Most recently, the Mets swept the Phillies at Citi Field, continuing to add to their winning streak. While getting swept by a rival is never encouraging, the reigning NL East champs are not panicked by this slow start. Phillies manager Rob Thomson reflected that mentality in a recent interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber.
“We’re fine,” Thomson said. “Same guys. Experienced group. We’ve been through this before.”
The Phillies have been in first, second, and third place in the NL East over Thomson’s three years as manager. In all of these seasons, the franchise have made the postseason. And, ironically, the Phillies won the Pennant the year they finished in third place. Therefore, this core of players is not going to panic if they do not win the divisional race, which is still just getting started.
That being said, the National League as a whole looks a lot more competitive this season. It’d be best for the Phillies to regain their form shortly so that they don’t fall too far behind in any playoff races. It’s way too early to panic, but making the postseason this year could be trickier than it’s been in the recent past.