Joe Girardi managed a Philadelphia Phillies team with the reigning National League MVP, five 2021 All-Stars, a payroll above the luxury tax and expectations of ending the NL's longest playoff drought.
ut buried deep in the NL East standings and with a sagging bullpen, defensive deficiencies and slumbering starts from some of the team's high-priced veterans, Girardi paid the price for Philadelphia's poor start.
He was fired Friday, becoming the first major league manager to lose his job this season after failing to turn a team with a record payroll into a playoff contender.
The move was made with the Phillies at 22-29, having lost seven of their past nine games and sitting in third place in the National League East, 12 games behind the New York Mets and 5½ games out of the second NL wild-card spot.
Bench coach Rob Thomson was named interim manager and won his debut, 10-0 over the Los Angeles Angels.
"I think we can make the playoffs. I think we're in a position where we can battle back to do that. I do believe that," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.
With good reason. The Phillies have lost 12 of 17 games heading into the opener of Friday's three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
"There's blame on us, as well," Bryce Harper said. "There's not just blame on Joe. We haven't played to the best of our ability. We haven't done the things to be the team we should be."
"I think you can overcome, sometimes, one thing, maybe even two, but sometimes when it's more than that, I think it's somewhat difficult," Girardi said. "... I just pray that they, you know, get better and they get to the playoffs."
The Phillies haven't won the World Series since Angels slugger and New Jersey product Mike Trout partied in the Citizens Bank Park parking lots in 2008.
"By no means am I saying that we've done everything right," Hoskins said. "Of course we haven't. Otherwise we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But at the end of the day, it's about results. The results have to be better."