Subscribe
Follow Us
The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday. Rob Thomson will take over duties as interim manager. Philadelphia had lofty expectations for the 2022 season but are currently well under .500 and sitting in third place in the NL East.
Obviously, all of the blame can't be placed on Joe Girardi. The Phillies built a team around strong offense and lackluster defense, and that defense has already been problematic for them at times this year (we will get more into that later). The pitching has not displayed any form of consistency either.
But someone always takes the fall for a struggling team and it typically is the manager.
Girardi was hired in 2020 to become the Phillies head coach. He led the team a record of under .500 during the shortened 60 game season, but the Phillies were still rebuilding their roster.
Philadelphia finished over .500 in 2021. Although they missed the postseason, expectations were rising for Girardi and the ball club. Fans and experts around MLB believed the Phillies were ready to become a contender in 2022.
The season is still early and they can still compete, but it will be without Joe Girardi leading the way.
But was this the correct decision? Should the Phillies have kept Girardi? Or were they right to fire him?
2 Reasons Why Phillies Were Right to Fire Joe Girardi
Wake Up Call
The Phillies needed a dramatic change. Their lackluster performance had grown consistent. Sometimes, teams simply need something noteworthy to occur in order to snap out of a slump.
The firing of Joe Girardi could realistically help the Phillies turn their season around. The move sends a clear message to the players that losing is unacceptable.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski explained why he believed a change was necessary.
“It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities. While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around. I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track, and I am confident that Rob, with his experience and familiarity with our club, is the right man to lead us going forward.”
It will be interesting to see how the Phillies players respond to the firing of Joe Girardi. The team opens up a three game series with the Angels on Friday.
Girardi Wasn't the Man for the Job
This is a controversial take. However, it has become increasingly clear that Joe Girardi was not the man for the job in Philadelphia.
Girardi enjoyed some success during his time with the Yankees. But he left that job in 2017 and took a few years off before signing on with the Phillies in 2020.
Philadelphia has a positive run differential this season. That makes it even more surprising that the Phillies are playing under .500 baseball. It also leads many to blame Philadelphia's struggles on Girardi. His management of the bullpen was often called into question as well.
The Phillies bullpen has labored so far in 2022. While some of that can be placed on pure underperformance, Girardi could have done a better job of placing relievers in better positions to excel.
With that being said, the Phillies defense is extremely bad. They are 26th in defensive efficiency and 29th in defensive runs saved. And that simply isn't Girardi's fault. The Phillies expected problems on defense when they created an outfield consisting of Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper.
Nonetheless, Joe Girardi simply was not the man for the job in Philadelphia.
