I’m here to answer a question that I was asked the other day by someone in the strangest of places.

My daughter is a dancer and her character shoes broke during dress rehearsal for a show she is in.

Desperate for a new pair, I ended up ordering her a new pair on Amazon. However, I wasn’t sure how the sizes ran, so I asked a question first, hoping someone would answer it.

The person who answered the question suggested had the name “Phillies” in their username. When I thanked them, I signed off with a pleasant, “Go Phillies.”

The follow up response was filled with too many LOL’s for my liking, but there was an interesting question posed in there. “Is it possible to not like Gabe Kapler and still like him at the same time?”

I didn’t answer the question, because I didn’t want to continue a weird conversation on Amazon that started about dance shoes and turned into a Phillies conversation, but the question intrigued me enough to want to write this post.

And here’s the answer:

Yes. Yes it is possible.

Ironically, it’s how I feel on most days when watching the Phillies. Because I never know what Gabe I’m going to get.

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After a rough 3-7 road trip that wrapped up with a sloppy 4-3 loss yesterday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Phillies’ manager Gabe Kapler joined 94 WIP’s morning show with Angelo Cataldi to discuss his team’s recent struggles.

Cataldi first asked Kapler about his questionable ninth inning decision to remove Seranthony Dominguez in favor of lefty Adam Morgan in Wednesday night’s crushing 7-5 walk-off loss. Kapler explained that he was trying to protect the rookie phenom, while also tabbing Morgan for what he felt was an “ideal” matchup against Jason Heyward:

“He’s a human being, and Seranthony is going to have rougher innings from time to time, so when he does, it’s our job to protect both him and the Phillies. For the first time this season, Seranthony lost his control. He walked a batter on four pitches. Subsequently, he ended up giving up that crisp line drive single. So my job, Angelo, is to identify when the right time is to protect a very young, very inexperienced reliever. Adam Morgan is very good as well, and I’m going to continue to believe in and trust our players like Mo. We don’t just trust one of them to record huge outs.”

Cataldi righty pressed Kapler about needlessly using Dominguez with a comfortable late-inning lead the night before. Kapler defended the decision:

“We’re going to be assertive to lock down a win. That’s our responsibility… There was no shortage on stuff, so we felt like that was the right decision.”

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Did you expect otherwise?

The boos didn’t seem to be as bad as they could have been, but here we are with fans ragging a guy after five games:

Booed pic.twitter.com/6f9CwIO1c1

— Kyle Scott (@CrossingBroad) April 5, 2018

Gabe Kapler greeted by boos at the home opener pic.twitter.com/Q56sdPdepd

— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) April 5, 2018

Gabe Kapler introduced

Boos from Phillies fans#HomeOpener#BeBold pic.twitter.com/0K6VFibOhH

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 5, 2018

Some noticeable boos for Kapler when he’s introduced before the Phillies’ home opener. pic.twitter.com/ZgvIgFL238

— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) April 5, 2018

kevinmcguire: Gabe Kapler got a smattering of boos at the Phillies home opener. Comcast Sports Network Philadelphia Phillies Pre-Game Live https://t.co/cWMhBgtVV2 pic.twitter.com/AhXhvLZGOI

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) April 5, 2018

I, like many, have wondered how Gabe Kapler’s unorthodox managerial style and early blunders were being received inside of the Phillies’ clubhouse. Certainly, Odubel Herrera, Aaron Nola, and Hoby Milner have each had reason to be less than pleased with their manager after only five games.

And now there’s this:

Inside Baseball: in 2 hours gabe kapler will face perhaps his toughest critics (philly fans). or perhaps 2nd toughest. a quote from the clubhouse: "We'll be OK .. we just need the manager to get out of the way." https://t.co/T8SPHCKRY0

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 5, 2018

Not great, friends. Not great.

Kevin likened this report to the Jim Schwartz taking over NovaCare story at the start of the Eagles’ season. He could be right, or the quote could be an accurate representation of the players’ views on Kapler.

(Kinkead: I believe the players more than the cross-section of hypocritical and myopic Philly sports fans, but anonymous quotes after five games are kind of sad.)

The Eagles, of course, got out to a hot start, took command of the NFC, and made a historic run to a championship as underdogs after losing their MVP candidate quarterback. It was easy for that story to die. If the Phillies continue their early season slide, I’m not sure this will be the last shot a player takes at Kapler.

Prior to last Thursday’s season opener, I wrote about the need for this Phillies team to get off to a fast start:

“The danger of Philadelphia sports is that when there is genuine hope, there is also less patience. The word “playoffs” has been increasingly paired with “Phillies” over the past month, and with that increases the potential for disappointment. While there are plenty of measured fans that think in more reasonable terms, we are where we are, and there are also plenty of fans that are approaching the Kapler era with skepticism. You may recall a certain football coach that came with a new-age approach that failed miserably. Fair or not, don’t think for one second that many fans forgot the feel of those burns and doubt Kapler because of it. A fast start quells some of that doubt.”

Well, shit. There was no fast start. There was no quelling. Instead, the 1-4 Phillies limp into Citizens Bank Park this afternoon for their home opener after a deflating first week. The considerable optimism that many had for this team only seven days ago has been completely wiped away, and with that Gabe Kapler learned first-hand about the unpleasant byproduct of what disappointment, bewilderment and skepticism looks like around here. Which brings us to today. Continue Reading

Admittedly, I haven’t watched a minute of Phillies baseball this year. We’ll get it rolling when the Sixers and Flyers wrap it up.

That said, I feel totally confident in asserting that people who are ready to fire Gabe Kapler after four games, a sample size comprising 2.46% of a 162 game season, have totally lost the plot.

These are probably the same people who wanted to fire Doug Pederson and Brett Brown, one coach who won a Super Bowl and another whose team is 32-12 since Christmas. It’s always been crystal clear that emotional knee-jerk reaction is simultaneously the best and worst trait of the Philadelphia sports fan. Lose one game, fire the coach. Win one game, we’re going to the World Series. It’s so predictable and myopic and it makes us look like simpletons.

So let’s back it up for two seconds here and take a breath. Gabe Kapler is brand new to the gig. The guy is going to go through some growing pains, same way that Pederson did in 2016. Does that automatically mean he’s the right guy for the job? Of course not! But it’s intellectually juvenile to make any kind of grand declaration on April 4th.

Instead, direct your attention to Kapler’s appearance on the 94 WIP morning show, a stunningly candid and constructive discussion with host Angelo Cataldi, who pressed the manager on the key topics everybody is bitching about on social media:

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