One analyst's preseason prediction for Phillies has come back to bite originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Entering the 2020 shortened MLB season seasons, expectations for the Philadelphia Phillies were still as big as ever. With a loaded lineup featuring Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, among others, coupled with some talented starting arms, a run at the NL East crown seemed likely.
As October approaches, that is no longer the case. The NL East title is out of the question -- the Atlanta Braves have already clinched it -- but a recent rough patch aided by the Nationals sweeping the Phillies in a doubleheader on Tuesday has pushed the team out of the playoff picture for the time being. With the regular season coming to a close over the weekend, time is ticking.
Philadelphia's inability to live up to the hype has plenty of supporters upset and numerous pundit's predictions looking rather "cold."
One of those comes from MLB Network's Jon Morosi. Back in July, Morosi tabbed the Phillies as his favorite to win the division and Harper would be heavily involved in the MVP conversation.
The Phillies currently sit in third place and while Harper's overall numbers are not bad, they aren't close to MVP-level, either.
As the tweet says, Morosi was so confident in his take that he was willing to wear a Joe Girardi jersey while running up the "Rocky" stairs -- those iconic 72 steps that lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art famously depicted by Sylvester Stallone in that Oscar-winning boxing movie. That prediction has not aged well.
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If a Joe Girardi jersey is even a thing, Morosi should probably add it to his online shopping cart rather soon and start working on his cardio.
All in good fun, the analyst is not alone with his cold take. Though the Phillies may sneak into the extended postseason, their play has not lived up to the expectations of many. In the wild world that is baseball in 2020, being good on paper doesn't get a team very far.
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