No Pressure

 

And so here we are again. 2022 the Phillies make the leap, 2023 the Phillies prove it's not a fluke, 2024 the Phillies are unstoppable but aren't used to a first round bye. We're speedrunning the Charlie Manuel years. The difference is they had a World Series trophy to show for themselves by this point. The Phillies don't have that. 

In fact, the Eagles winning a Super Bowl may have made things trickier for them, because now this fanbase is gonna expect similar results. And if Philadelphia sports fans are anything, they're easily disappointed. And impatient, that's important too. So now that one of their teams can succeed, the ones that aren't are going to stick out even more. This city has already abandoned the Sixers, which wasn't difficult. And now we're gonna see how they do with this Phillies season, which could go a number of ways depending on A.) how the Phillies fare, and B.) how their competition fares.

The Phillies, as discussed, reached their peak last season. The fear is that now a lot of these guys are gonna be slowly heading off their peak, the same thing that doomed this team in 2012. I am very worried about the prospect of Zack Wheeler, after an incredible start to the decade, being less than perfect this year. I'm also worried about Trea Turner after a subpar defensive effort in 2024. And I'm worried about Bryson Stott and Johan Rojas still playing background roles in this team instead of truly blossoming. This has all the makings of diminishing returns, and while so many of these guys have the talent to power through, I'm still very worried. 

Cristopher Sanchez is eyeing a much larger role this year. Last season was proof he could be a big game starter, and he was very trustworthy down the stretch. This year, even with Nola and Wheeler back, and Jesus Luzardo onboard, the question marks surrounding Ranger Suarez could be a mar in a perfect rotation, and if that's the case, a great season from Sanchez would be even more valuable. In 5 spring starts so far, Sanchez has a 1.62 ERA and 19 Ks. That's the best stretch from a Phils starter in camp so far, as Wheeler and Luzardo have been shaky, Walker got lit up today and Nola and Seth Johnson have been slightly below. Ranger Suarez has also been sharp, but he's not striking as many people out, so that's interesting. This team will have Max Kepler, Jordan Romano and Joe Ross in key roles this year, and they've all been fantastic in camp.

However, the obvious factor into their season is that they still have the Braves and Mets to contend with. The Braves will get Ronald Acuna back at some point, and are still very much in their peak period. The Mets bulked up and got even stronger, and they're gonna want the division. Both of those teams are trending up, and the Phillies need to stay ahead of them. I worry that'll be too difficult for them, but I'd really like to be proven wrong.