October: Philly Sports Recap

Phillies: 

As October baseball stretches on, the Phillies will not be a part of the late-season action, being sent home much earlier than anticipated, in traditional Philly sports fashion. Once again, the Phillies have been eliminated in the National League Division Series, losing the best of five series 3-1, in some of the most gut wrenching fashion possible. The Phillies fell 2-0, but would win game 3, keeping hopes alive for one more day. Game 4, dominated by Phillies ace pitcher Cristopher Sanchez and the bullpen, sent it to the 11th inning until the Phillies lost on a crucial throwing error by Orion Kerkering, ending the game, the series, and the season. Now, the Phillies must look to make adjustments in the offseason for next year.

Starting off with the impending free agents, the Phillies have 3 big free agents to bring back this offseason. This includes Kyle Schwarber, J.T Realmuto, and Ranger Suarez. Suarez had an excellent performance in Game 3, and Realmuto played fantastically going 6/17 at the plate with 4 extra base hits. Schwarber, arguably our best player all year, was terrible aside for 2 home runs in Game 3. Many have begged for his return but his recent playoff stats have shown it may not be a simple decision.

Philly sports coaching has been under questioning in the previous weeks, including Phillies manager Rob Thomson. Thomson has 4 consecutive playoff berths and a World series appearance under his belt, but the decision-making has affected the previous playoff runs. Hitting coach Kevin Long has been put under scrutiny for the underperformance of the offense in the last couple of years. Both have been announced to be returning next season, signaling the team wants to run it back.

As for bright spots, the starting pitching was unbelievable in these four games, keeping us alive while our offense was stagnant. The final two games were a testament to that, with previously mentioned Ranger Suarez, but also Jesus Luzardo coming into relief and stifling the heart of the Dodgers' order in the decisive game 4. Previously mentioned, Sanchez wrapped up his impressive year with a quality start.

Though the season ended in undesirable fashion, the Phillies have the opportunity to shake up their roster and make another run next year.

Eagles:

The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have opened their season to a 5-2 start, but not in a very convincing fashion. After opening 4-0, the Eagles have gone 1-2 in their last 3 games. Although the Eagles aren’t strangers to starting off rough—with last year starting 2-2— the coaching staff is holding the team back in a serious way.

The Eagles possess last year's number one defense, a top offensive line, two-star receivers, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, and last year’s Super Bowl MVP, however, they cannot seem to score consistently enough. Looking at the numbers through seven games, running back Saquon Barkley is only at half the number of yards from last year, and wide receiver AJ Brown has been getting almost no targets, not even on pace for 1,000 yards. What is the problem? It points to rookie Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patulo. In a win against Minnesota, the offense looked more lively than in previous weeks, but Patulo has been known for his inconsistency on offense. The next few games might determine his future as playcaller. The Eagles' inconsistent offense has limped them to a still-impressive 5-2 record, but they must find consistency for quality results in the coming weeks. As a city, we must stand by our teams even in such rough Philadelphia sports times.