Want to fire Rob Thompson? Fine. Fire Dave Dombrowski, too.
I think John Middleton should stand pat, but remember: Dealin' Dave bought the groceries. Topper's just working in the kitchen. If one head rolls, then the other should, too.
Phillies owner John Middleton hired World Series winner Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations in December of 2020 because he wanted his “[expletive] trophy back.” Middleton briefly earned the trophy a dozen years before.
Middleton promoted Rob Thomson from career bench coach to interim manager out of necessity. Middleton and Dombrowski kept Thomson aboard because Thomson managed to get more wins every year from a team that wins in fits and spurts, but wins, nevertheless.
Now, though, Thomson has lost seven in a row for the first time. With two more games against the red-hot Chicago Cubs on Wednesday and Thursday, then three more in Atlanta against the team they trail by 7½ games in the NL East, the Phillies’ 8-15 start it could get much worse before it gets any better.
» READ MORE: Dave Dombrowski: Phillies not moving on from Rob Thomson, but team’s level of play is concerning
The last time the Phillies lost seven straight, from June 16-23 in 2019, Gabe Kapler was the manager, and he was canned after the season.
Thomson was Kapler’s bench coach. So, Thomson knows what it is for a Philadelphia baseball team to lose seven games in a row.
It creates a mob. That mob wants blood. The manager’s blood.
Reasonable.
Coming off the bullpen’s 7-4 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night, a tragically comical affair in which every run scored with a reliever on the mound, the Phillies have been outscored, 49-14, in those seven losses.
This run differential underscores the real issue: The flawed roster, and in particular, the lineup.
For the record, I don’t think Thomson or Dombrowski should be fired. But if one head rolls, then both should.
It has three 30-something, $30 million hitters, in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper, and … well, that’s about it.
It lacks a consistently productive right-handed bat, and, really, it has lacked that entity since Thomson took over. Dombrowski tried fading catcher J.T. Realmuto, free agent Nick Castellanos, since released, homegrown Alec Bohm, who is hitting .128, and, most recently, Adolis Garcia, who is hitting .210 in his 23 games as a Phillie. On Tuesday night, in his second major league game, it was Felix Reyes, who now is 2-for-7 with a homer.
Marcus Hayes alerts
That’s right.
A rookie is batting cleanup in his second big-league game as part of a $317 million payroll.
It’s gotten that bad.
Actually, it’s worse.
Only one of the five starting pitchers has lasted past the sixth inning during the losing streak, and that was Christopher Sánchez on Saturday. Jesús Luzardo left in the fifth on Tuesday.
» READ MORE: Taijuan Walker cannot, in good conscience, start another game for the Phillies
Dombrowski has given three of those five starters contract extensions worth more than $100 million. He gave the worst of those five starters, Taijuan Walker, $72 million, and that was as a free agent four years ago; Walker is, arguably, the worst pitcher in the majors both this season and over the past three season.
As a result, the bullpen is overused and frayed, currently without closer Jhoan Duran and now, it could be without lefty José Alvarado. He was suspended for part of last season for taking a banned, but apparently necessary, weight-loss drug. Alvarado fielded a bunt Tuesday night and soon his poor back was in spasm.
They also are the worst defensive team in baseball. You know why? Dombrowski knowingly built the worst defensive team in baseball. The Phillies have been admitting that their defense is horrible for the last five seasons. The fact is, for the most part, Thomson and his coaches have gotten them to play better defense than anyone expected them to.
There is no organizational depth in either hitting or pitching.
These are not Rob Thomson problems.
These are Dave Dombrowski problems.
Again, this is not the time to panic.
They’re playing good teams who are expected to win. Yes, they also are a good team that’s expected to win, but it’s not as if they’re losing to the Nationals or the Rockies or the New York stinking Mets, who happen to be the only team currently worse than the Phillies.
That, of course, is small consolation for a fan base still angry at Thomson for playoff mistakes in postseason collapses in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
To modulate those mistakes the Phillies hired a big-name bench coach, Don Mattingly, who also has managed in the majors for 12 seasons. Also, Mattingly’s kid, Preston, happens to be the general manager.
Will Middleton cut off both heads of the snake to regrow them in the form of Mattingly & Mattingly?
That would make for a good storyline, but probably would not be responsible ownership.
» READ MORE: Phillies’ Zack Wheeler to make season debut Saturday vs. the Braves
I think the Phillies are still going to win between 90 and 95 games. Staff ace Zack Wheeler returns Saturday after being gone since August with thoracic outlet syndrome. Maybe his presence makes a difference.
Dombrowski inherited Wheeler. He inherited starter Sánchez, too. On the other side of the ledger, Max Kepler, Walker, Castellanos, and Craig Kimbrel all have been big-money disappointments, if not disasters.
There’s an excellent argument to be made that the team is appreciably worse now than it was when Thomson inherited it, and it’s best players — Harper, Schwarber, Wheeler, and Aaron Nola — are all significantly older.
Dombrowski decided that this quartet, as well as Realmuto, were worth retaining. I’d contend that they are, still.
And if they are worth retaining, then so is Rob Thomson and his staff.
If they’re not worth retaining, then neither is Dave Dombrowski.
In Trea Turner and Justin Crawford, the Phillies have two of baseball's fastest players at the top and bottom of their batting order. It's a baserunning coach's dream. Paco Figueroa sat down with "Phillies Extra" to discuss his philosophy on baserunning and how the Phillies might be able to leverage the elite speed of Turner and Crawford to boost an offense that has struggled to score runs early in the season. Watch here.
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Previous episodes: Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller | J.T.Realmuto | Orion Kerkering
