The only thing uglier than how the Phillies played baseball over the weekend was the uniforms they wore. Hideous black unis, for some really stupid baseball "player's weekend" stunt ( with equally stupid nicknames on the back). The Phils, dress all in black, looked as they played- like they were attending a funeral. The Miami Marlins, decked out in all white, looked like milkmen.
Worse, every team in baseball dressed this way- home team all-white, visitors all-black- for the entire weekend. A rare, classic series between the Yankees and Dodgers was spoiled because of the awful threads. In what could've been a preview of the World Series, it would've been nice to see the Dodgers in home iconic white with blue hats, and the classic Yankee look of road gray. Instead we got unrecognizable black and white. Everyone looked alike, probably a millennial idea.
Anyway, the Phillies, after sweeping two games from the Red Sox in Boston earlier in the week, played like dogs most of the series and again lost to lowly Miami. The Phils are now a sad 7-9 vs the last-place Marlins this season They only remain in the wild card race because the rest of the National League sucks.
Even worse, Cesar Henandez, who I have always said is an average, solid player, not a star, failed to hustle when he laced a double off the right field wall, staying at first base. In an important game, with a tie score of 0-0, with Aaron Nola on the mound, you must run hard, even if you think the ball is a home run ( especially in the spacious Miami ballpark).
No excuses. Manager Gabe Kapler is at fault for not stopping this laziness earlier in the season. Too late to say Hernandez was "talked to" on the bench. Kapler didn't immediately pull Hernandez from the game. Rightfully so, the 2019 have been labeled as a lazy bunch of losers. They may have a winning record right now but they are a collection of underachievers, failed prospects , washed-up veterans and over-estimated draft picks.
The bottom line is that the Phillies are 7-9 this season against Miami, the worst team in the National League. If Philly doesn't make the playoffs a huge reason will be it's failure vs the Fish.
If they do miss the post-season I hope Kapler gets fired. Klentek and MacPhail should go too but I;m afraid the owner is too invested in analytics to pull the plug on those two losers just yet.
Start with Kapler and the pitching coach and go from there.
The team returns home to face the suddenly hot Pittsburgh Pirates, who swept their weekend series with Cincinnati.
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