Philadelphia Phillies Don't Deserve the Playoffs

All the Philadelphia Phillies have to do on Sunday afternoon is beat the Tampa Bay Rays, and they'll be in the playoffs.

But do they even actually deserve it?

After the Phillies' latest embarrassment on Saturday, falling to the Rays by a score of 12-1, Philadelphia was at the mercy of the San Diego Padres.

Had the Arizona Diamondbacks beaten the Padres on Saturday night, the Diamondbacks would have assumed the final NL Wild Card spot via the tiebreaker they hold over the Phillies. But San Diego ended up winning 10-7.

If Philadelphia ends up getting swept by Tampa Bay and Arizona wins its series finale, the Phillies will be out of the playoff picture.

And that's what they deserve.

Do you realize Philadelphia has scored just three runs over its last four games? Do you know it is 8-14 over its last 22 games? Do you understand that if the Phillies would have just finished above .500 during their six-game stretch against the Washington Nationals and New York Mets last week that they would already have punched their ticket?

Philadelphia has had ample opportunities to clinch a postseason berth in recent weeks. It has not taken advantage of any of them.

Going to the playoffs seemed to be a foregone conclusion for the Phillies entering September. Heck, for a little while there, they were even challenging the Atlanta Braves for the NL East title. Remember that?

Now, Philadelphia is holding on for dear life and is relying on the Padres to save it. And remember: San Diego locked up home-field advantage in the Wild Card round on Saturday, so in Sunday's finale versus the Diamondbacks, the Friars have nothing to play for.

There are a myriad of reasons why the Phillies are in their current predicament, and it dates back to last winter when they failed to repair some obvious holes.

Blame Don Mattingly if you want to, but this team was 9-19 when he took over as manager back in late April. The fact that he has actually gotten a ballclub this flawed to this position is actually somewhat of a miracle.

Even if Philadelphia makes the postseason, it's becoming harder and harder to imagine the team doing any damage. The Phillies have a good starting rotation, but they can't hit, and their bullpen is a complete mess.

Anything can happen in October, but at this point, it just feels like Philadelphia is prolonging the inevitable.