Chris Young and the entire coaching staff got a vote of confidence on Monday (Frank Klose/Sports Talk Philly)
With the Phillies losing seven straight, many Phillies fans have thrown the blame around. Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has drawn the ire of many fans; the same could be said for pitching coach Chris Young and hitting coach John Mallee. Yet, the Phillies front office has expressed publicly that they are content to keep the manager and coaching staff on board for the season's entirety.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that it is a matter of a "bad stretch":
#Phillies GM Matt Klentak said Gabe Kapler will be his manager the rest of the season. Also threw his support behind the entire coaching staff. No internal changes. Believes this is just a bad stretch and they will turn around their season.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) June 24, 2019
If they are to turn the season around, they have time, though the club has lost 10 games in the standings from the Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies, once 3.5 games ahead of the Braves and in first place in the National League East, now sit 6.5 games behind and in second place. That is a large amount of ground to make up, though the Phillies face the Braves another 13 times head-to-head. The weaker National League East could also be where the Phillies win some games, though the recent sweep at the hands of the Marlins shows it is no guarantee.
The New York Mets recently made moves, dismissing pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez. The Mets come to Philadelphia a day after both manager Mickey Callaway and pitcher Jason Vargas got into a verbal altercation with Newsday reporter Tim Healey. Both Callaway and Vargas were fined.
No long-term promises were made, of course, and at season's end if the Phillies are not playoff-bound, there could be some changes. As it stands today the Phillies are just one game out of the second wild card spot, even though they have endured the current major skid.
