Flipping a switch the way these Phillies hoped was unrealistic – NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — At some point, the Phillies stopped being the team that lost just five of its first 30 series. The initial pitches showed signs of mortality, the first leads were no longer as numerous and the situational hits less consistent.

They spent the entire second half showing that they no longer belonged to this team and that their first three and a half months may have been pretty torrid.

And they proved that last week in the NLDS, losing three of four games to a Mets team that was vastly superior to them in all phases.

The Phillies head home early. Before the game, they were accompanied by a “pack your golf clubs” chant from Mets fans behind the visitors' bench, and now they will.

“It's hard to stay hot for 162 games,” JT Realmuto said in an predictably catatonic clubhouse.

“We were just hoping – we knew we weren't going to play our best baseball in the postseason, but we were hoping that once the lights came on we would flip the switch and our offense would get going again. It just didn’t happen for us.”

The Phillies led 62-33 last weekend before the All-Star break. They were 33-34 the rest of the way. Including the playoffs, the score was 34-37 over a period of nearly half a season.

For three weeks, from August 24th to September 15th, they were hot again, going 16-5, but ultimately couldn't perform well, losing eight of 13 games.

While the Mets faced the Brewers twice to advance in the wild card round, the Phillies spent their bye week mimicking the game's action. Now they know how the Braves feel in 2022 and '23.

“I didn’t finish the job. I just have to get better, I have to finish the job,” Bryce Harper said. “…When it’s the next round or the World Series round, everything feels pretty similar.”

The Phillies knew this would be a difficult series because they were looking at a reflection of themselves starting in 2022. This club got hot at the right time, finishing the season and going on a grueling long road trip to the playoffs and continually upsetting teams with clutch hits and comebacks. The magical run ended in Game 6 of the World Series.

Sometimes ignorance can be a blessing. This group didn't fully realize that they could continue to improve but fall even further behind.

“You really have to play your best baseball at the right time,” Realmuto said. “We showed this year that we just couldn’t do it. We were as talented or more talented than anyone in the league, but you have to play your best baseball at the right time.”

“In 1922 we were just riding that wave, we were that team, we were the Mets, we were the team that got hot at the right time, took advantage of our talent and played freely. That's what they did to us in this series.”

Adding to the disappointment is the sobering fact that these players aren't getting any younger. Will Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez each make 32 starts next season? Will Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos play more than 145 games again? Will Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman (if he is brought back in free agency) be just as overpowering in the regular season?

None of this is guaranteed. What is guaranteed is that the club of 2025 will not look exactly the same.

“Winning a championship is the hardest thing in sports,” said Alec Bohm, who went 1-for-13 with no RBI in the series. “We’re trying to make it in what we think is the most difficult sport. So obviously it will never be easy. We are not entitled to anything. This time the ball didn't fly in our direction. But we do.” Now we’ve been given a little more time in the offseason to clear our heads and be ready to fight to win again.

“I definitely think we are all strong enough to get back on the horse and get back to where we want to be. In any case.”

The question is how many of them. Of course, among the position players, Harper, Schwarber, Realmuto and Trea Turner will be back. Everything else is unclear. If the Phillies are honest with themselves, they will realize that they can't bounce back most of the same offense next season and will simply hope for improvement or a more timely hot streak.

“Obviously we’re going to have some people who aren’t in this clubhouse,” Harper said. “That’s Dave (Dombrowski) and John (Middleton’s) job, to figure out what they want to do.

“…We have a great group of guys here, a really good core, we just haven’t been able to get the job done.”

There were so many reasons for Phillies fans to be disappointed in the 2024 NLDS, and one of them is that their biggest overall advantage of having Wheeler was negated. The bye allowed them to set up their rotation so that Wheeler could start Game 1 and a potentially life-threatening Game 5 that never materialized.

He has become one of the most historically dominant pitchers in MLB postseason history, but the Phillies' offense and bullpen gave him no chance to impact the series again.

All they needed was a win on Tuesday or Wednesday to come home with the best starting pitcher in baseball on the mound.

“It’s just disappointing,” Wheeler said. “Of course I wanted to come to Game 5, but I didn’t make it. If so, I would be ready.”

“That’s why they always say, just go to the playoffs and see what happens. They're hot right now.

Much more could have been said, but sometimes the words fail. Sometimes crimes fail.