Well here’s one out of left field.

Today Jim Jackson wrote on Twitter that the Phillies no longer require his services after nearly 15 years working with the team.

This is his letter to the fans:

That’s a bummer. Jackson had served as a pregame and postgame radio host and did play-by-play for the Phillies Radio Network as well. He’d pop in and do PBP for the 4th and 5th innings of Phillies home games when a Flyers conflict did not exist.

That line about being a “luxury the team can no longer afford in such uncertain times” pretty much says it all. We knew the Phillies were going to start making cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is unfortunately one of them. No Jim Jackson, no Gregg Murphy, no end in sight to talent reductions in the Philadelphia region, and elsewhere.