I’m going to talk in generalities today because it’s probably the best way to sum up the town’s view on the Phillies just a week ago.

When talking about a team that won 96 games in 2025 (and at least 87 every year since 2022), the general sense went something like this:

-Very good team, but wake me up in October!

-It’s all about the playoffs!

-They needed to do more in the offseason, but should still be really good from April-September.

-The pitching is great enough to carry a sputtering offense.

-Take away a moment or two here or there and they would have beat the Dodgers.

-Dave Dombrowski’s offseason stunk. The season will be much of the same as it has been in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

All of those thoughts—some of which are my own—made sense. All could still be accurate. But it did feel like one was left out. It turns out that it was a big one, and may have been shoved in the closet of group think as we got excited for a baseball season.