Phillies

Everyone Deserves Blame for the Phillies’ Failures

By Nick Piccone

Published: Apr 27th, 2026 · 9:06 AM EDT

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The Phillies could be making a change today. If not today, then soon.

The discourse the last few seasons – beginning mostly after the Big Choke of 2023 – has been mostly everyone pointing the finger at one specific aspect of the team, and I just don’t understand why. 

“It’s not Dave Dombrowski’s fault! He built a 90+ win team!”

“It’s not Rob Thomson’s fault! He only has so much to work with!”

“It’s not Aaron Nola’s fault! He only gave up 4 runs in 5 innings this time!”

I don’t think I can take much more of this. 

I simply don’t understand why so many people are infatuated with the idea that one thing is to blame for this team’s failures. You can blame Dombrowski’s roster construction, Thomson’s lineup and bullpen decisions, and the players for not performing up to the standard we’ve seen before – all at the same time! It’s possible! If Nola gives up a three-run bomb in the first inning and then another two-run bomb in the second, he can be at fault! If the lineup does not muster more than one hit in eight-plus innings, they can be at fault in the same game! You can also say Dombrowski hasn’t given Thomson much to work with on a day-to-day basis, because the Phillies are one major injury away from looking forward to 2027 (or 2028 with a lockout potentially looming). Their roster isn’t deep enough try new things when going through a spell like this. It’s also up to the manager to be a little creative and find ways to win games, even in April.

If the star players perform up to the standard we’re used to seeing, then the manager doesn’t need to be as creative. It is kinda crazy that in 2026, the lineup is only as good as its first three hitters, and it’s been that way for a while. And when the bullpen is struggling, this team doesn’t have a very good chance at winning games. Caleb Cotham has been so good as the team’s pitching coach that we’re almost afraid to point the finger at him when the pitching struggles intensify, and now include both the starting rotation and bullpen.

And why didn’t the Phillies have a left-hander throw batting practice until a few days ago? That seems like something that a hitting coach on the ball would notice before the season even started. Maybe that’s why they are the worst team against left-handed pitching this season? Maybe!

I’ll generally find the players at fault for not performing because they are in situations where they are trusted to get the job done, and when they don’t, it makes it a bit more taxing on everybody else. And there is something to be said for letting players work out of their slumps, because that’s what baseball is all about. If there were 80 games, then we’d see more urgency after week one of the season. That’s just not how it works. But that mindset doesn’t work in October. Sure, having that mindset from April through September is incredibly exhausting, and we lived through those times when Gabe Kapler was the manager. I don’t think that’s the best way to go through a 162-game season, either. 

The Phillies’ issue is not being able to translate their regular season success into postseason success anymore. It’s everyone’s fault. It’s okay to admit that. Dombrowski needs to be better. Thomson needs to be better. And the players need to play better.  

Kinkead: dare I say, more than one thing can be true, and more than one person can deserve blame