On September 9th, Vice President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, was fired from the Boston Red Sox. Only one year after having one of the best regular-season teams of all time and winning the World Series with the Boston Red Sox, they decided to part ways with one of their main guys.
The Red Sox firing Dombrowski should set a precedent for the Phillies to follow suit. Andy MacPhail’s inability to create a modern baseball team should cost him his job. His crowning achievement was building the ‘91 Twins, who are the only team in baseball history to win the World Series with a negative run differential; something that will never be done again in the modern era. MacPhail should be praying that the Phillies make the playoffs for his own job security.
After losing back-to-back games to the Boston Red Sox and failing to sweep the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies’ playoff hopes are dwindling. If Gabe Kapler, Andy MacPhail, and GM Matt Klentak all return for the 2020 season, it proves that John Middleton is okay with spending hundreds of millions of dollars and not making the playoffs. Klentak has done a great job finding serviceable players to fill out the injury-plagued roster. Corey Dickerson’s ability to drive in runs during Rhys Hoskins’ second-half slump has kept the Phillies relevant in the playoff race. Dickerson has 34 RBI in 34 games but has found himself on the injured list for the rest of the year with a broken foot.
After the offseason Klentak was able to have, he deserves another chance to see if he can continue to build out the team he has constructed. If the front office stays together, Kapler will end up being the fall guy. The logical move would be to replace Andy MacPhail and poach away Chaim Bloom from the Tampa Bay Rays. He is a Philadelphia native who has been able to create one of the best baseball organizations in all of MLB. Tampa Bay’s ability to compete in the AL East without spending much money at all is miraculous. Bloom would be the perfect mastermind behind building the Phillies into a top-tier team.
Even though the Phillies have had a lot of question marks throughout the season, there will be even higher expectations in 2020. The key to a successful next season will be the Phillies staying healthy and finding quality pitching to allow them to win more than five games in a row.
At the end of the day, championship aspirations start from the top of an organization. If John Middleton’s comments about wanting his trophy back are true, he needs to look back at his team’s objectively disappointing season and realize that change needs to be made in his front office.
Featured Image: Phillyvoice.com
