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The Philadelphia Phillies are at the “Falling Action” Portion of Freytag’s Pyramid, but the Story isn’t Over
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Sometimes Philadelphia sports fandom is akin to whiplash. We tend to overreact to both the good and the bad, our attitudes flipping back and worth as though we’re trying to track the tennis ball at Roland Garros.
Case in point, the reaction to recent Phillies news, which has been overwhelmingly negative.
It started with Bo Bichette going to the Mets, then the Phils pivoting to 34-year-old J.T. Realmuto with a three-year deal. Dave Dombrowski told the media on Tuesday that the team was content with the offseason while Rob Thomson disputed the thought that this organization was “running it back.”
Hard to argue is the allegation that the team failed to improve, at least on paper. Maybe Justin Crawford ends up being the guy, or Adolis Garcia rediscovers his 2023 form. Perhaps Brad Keller goes on a heater and Andrew Painter winds up being a stud. You don’t know for sure in January, but the reason Phillies fans are less than enthused is because the core that couldn’t get through the NLDS in the last two seasons is back for another go. What happened with center field, right field, and the bullpen is much less meaningful than the other 75% of the roster being almost exactly the same as it was in 2025, and a year older to boot.
That’s why we say the Phils are feeling like the Sixers now. We’ve largely gotten past the vibes portion of this run, climaxed with the World Series, and find ourselves in the falling action portion of the story:
Novelist Gustav Freytag developed the basis for this diagram in the 19th century, later tweaked by others, to show how a typical story evolves. It establishes the setting, introduces the characters, and then it builds, crests, and drops until we reach the resolution, or denouement.
But you don’t stop reading the story after the climax, do you?
No, because it’s not over yet. You want to see how it ends.
There’s still more to tell, and while we’re conditioned to think that there’s no second climax in a typical narrative, a story can twist and turn and take you anywhere. Look at the 2023 Eagles, for instance, who flamed out entirely, fired the offensive coordinator, and then won the Super Bowl the following year. Same thing with the 2025 Philadelphia Union, who missed the playoffs, fired Jim Curtin, and won the Supporters’ Shield in a remarkable turnaround.
If that’s recent history, why can’t the baseball team repeat it? And why wouldn’t we watch the Phillies in 2026? Even though the core is the same, it’s a core that won 96 games and lost to the 2x defending champs in the playoffs. They don’t have problems winning games in the regular season. They have a very specific problem of the bats going cold in the postseason, and it’s not like we’re throwing our hands up in the air and proclaiming that we don’t know what’s wrong with this squad. We know exactly what’s wrong and we have the most clear diagnosis in the history of diagnoses. It’s kind of like the “you can lead a horse to water” expression. The Phillies are standing right at the lakeshore and just need to do the final part themselves.
That’s why the reaction to this past week feels like an overcorrection, kind of like the horseshoe theory where the lunatic fringes are actually quite close together. The Phillies are not a mediocre team. They are still a very good team. They could win it all. But you understand why the level of fan excitement might not be the same. You put a lot of time and energy into supporting the team and receive diminishing returns in each consecutive year. It makes total sense.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com