As of this writing, the Phillies have completed 80 games and are about to play their eighty-first game against Hunter Brown and the Houston Astros, the halfway mark of the 162-game regular season. As Steve Dangle would say, that’s so many games.
There are plenty of takeaways with this team. The starting pitching is fantastic, Kyle Schwarber has officially solidified himself as a difference-making designated hitter, the defense isn’t good, and the bullpen is an issue.
Those are about as general as you can get. They have been the talking points all season long.
Maybe the specific issue discussed today isn’t as glaring on the surface as the bullpen or defense, but it’s something they will have to answer over the next 81+ games remaining in 2025.