All it took was one Tweet. One Tweet! Now most of Philadelphia is in a panic because Howard Eskin suggested that Gabe Kapler is going to drive free agents away from signing with the Phillies.
No Harper. No Machado. Not even Patrick Corbin.
This lit a fire on the pants of many Phillies fans. From Twitter to Facebook, seemingly endless posts called for the firing or resignation of the current Phillies skipper. They called out his use of the bullpen and his infinite string of different lineups.
While he shouldn’t be free from criticism, Kapler should not resign or be fired. The Phillies could end up in a much worse state if that were to happen.
August and September have been excruciating months to be a Phillies fan. The Phillies overperformed all year and crashed hard into reality.
That won’t matter when it’s time to chase free agents. Bryce Harper has even admitted that he doesn’t watch baseball.
“I don’t [watch baseball]. I play and watch the food network. I’m good”, said Harper in a 2017 Bleacher Report article.
Manny Machado is in the middle of a pennant race. Why would he care how the Phillies are doing? His image of the Phillies would most likely be from when they beat him as a member of the Orioles and of the Dodgers.
Firing Kapler would most likely do more harm than good anyhow. Kapler’s performance doesn’t necessitate being fired. He took a young team and had them competing for the first time in 7 years. If he was to be fired, that would project the image that Philadelphia is a currently unstable franchise and not worth taking the risk on.
It would also set the Phillies back a year. Kapler has only had a single year as manager. Pressing reset means having the players adjust to a whole new environment. For all we know, that could cause a similar result as this current season.
Kapler has projected himself to be an absolute professional if nothing else. His positive attitude has been almost unwavering and yet, somehow that has been turned into a dig against him.
The famous line is “there’s no crying in baseball,” not “there’s no professionalism and genuine positivity in baseball”.
Kapler will be here next year, like it or not.
According to multiple credible Phillies sources, Kapler has said that the entire coaching staff will return next season.
The money is here. Free agents will come. All will be fine. We just need an offseason to relax and reset.
Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
