How bad is the Phillies' start to the season?
After the season's first 15 games, the Phils' record stands at 6-9. A considerable segment of the team's fan base considers this to be a crisis.
The pitchforks are out for Charlie Manuel today, after the Phillies were swept by the Cincinnati Reds. Through the season's first 15 games, the Phils' record stands at 6-9. A considerable segment of the team's fan base considers this to be a crisis.
They aren't alone. A prominent sports book currently has Charlie Manuel as the odds-on favorite to be the first manager fired this year in Major League baseball.
Not everyone thinks it's time to panic yet. As the Inquirer's Matt Gelb wrote on Twitter this morning:
I'll leave it up to you to decide what the majority view is, and what the loudest view is.
I figured, though, that I could at least try to put the Phillies' campaign so far into a little bit of context. Here's a look at the Phillies' records through the first 15 games of every season under Charlie Manuel and Larry Bowa. It goes back to 2001, which is a pretty good range:
And here's that list sorted from best to worst start:
What do you make of this? It's not the worst start the Phillies have had under Manuel, but it's far from the best. Vote in our poll, and leave a comment below.