey.
Harper’s decision to move to first base was a risk but it helped two-fold. First, there’s now some stability at that position so long as he can keep improving as a fielder. The other part is getting Kyle Schwarber out of any defensive positions. He’s no longer a liability in the outfield and can return to lead off homers. It’s a move that sacrificed and provided opportunity for teammates.
This is not just about Harper. There are seasoned veterans on this team, combined with youngsters trying to make names for themselves. Johan Rojas steps into what should be a starting spot in the outfield, building on a year highlighted by his fielding yet still keeping his head above water at the plate. Cristopher Sanchez is a little older but still at 27 provides a younger spark in the back end of the starting rotation.
This is a team that looks like they love each other, from team songs to dances to hand gestures. Yes, Harper is vocal, but none of this feels forced or contrived like everyone just falls in line like a robot. It doesn’t seem tense like every single second round played by Embiid, nor does it have a stench of failure like the Eagles recent demise.
Rob Thomson made the World Series and was immediately brought back with no deep internal interviews. Thomson never had to present a power-point to ownership about how he’s truly the man for the job. The right people in the clubhouse spoke up for him and management understood they had a motivator and intelligent skipper that knows his players as much as he does the game.
The Phillies don’t embarrass you as a fan. They just don’t.
It’s ridiculous to see more and more come out about why the Eagles failed and how much of a disaster it is bringing back Nick Sirianni. There are issues with Hurts’ contract and even morons on Fox Sports are throwing unsubstantiated claims about this team. Where is that level of dysfunction with the Phillies? It’s just non-existent.
Again, measuring any team by how they finish is never going to get you the complete story. It’s how things went during the journey. That’s the biggest metric in determining whether to run it back. The team needs to extend Zach Wheeler, 34 or not, he’s vital to this club’s success. Even if his role or approach changes as the fastball loses some zip, Wheels is key. Nola is back, and rightfully so. He bounced back in the postseason and pitched well despite many issues during the regular season.
Do you remember the standing ovation?
Turner, Harper, Schwarbs, Casty. The wear and tear of a 162 game season rarely shows it’s face, yet we saw something far worse after 10 regular season Eagles games, and are sunk with emotion after seeing another injury to Embiid.
The Philadelphia Flyers are doing the right thing. Keith Jones and Danny Briere understand how to build a winner and how to build it in Philadelphia. The team is a pleasant surprise, including their 5-1-1 mark so far in February. There’s no panic, no sense of lost direction. There’s not even public belief that this will come crashing down.
They lack the overall talent that the Phillies have and that’s why the Phillies present the only true championship – Philly Union also included here – contender. It’s why we will force ourselves to accept a slow start in April, knowing that things seem to heat up in July. We can stomach another rough start from Nola because we know the floor isn’t falling beneath them.
There are a few questions, not many, with this team. Primarily how the back end of the pen will hold, including Jose Alvarado closing games. Ranger Suarez needs more innings and Taijuan Walker needs to keep throwing that splitter. It’s baseball, and the team won’t win every game, hell they may not win 100 or even 95. But they will be in the playoffs and a menace to anyone they face – especially Atlanta.
Can we say the same about the Philadelphia Eagles? A team whose most vital employee appears to be the head of security keeping the head coach emotionally in check. No, of course not. We have no idea what shape Embiid will be in when he’s back and when he’s actually back.
Living on a prayer, man.
This isn’t about hope. It never was with this Phillies team. It’s about the tangible realization they are one of two pro teams actually able to win anything in the next few years. Harper isn’t going anywhere and is making sure his voice is heard by upper management.
Can we honestly say the same thing about Embiid?
No, of course not.
Look at how Harper has demanded guys stay or the team go out and make moves. He’s taken that role left open by Embiid on the Sixers. The latter is an amazing talent on the hardwood but a horrible lobbyist. The Sixers main acquisitions have been arranged marriages via trades, broken relationships before they blossom.
The Phillies are powered by their main voice and top player, as it should be.
The Phillies provide a shot at the World Series but far more important is the journey. You don’t have to watch Craig Kimbrel close games anymore, holding your breath about when the next blown save is coming. You don’t have to see a lost message delivered by an unqualified manager anymore. You don’t have to watch overpaid players blaming the city or media for their failures.
Instead, we get hand gestures, team songs, and a club that doesn’t appear to take themselves too seriously.
It seems impossible, right? Not in this city. The team’s journey is a fun experience to consume. They are far more than a necessary distraction from the nonsense and stupidity hovering around the Eagles. They are much more than an injury away from having their season derailed. This is not usually the case over 162 games, but it’s this level of excitement paired with their own joy of playing the game that jumps through the TV.
This might be one of the best seasons ever for anyone who has watched the Philadelphia Phillies, and it isn’t handcuffed to whether they win the World Series. Enjoy the ride, it’s unlike anything else in this amusement park of sports teams. The level of excitement isn’t forced nor met with anxiety like other clubs. This is genuine, be it from fan or player.
That’s what they mean to me, hopefully you too.
Eytan Shander is a long time radio and TV personality in Philadelphia. In addition to his weekly column, you can currently listen and watch him on Fox29’s Good Day and other sports shows. He’s giving betting advice on OddsShopper. A lifetime Eagles fan, Eytan lives just outside the city with his wife.
Follow Eytan on Twitter: @shandershow
