Here is a different way to look at what happened Thursday in Buffalo.

Holding a 7-3 lead with six outs to go and a runner on first base, the Phillies were a -1430 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook to beat the Blue Jays in the second game of what I suspect will be a doubleheader that is remembered around here for a long time.

Following Connor Brogdon’s walk of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which put two runners on base, the Phillies moved to -670. That number became just -195 after a three-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel Jr., which brought the Blue Jays to within a run.

Two outs, two fielding errors, a walk, a wild pitch, and a single later, the Phillies were a +850 underdog.

To recap, they transitioned from a -1430 favorite to a +850 underdog in the matter of two outs. Two. Outs.


The familiar frustration of the opening loss was quickly overshadowed by what was perhaps – and I had to make sure I really took a deep breath and thought about this before writing it – one of the worst losses in the organization’s modern history.

Indeed, there are many, many candidates that could sit atop the list, but this one was different.  We don’t need to perform an autopsy on it, but there are a few things worth noting this morning in light of the Phillies’ expected collapse yesterday in Buffalo.

Yes, expected – expected even when the odds were so overwhelmingly in their favor.

Were you at all surprised that the Phillies didn’t score after the first inning until they had already let their 7-0 lead slip away?

Maybe a little bit? Maybe?

Were you at all stunned that Vince Velasquez couldn’t navigate the unfamiliar terrain of the sixth inning of a major league baseball game of which he started? I wasn’t.

Were you even a bit shocked that a historically incompetent Phillies bullpen, one that has demonstrated on multiple, nay, almost all occasions through 21 games that it is utterly incapable of competence, could not protect a four-run lead with six outs remaining?

Of course you weren’t surprised. You could feel it coming, and the disgrace that transpired late yesterday afternoon resurfaces something I’ve been wondering about since last October before the organization fired Gabe Kapler:

“I’ll stop banging this drum in the near future, but I can’t help but wonder why Middleton and his ownership group are taking such a meticulous approach to a decision on the manager’s fate, yet didn’t think twice about running it back with a front office that built the team he’s so unhappy with.”

This morning, I’m still wondering.

Of course, there is a common thread that runs through an ill-plotted rebuild which failed to yield homegrown star talent and the failures of two “win-now” teams that have combined to go 90-93 since the start of last season. That thread, of course, is the front office.

It’s not all bad. Give the group credit for one thing – it possesses an ability to locate and pay for shiny (and productive) new objects with prospects and money (Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler). However, its woeful inability to support such stars with a competent supporting cast is why it has failed, at least to this point, to produce a winner despite such heavy financial investments.

Publicly, Joe Girardi has deferred to the front office, namely, Matt Klentak, on personnel matters. Phillies fans should pray that Girardi’s public spin is not indicative of the private dynamics, because if it is, this organization’s problems run much, much deeper than what played out on the field over two miserable games yesterday.

“That’s Matt’s job and the people above me, so my job is to manage the players that they give me and to get the best out of them, so I will continue to try to do that,” Girardi said when asked if he hoped the bullpen would be addressed.

Girardi has 997 career wins and a World Series to his credit. The Phillies need someone who can not only successfully manage baseball games (which I believe he can), but they also need a strong, credible voice at the field-level who can help better direct an underperforming front office at how to get where it has unsuccessfully been trying to go.

When Girardi was hired last October, I thought they got that voice. But if they don’t let him use it, then his managerial chops, personality, and feel for the game – all of the things for which he is deservedly touted – will prove to be meaningless because there is no manager on earth who can win with the hand Girardi has been dealt.

This is an organization that needs to decide if it wants to be a contender or one that just talks about being one. At its highest levels, it has been nothing but empty bluster about what it wants to be and thinks it already is, mixed with lots of self-congratulations at press conferences featuring high-profile additions.

Forget the bullpen, forget the trade deadline; the most pressing issue that must be addressed is that this team desperately needs someone to take charge and change its direction.