Philadelphia Phillies will soon realize it’s time to stick fork in 2018 season

When looking at what it would take for the Philadelphia Phillies to make the playoffs, it seems too impossible at this point.

A little over a month ago, the Philadelphia Phillies were feeling confident over their chances of earning a playoff spot in the National League, whether it was from winning the division or simply a Wild Card spot.

Heading into Wednesday’s series finale against the Washington Nationals, the Phillies are technically still alive when it comes to the playoff hunt in the National League.

But when looking at what the team is up against in these final weeks, it may be time to stick a fork in what has been a surprising 2018 season.

With the team currently trailing the Atlanta Braves (6.5 games) in the NL East along with the St. Louis Cardinals (6.5 games) for the final Wild Card spot, it’s easy to see why Philadelphia is such a long shot with 18 games remaining, including Wednesday’s game.

Sure, Phillies fans remember all too well what took place in 2007 when the team was a huge underdog to make the playoffs with their backs against the wall in the final weeks, but this is a completely different scenario.

Instead of Philadelphia being loaded with some of the games all-time best in Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, this current Phillies team consists of a bunch of youngsters inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs.

With that being said, just the fact that Philadelphia is even in this kind of position in the middle of September should be viewed as a huge accomplishment when looking at the original expectations surrounding this team.

Keep in mind that the original plan for the Phillies heading into Gabe Kapler‘s first season seemed like it would consist of the team going through a year or two of rebuilding instead of actually be in consideration for the playoffs. And while the argument can be made that Philadelphia is clearly still in need of some rebuilding, the team has plenty of reasons to be thrilled over their surprise progress.

Missing out on the playoffs would obviously feel like a crushing blow when looking at some of the success surrounding this team in 2018, but also the main focus for these final few weeks should be finishing above .500 while using this year as a learning experience for next season.

While Kapler is going to have his players fight until the very end, Phillies fans can at least do themselves a favor by accepting the realization this team isn’t going to pull the unthinkable by earning a playoff spot. The sooner that happens, the quicker Philadelphia and their fans can focus on what should be even more exciting, which is why 2019 has in store for this team that surprised a lot of people this season.