With the moves they’ve made and the good players they’ve graduated through their system, expectations have been decently high for the Phillies in recent seasons. They hadn’t make the playoffs since 2011, but it seemed like the tide was starting to turn for them. To try and take them over the top, they had brought in former Yankees’ manager and a World Series winner in Joe Girardi.
Flash forward to early June, and it’s clear it wasn’t working. After two disappointing seasons in 2020 and ‘21, the Phillies had gotten off to a 22-29 start, sitting 12.