PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Once again, there will be no "Red October." For a National League-leading 10 seasons in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies missed the postseason.
The seemingly inevitable became reality Thursday night in Atlanta when the Braves swept the Phillies with a 5-3 victory and clinched the National League East for a fourth season in a row.
"Feel like I failed, you know, getting us to where we wanted to get to," manager Joe Girardi said after the loss. "I always take responsibility, full responsibility and, you know, I failed and it's a really empty feeling."
Despite their inconsistent play all season, the Phils benefited from being in arguably the worst division in baseball — one that only required 86 wins to capture. They had a chance going into the final games of the season to jump the Braves — highlighted by this week's three-game series in Atlanta — but never led once in any of those contests, and also lost too many games to inferior teams in the weeks and months prior to that.
"The chances were there," left fielder and pending free agent Andrew McCutchen said. "It was in our hands. And, you know, we pretty much have created our own destiny with what we had in front of us. That in itself, you can look at it two ways. You can look at it and say, 'Yeah, we fumbled it, we fumbled the bag a little bit, and we didn't get there.' Or we can say, 'Hey, we had that chance. We didn't make it, but you know, you learn from it, and you figure out, you know, what do we need to do from here on out to improve and get better.'"
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They need to do a lot to get better. The list is long. In no particular order, they need starting pitching depth. They need more reliable bullpen. They may need two starting outfielders, if McCutchen and Odúbel Herrera don't return. They need better defense, which may include shaking up the left side of the infield. They need a stronger minor league system, with better player development.
That will be the task of President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowksi, General Manager Sam Fuld, their staffs and new Director of Player Development Preston Mattingly, who was officially hired this week.
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Girardi, meanwhile, has one year left on his three-year contract, as well as an option for a fourth year. He expressed that there was a lot of good that happened this season. If the Phillies win one of their final three games in Miami, they'll have their first winning record since 2011. Nonetheless, they play for much more.
"To me, there's one reason to put this uniform on -- it's to win. That's it," he said. "Bottom line, right, for everyone involved. For ownership, for the front office, for the fans, for the players, for the coaches, everyone that puts time into this -- I mean, the person that just makes an experience at our ballpark special … bottom line is we didn't get it done."
And why will next season be any better? Girardi spoke of commitment from managing partner John Middleton and fellow owners the Buck family, Dombrowski, General Manager Sam Fuld and others.
"I see the commitment to getting back to where, you know, this franchise needs to be. This is a proud franchise, and we need to break this streak. And we're gonna do, whatever it takes."