Phillies ridiculous lack of accountability after NLDS should make Braves fans giddy

The Philadelphia Phillies are getting the band back together, though in this case the band never really left. The Phillies lost to the New York Mets in the NLDS, but management was evidently happy enough with that outcome. Front office executive Dave Dombrowski confirmed that manager Rob Thomson, along with the rest of his staff will return next season.

"We have a good coaching staff, primarily," Dombrowski said. "They do a very efficient job. They did lead us to 95 wins and they've been with us for a couple years. A lot of cases three years and some beyond that...We have a good manager, they work well with the manager...He would like all of his coaches back. To me, it's pretty simple in that regard. We did have a disappointing finish, which we did, but it's hard to put that on their backs."

The Phillies end-of-season press conference brought with it very few answers. Dombrowski would prefer to stick with the status quo, and while there are clearly changes to be made as it pertains to player personnel, he thinks Thomson and his coaching staff deserve to be in leadership roles despite taking a step back in 2024. In fact, Thomson even received a one-year extension.

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Phillies clearly didn't learn from the Braves last season

Just last winter, the Braves were in a similar predicament to the Phillies. Despite losing in the NLDS to Philadelphia, Brian Snitker and his coaching staff for the most part were kept around. The roster is always fluid, much like in the Phillies case, but Alex Anthopoulos and Dave Dombrowski are of similar mindsets -- one bad series doesn't define a season.

Except, that's how the MLB Postseason works! Sure, the goal in spring training for every team is to give themselves a chance to win a World Series. But for the best teams in the sport, the goal is to assemble the best group of players and coaches to take that next step and win in the postseason. The Phillies did not do that. In fact, they took a step back, much like the Braves in 2023.

Speak of, what happened to Atlanta just this season? Ah, yes, losers of an NL Wild Card series to the San Diego Padres. Philadelphia is headed in the wrong direction. A managerial change might not be the answer, but Dombrowski ought to be hard at work figuring out what is.