Every Philadelphia Phillies fan’s worst nightmare came true on Wednesday night at Citi Field. The hated New York Mets completed the three-game sweep against a lackluster-looking group of Phillies by taking the finale with a commanding 6-0 win. As expected, there were plenty of comments from the Phillies’ side after the loss, but one in particular from Bryce Harper really stands out as a worrying sign about the Philadelphia clubhouse.
The plan for the Phillies, who had a seven-game lead on Monday morning, was to go to New York and bury the Mets. Now, three days later their National League East lead has shrunk to four games. Heck, even just winning one game in their house of horrors would have been good enough for the Phillies to scamper out of town with a six-game cushion.
Unfortunately, it feels like the Mets have the Phillies’ number, especially in New York. The Phillies just let their greatest rivals sneak their foot in the door and prop it open in the race for the division title.
Bryce Harper thinks Phillies need ‘sense of urgency’ after being swept by Mets
Instead of slamming the door in the Mets’ face, the Phillies got steamrolled, for the most part, getting outscored 25-8 in the series. According to Harper there might be a lack of urgency (subscription required). Or at least that sounds like what he’s saying in the following quote, as shared by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber.
“It’s [about] understanding that we have to have a sense of urgency as well, you know?” Harper said, per Lauber. “We can’t just say, ‘Hey, we’re four games up, and we’ve got a lead on them.’”
If Harper is telling us that the Phillies lack a sense of urgency, that’s a seriously scary thought for Phillies fans to process. The 32-year-old superstar is the face of the team and one of the veteran leaders in that clubhouse. If he’s seeing something that needs to be adjusted, it’s up to him and the other veterans to fix it.
There’s one month left in the season, and the Mets aren’t going to go away, especially after the Phillies let them up off the mat. There needs to be a sense of urgency, undoubtedly. In baseball, however, that can backfire. Gripping the bat too tight or trying to throw the next pitch too hard can lead to less-than-ideal results.
Other veterans, like Kyle Schwarber, offered a measured response after the loss, per MLB.com’s Jared Greenspan.
“Who likes to lose? No one likes to lose,” Schwarber, per Greenspan. “But there’s nothing that can really faze us. We’ve been swept before this year. We bounced back. We’ve got to do the same thing. I’m not worried about it … They beat us. Tip the cap. They beat us.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson also added his two cents, per Greenspan.
“It’s one series,” Thomson said. “I know it’s against the Mets. Admittedly so, we need to play better. We will. We got a good club. That’s not gonna change.”
Neither of those comments screams “urgency.”
The Phillies need some fire. Fans want to see them play with passion and urgency. We got a small glimpse of it when Harrison Bader hit the game-tying two-run home run in Game 2 on Tuesday. But those moments were few and far between in this series.
Remember how the Phillies looked just a week ago? Last Wednesday, they completed the sweep and sent the Seattle Mariners scurrying out of town with their tail between their legs. That’s the team we need to see for the last 29 games of the season, even if their remaining schedule is one of the toughest in the majors.
Let’s hope they find some of that urgency Harper is talking about. Especially when the Mets come to town in two weeks time for what is looking to be a pivotal four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
