The Phillies always were a faux contender. By payroll alone, they fooled some people into thinking otherwise. Only the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees spent more than Philadelphia’s $233 million. But it was going to be difficult for the Phillies to push 90 wins with poor defense and a questionable bullpen. Joe Girardi paid the price for those flaws. But he also added to them.
The Phillies fired Girardi as manager Friday after a 273-game tenure that can only be classified as a failure. Girardi was 132–141 with Philadelphia while presiding over the worst bullpen in baseball (5.00 ERA) other than the Rockies (5.38 ERA). Girardi’s relievers somehow gave up the fourth-most homers and suffered the fifth-most losses in three seasons despite throwing the fourth-fewest innings.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
