3 Phillies that deserve more blame for gifting us a terrible World Series
By Mark Powell
The Philadelphia Phillies lost in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. That is no secret, as the Phillies fell short of their second straight World Series appearance. While Arizona could still come behind from their current 3-1 deficit and win the series itself, the Texas Rangers have a hold as things currently stand. Perhaps more concering from MLB's perspective is that no one is watching. This World Series is the lowest rated...ever. Tuesday night's blowout did not help matters.
When looking for areas of growth in the game itself, we must first find who to blame. Why look any further than the teams which lost to the Diamondbacks and Rangers, the Phillies and Astros? Surely a World Series rematch would've provided far more intrigue than whatever it is I'm currently watching. Bryce Harper certainly feels bad about it.
“Man, not being able to come through in that moment," Harper said. “it was just devastating for me. I feel like I let my team down and I let the city of Philadelphia down as well. It’s a moment I feel like I need to come through.”
Yet, Harper himself is not to blame. The Phillies star performed admirably all postseason long, and came back from an injury far sooner than expected midseason. Yet, some of his teammates could have a tough time looking in the mirror.
Philadelphia Phillies to blame: Johan Rojas
Johan Rojas is an intriguing story and could very well receive some playing time in center field next season as well. Yet, if Dave Dombrowski is smart, he will find an upgrade in the Phillies outfield. Rojas was a black hole in the lineup all postseason long, hitting just .093 in 43 plate appearances. In the final game of the Phillies season, he was replaced by former failed Braves prospect Cristian Pache, who pinch hit for Rojas.
As Dombrowski noted, the Phillies were far too willing to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone, and Rojas was a primary violator of that rule.
"We swung at way too many pitches out of the strike zone this year, way too many," Dombrowski said at a year-end wrap-up press conference late last week. "I know we have guys that chase, but for whatever reason they chased even more this year and that's something I think we need to address and something I know we will address because we've already had meetings on how we get better in that regard."
Rojas will not be handed the center field job next spring, and for good reason.