Falling Apart or Firing Up

Philly sports is a tale of two extremes right now.

One team looks completely lost—no rhythm, no answers, and no clear fix in sight. The frustration is real, and the questions are only getting louder.

Meanwhile, another team is bringing the energy back to the city in a big way. Grit, fight, and something that feels different—something worth believing in.

This week, we’re breaking down both sides of it. The collapse, the surge, and what it all means moving forward.

Plus, the answer to last week’s question and a new one to test your Philly sports knowledge.

Transcript

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Eight straight losses and no offense, and a whole lot of questions in Philadelphia right now. But not everything is broken. While one team is falling apart, another is lighting up the city. This is Brotherly Love Sports. And let's get right into it. We're going to talk about the negatives first. And the negatives being the Phillies, who have now lost eight in a row. And I I don't know what this team needs. I truly don't. They they're they're all taking the same pill, apparently, because nobody can hit. They're not putting up any offense. The pitching staff isn't doing what's required of them. And even when they are, the offense still isn't doing enough. So by all means, I am blaming the offense 100% for everything that's wrong right now. Because throughout the season, I expect the pitching staff to be up and down. But as we move through this current, whatever we want to call it, I don't even want to call it a season right now because it's such a disrespectful play of baseball. I wish I had the magic words to say, you know what, Phillies, here's what you need to hear, and everything would be okay. A lot of people, rightfully so, want to see Rob Thompson fired. And I I truly don't blame them. However, I don't think that firing Thompson gets you to the next level. At the face of it, what does firing Thompson do? It doesn't necessarily get the players to hit better or field better or for the pitching staff to pitch better. So in reality, firing Thompson gets you what? I mean, maybe guys get a slight jolt because it's a change at the manager position, but there's no guarantee that they figure it out. You may just fire a coach and have the same team perform the same way. Honestly, I think more drastic changes need to happen. A lot more drastic changes. It's unfortunate that JT is now hurt. We've recalled Stubbs, so maybe that's the missing piece. And if Stubbs is the missing piece, I know several people that are going to be unhappy and probably stop watching baseball for the rest of the season. And that's okay. But they would be right to stop watching if Stubbs were to suddenly jolt this team into a winning organization. Because I I I would truly understand where they're coming from. At the end of the day, any Philadelphia team to lose eight games in a row is gonna have the city on their ass. It would be a little less painful if they were losing by a run, maybe two, and they were giving it their all, and they just like I don't know, they're not getting the hits or the bounces or that that third strike call, something something. If if ever so slightly they weren't getting the calls, the bounces, whatever it may be, to go in their favor. That is not the case with this team. They can't hit to a degree they can't field. And the pitching staff has been up and down to begin the season. And a pitching staff, mind you, that has been their best asset up to this point. But the lineup itself can't do anything to generate runs and support their pitching staff. So we're not a complete team. And maybe that's the reason Topper needs to be fired. We need somebody that will bring these guys back to be a complete team to do what we know they can do. Or maybe that's wishful thinking. Maybe we need we do need some sort of crazy change. Maybe Stubbs is that missing piece. And if he is, then it's in the clubhouse only because his play over the years hasn't been what this team is missing. But hey, I I I welcome the changeup. I don't think Topper needs to be fired. I don't think that makes this a better team. Maybe a change somewhere, somehow, makes us a better team. I and I don't know what that change is. Maybe Kevin Long needs to go. Maybe we need a new pitching coach, because I'll be honest, I don't even know who that is at this point. We've gone through so many different people, but something's got to give. And at this point, history is bound to repeat itself, at least in some way, shape, or form, that the manager will get fired, and then the new guy will have this team somewhat correct itself and make a push for the playoffs. If that happens, great. But that that shouldn't be what we're all hoping for or expecting four years every four years, every five years, you know, what whenever we fired Girardi and Topper became the guy. I was listening to WIP on my way into work this morning. And a caller came into the show, and he said something that I honestly wasn't thinking of. And it sounds like, based on the host reaction, that nobody else was thinking of this either. He is sick and tired of the Yankees' curse on the Phillies. This sounds insane. And then he rattled off some hey, Girardi beat us in 09, and then now he was on the Phillies, and he didn't do anything for us in the time that he was here. At one point in time, Rob Thompson was on the Yankees, and so was Don Mattingley. And now they are both on the Philly staff. And it's like, all right, dude, like that's like that was years ago. There's no validity to that. And then you step back for just a second, and a little bit of doubt creeps in. And you start to think, yeah, that that might be there, there might be some validity to this. And it concerns me. They're not hiring the right people, they're not assembling the right group of players to play on a team. So where does the fault lie? Well, in my eyes, Dombrowski's the next guy that should be out then. At this point, he's the one that's assembled this entire trade, and it's not working. And even when he tries to make a change, he's not making the right one. So for all the success he has had over the years in this league, and now with a second stint with the Phillies, maybe he just doesn't have it anymore. And maybe we need some someone new to acquire the talent, the coaches, to put together a complete roster that's gonna bring us back to the Holy Land. And all signs indicate that it's not Dembrowski. I'm just a fan, but we'll see what happens. And I know I say that a lot over the shows, but it's unfortunate. It is too early in the season for me to continuously say that, but that's okay. I digress. Let us move on from the negative onto the positive. The complete positive. The Flyers are 3-0 against the Penguins in the playoffs. And on Saturday, they have the chance to completely sweat them. It has been a long time since we've had some playoff hockey in Philadelphia and been excited about it. The last time the Flyers were in the playoffs was 2020. And 2020 was a complete crapshoot because of COVID. So no fans got to be in the stadiums. They played at remote sites and it it sucked. It wasn't fun. It wasn't true playoff hockey. It was it was weird. It didn't feel right. But this year. This year feels different. This year feels like 2010 to a degree. Now I'm not going to say that they're going to go out and they're they're going to sweep the penguins and they're going to sweep every opponent that comes after that because that's not how playoff hockey works. There is a very high chance that they sweep the penguins. And that's more due to the fact that they're a younger team. They can outskate them. They can they can play just as physical and still maintain their stamina throughout the game. And the penguins can't match that. And so far it has shown. Tonight's game, the Penguins tried to get into the Flyers' head. To you know onto everybody on the team. They tried to get into their heads. And I don't think it worked. Because the Flyers matched their intensity. And more often than not, you saw two guys go into the penalty box. And whether that was a four-on-four or it remained a five-on-five, this was a fairly even game as far as the refs are concerned. I was happy with the calls that were made. I I agreed with all of them. And credit to Crosby. When he is retired from the NHL, he he can go into acting because my God, what a dive. What a pathetic excuse for a player. For somebody that has so much talent and is such a whiny little brat about everything that happens specifically in the playoffs. He'll do it in the regular season, too. Everybody sees it. But it's it's amplified in the playoffs because there are so few games for you to play, and everything is so magnified. And he just continues to be who he is. So I guess congratulations, Mr. Crosby. You stay true to yourself, and you continue to show us that you're nothing more than a whiny little player. I am so happy that this young team has gotten under his skin, that he has lost all composure. This team right now is built something different. I can't explain to you what it is. I don't know what happened, but they are playing on a different level. And they're fighting and they're grinding, and it is exciting to watch. It gives you so much hope, so much joy to see that a team that wasn't assembled on a whim. There were a lot of things done intentionally. And credit to Briere for sticking to his guns. But I gotta tell you, Danny, I don't think this team is in a rebuild anymore. Regardless of what happens for the rest of the playoffs, they could win this the first round, and I hope they do. Every sign points to that they will, and they could get blown out in the second round. It doesn't matter. If they beat the Penguins, that is a huge momentum win for this city. And even if they were to lose the second round, I would be very happy with how the season ended. Because how it was going seemed like, oh man, they might be the worst team in the city. And they've proven otherwise. The worst team in the city, one could argue it's the Phillies. But they're still at the beginning of the season with a lot of season left to play. And we know anything can happen in baseball. So that leaves the Sixers. And I'll leave it at that because I don't care what the Sixers do. If you as the fans happen to care what the Sixers do, let me know. I will be more than happy to bring you on. We can discuss it, and I will give you my rebuttal and you give me your support for the team. But no one can deny how the Flyers being back in the playoffs and how they have played through three games has just energized this city. And it's fun to watch. It is truly fun to watch. To answer last week's question, who is the most efficient base stealer of all time with a minimum of 100 attempts? I'll be honest. At the time I had asked that question, it was Chase Hutley. He was sitting at 87.5% stolen base percentage. He had 106 stolen attempts. And he he was pretty good at doing it. As of the recording of this podcast, though, he now sits at number six. And the two in front of him with at least 100 attempts are now Byron Buxton and Kyle Tucker. And that makes sense. Guess I should have recorded this a little sooner. But here we are. And now you guys know. Byron Buxton is the correct answer, if anybody cares to actually know. Since the draft is happening this week, we're going to give you a football question for the question of the week. And that question is Who has the most interceptions for the Eagles? The question will be posted on Facebook, and the answer will be revealed next week. That's going to do it for me here on the Brotherly Love Sports Podcast. If you like the show, give me a like, give me a follow on Facebook, share me with a fellow fan, and I will talk to you guys next week.