The Phillies welcomed back closer David Robertson.
By Sam Bush
It’s not unusual for the Inky to be wrong.
In fact, when it comes to sports, Philly’s “paper of record” is rarely right.
Especially the tedious typist David Murphy, whose turgid prose is surpassed only by his tendency to over-intellectualize baseball:
The Padres added three of the top 14 hitters in the NL to a lineup that already included two of the top 20.
The Braves added a starter/setup man combo similar to the Phillies’ in Jake Odorizzi and Raisel Iglesias, along with a couple of bench bats.
The Brewers added two very good setup men.
The Phillies needed to do what they did just to tread water.
Given the makeup of the NL and the long odds facing a team that has to fight its way up from a wild-card spot, the Phillies could easily find themselves back at square one this offseason.
Whatever happens the rest of this season, they’ll begin their preparations for 2023 with only two playoff-caliber starters and one playoff-caliber late-innings reliever under contract.
