Phillies Oust Two Coaches After NLCS Collapse
A shake-up in the Philadelphia Phillies coaching staff is underway following their devastating loss in the NLCS, with two key figures given the boot. The bullpen and hitting sectors, both of which underperformed during the series, are hit by this culling.
By Tyler Maher
It's only been two days since the Philadelphia Phillies dropped Game 7 of the NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and heads are already starting to roll.
The Phillies announced on Thursday that two members of their coaching staff will not be back next season.
The Phillies announced today that bullpen coach Dave Lundquist and assistant hitting coach Jason Camilli will not return to the major league staff for the 2024 season. The remainder of the major league coaching staff will return for next season.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 26, 2023
Phillies Coaches Fired
The team announced via social media that bullpen coach Dave Lundquist and assistant hitting coach Jason Camilli have been let go. The rest of the MLB coaching staff will return intact next season, however.
This is not surprising given the failures of both units during the NLCS.
Let's start with the bullpen, which suffered critical meltdowns during Games 3 and 4. Philadelphia had a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning of Game 3 but was unable to hold it. Orion Kerkering and Craig Kimbrel combined to allow 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while recording just 1 out, enabling the Diamondbacks to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.
Game 4 was even worse. The Phillies led that one 5-2 going into the bottom of the seventh but couldn't hang on. Kimbrel took his second loss in as many nights after giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth, allowing Arizona to tie the series at 2-2 with another late rally.
If Philadelphia had won just one of those games, it would be getting ready to play in the World Series right now. Instead, the Phillies' bullpen let the Diamondbacks back into the series and missed two golden opportunities to put nails in the coffin.
After Game 5, however, Philadelphia's offense was to blame. Needing just one more win at home to close out the series, Phillies hitters didn't show up in Games 6 and 7, combining for just 3 runs on 11 hits. Philadelphia's lineup officially disappeared midway through Game 7, failing to record a single hit after the fifth inning.
After coming up short in their last two playoff runs, the Phillies need to make some changes this offseason. Bringing in some new coaches is a good start.
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