I watched the end of the Phillies game on Sunday out at my sister’s house. It was disappointing of course, but in the bigger picture, the team took three of four to get themselves back on track before a trip down to Atlanta. Driving home, it felt like a good idea to flip on local sports radio.
I was wrong.
In short, the postgame discourse was about how much of an abomination it was that Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto did not hit in the final inning, even after Edmundo Sosa began the frame with a single to put a runner on with no one out, the Phillies down by two. With Cal Stevenson up, it seemed like the perfect time to use Harper, yet there Stevenson stood, at the plate and grounding into a double play. Realmuto stayed stapled to the bench afterwards, watching with us as Garrett Stubbs grounded out to end the game. Asked about it postgame, Thomson gave the same answer he’s given each time he’s made a similar decision.
Rob Thomson on why he didn’t use Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto in the 9th inning ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zvBs00Aec5
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) August 18, 2024
The response was, as you can probably imagine, measure and sane.
"Dude I don't get it, that's waiving the white flag" – @Brodes81 on Rob Thomson not pinch hitting Bryce Harper nor J.T. Realmuto in the 9th inning#Phillies #RingTheBell #MLB pic.twitter.com/38azOVhik2
— Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia_) August 19, 2024
Called it… Rob Thomson's excuse would be exactly this
But it is 110% the WRONG coaching decision
Phillies gave up a winnable game today… and Rob played a HUGE part in the loss https://t.co/mn8ZUXc4eB
— Phil Stiefel (@Beardaknowledge) August 18, 2024
Rob Thomson believes you win in 7-8 innings. If it goes 9 you throw in the towel because he will not, refuses to pinch hit for anyone. It’s utterly mind boggling. I don’t understand why Dombrowski puts up with this. It makes the entire @Phillies organization look like idiots. pic.twitter.com/FCxcbZdw8H
— And I am Iron Man (@hitmanhoupt) August 18, 2024
I guess Rob Thomson forgot they have off tomorrow?? Or that one at bat to try and win in the 9th won’t kill them??#Phillies “Topper” apologist, do you NOW understand why this man needs to go?! https://t.co/hhGQSJ0HSb
— jaime (@jaime82) August 18, 2024
Granted, this is a small subsection of the fanbase that felt angry about the decision to give the duo a day off, but the day after, the response has started to grow maybe a bit out of control.
If the @Phillies win the NL East but fall to the 3rd overall seed it is a HUGE disappointment. Do not spin it to me any other way. It doesn’t mean they won’t win in October, but it would emphasize a huge collapse. @975TheFanatic
— John Kincade (@JohnKincade) August 19, 2024
As of this morning, the Phillies currently have a 1⁄2 game lead over the Dodgers for the top spot in the National League and a one game lead over the Brewers. Their poor play over the past two months has allowed the two teams to get back into the race, but a lead is still a lead. Tenuous? Sure. The crown the Phillies have had on their head for months now seems wobbly at best.
But let’s get back to the decision to sit both Harper and Realmuto. The ire being directed at Thomson is, quite frankly, silly. Would using Harper instead of Stevenson have been a better usage of the bench? Sure, but we don’t know what exactly went into the overall decision. Thomson has given these kinds of answers before when asked about not pinch hitting someone, but usually it’s been with Realmuto. When you have a thirty something catcher who plays every day getting a rest, the decision becomes that much more palatable. With Harper, did anyone ask if his back was possibly acting up a bit and the benefit of giving him two full days off outweighed putting him in harm’s way? Are we sure that Thomson giving the type of short, matter of fact answer that he did wasn’t just his way of covering up some kind of back soreness Harper was feeling? Pure speculation on my part, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility, thus should be factored into the discussion.
The spotlight being shone on that decision by pockets of the fanbase allows the pitching to duck more scrutiny that should be on their shoulders. As the team has risen to the top of the league, it’s mostly been on the back of the pitching staff from top to bottom. The past three nights, we’ve seen the team’s best three starting pitchers come through with good starts. On Sunday, Taijuan Walker was average at best, decent if your expectations have been appropriately tuned down for him. After that, the bullpen was responsible for another high leverage struggle, this time with Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman giving up multiple runs to allow Washington to take the lead. If ire was to be directed at someone(s) on the team, that is where it should be sent to.
If we’ve seen anything over the past few years under Rob Thomson, it’s that he has the pulse of the team. Outside of the issues with Walker after the playoffs were over, there has been nary a whisper of clubhouse discord. There exists the possibility that the team knows how to keep things locked up tight, but judging from how they speak about each other publicly interviews and the way they describe the manager, there is a true unity fostered by Thomson and the team that other teams haven’t quite replicated. If anyone knows when a player is going to need a day off, it’s Thomson.
Look, would I have hit for Stevenson with Harper in that situation? Probably. Wins are wins and they’re all needed. Having Harper up in that situation over Stevenson would give the Phillies a much better shot at winning that game. But unless we know all of the factors that went into the decision, we’ll have to assume that Thomson knows what is best for the team. If giving Harper two complete days off helps the team further down the road, this discourse will have been rendered pointless. Personally, I’d much rather have a healthy and contributing Harper later on in the season as opposed to any kind of risk in mid August.
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