‘Stupid Money’ Returns A Hot Start For Philadelphia

Editor’s Note: All statistics mentioned are accurate as of April 10. All standings mentioned are accurate as of April 11.

The Philadelphia Phillies have opened up their season with significant success, owning a 6-3 record and holding the first place crown in a crowded NL East.

The past few seasons have proven to be major disappointments for the franchise, whose owner promised to spend “stupid money” to push the Phillies into contention. You can find the full breakdown of those prior seasons — along with me ripping the “Mr.Krabs” of baseball — in one of my previous articles, “John Middleton Goes From ‘Stupid Money’ To ‘Stupid Broke.’”

The Phillies kicked off the season by sweeping the highly-touted Atlanta Braves, who entered Opening Day with a 60% chance to win the division per FanGraphs. The same website predicted the Phillies would land in third place, but the team seems to be proving that prediction dead wrong. After a quick sweep of the Braves on their home turf, the Phillies won their next game against their rival, the New York Mets, giving them their first 4-0 start since 1915 and tightening the hold on their first place position in the division. The Phillies split the next two games against the Mets and went into their matchup in Atlanta with a 5-1 record.

Philadelphia’s pitching staff — and the bullpen in particular — has been a pleasant surprise for the club so far. The trio of RHP Héctor Neris, RHP Sam Coonrod and LHP José Alvarado have emerged as go-to guys out of the pen during this young season, having given up a combined one-earned run in 11.2 innings pitched. This is especially pleasing given that the Phillies had one of the worst bullpens in the existence of bullpens last year, as it proved to be one of the main reasons that they were not able to make the playoffs. 

There is room for concern with this Phillies team, though, when digging into their offense. IF Jean Segura is off to a slow start, only accruing a .226 batting average and .273 on-base percentage thus far. Additionally, the Phillies have a major hole in center field, with OF Adam Haseley and OF Roman Quinn giving them nothing at the plate. 3B Alec Bohm has been pretty disappointing as well after his phenomenal rookie season — his OPS has dropped by over 300 points to start the season, and he seems to be falling into the infamous sophomore slump. 1B Rhys Hoskins has suddenly decided not to take walks anymore, a skill he’s otherwise well-known for; he has yet to earn a walk through the Phillies’ first eight games. And while anchors C J.T. Realmuto and OF Bryce Harper have performed like the superstars they are, they seem to be the only consistent pieces in this lineup right now. 

The Phillies lost their first two games against the Braves but avoided the sweep with the help of a controversial call to end the game in Philadelphia’s favor. This team has certainly been one of the surprises so far this season, but I fear that their big-name lineup could ultimately be the cause of their fall from the top if the offense’s mediocre play continues.

Cover photo courtesy of Matt Slocum/AP Photo