Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) walks to the mound in the seventh inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner
There was a time when every time that Rob Thomson made a managerial decision that seemed like a headscratcher in the moment, it seemed to work out for the Phillies.
Those halcyon days are getting further and further away.
Now, it seems every decision the manager makes goes against him.
To be fair to Thomson, a lot of these decisions were the ones any other rational baseball person would make in the moment, and they ended up blowing up on him.
Case and point:
But there've been a series of other moves that you have to wonder, should he have done them differently?
Let's examine them:
Situation: Game 2, sixth inning, Phillies training 2-0. Cristopher Sanchez had thrown 88 pitches through five innings and was near his limit, so pulling him was understandable. But going to Ruiz to face the middle of the Mets lineup seemed questionable. Orion Kerkering made more sense than Ruiz, but Thomson went with the veteran righty. Ruiz promptly gave up a homer to Pete Alonso - the first batter he faced - and it was 3-0 Mets.
Situation: Game 3, seventh inning, Phillies trailing 4-0. Jose Alvarado lot control and loaded the bases with two outs. A four-run game is still salvageable by one swing of the bat. Rather than go to Jeff Hoffman to get out of this jam, Ruiz was called on again - and he promptly gave up a two-run single to Jose Iglesias, and the game was now very likely out of reach at 6-0.
OMG 🎶 pic.twitter.com/Or3tBH1WF2
A friend sent me a text when Ruiz was called on in Game 2. It read, "If Rob Thomson needed open heart surgery, he would kick the doctor out and ask Jose Ruiz to do it. I wish someone believed in my mediocrity the way Rob believes in his."
Sums it up.
Nola had pitched an O.K. game through five innings. He had allowed two solo homers, but he was otherwise effective, striking out eight and allowing just two other hits.
But in the sixth, Mark Vientos led off with a two-strike single, and Brandon Nimmo drew a walk in a long at bat. Thomson had Orion Kerkering ready to come in but chose to let Nola face Alonso for a third time. Alonso homered off him in the second inning and struck out looking in the fourth. When asked why he stuck with Nola there, Thomson said with Alonso coming up they were hoping for a double play.
To that point in the game the Mets had not hit one ball on the ground against Nola.
It was more of a "cross-your-fingers-and-hope" scenario than a rational strategic decision. Alonso also walked and Kerkering was forced to come in and try and get out of a bases loaded jam. He almost did (we'll get to that in a moment) but he didn't. The Mets stretched the lead to 4-0.
It's understandable why Brandon Marsh was not in the lineup in Game 3 - he can't hit lefties and the Mets were starting Sean Manaea. But Austin Hays has barely been in the lineup and when he has been, he hasn't looked good.
On Pattison's Tim Kelly looked at Hays' performance in Game 3 and it was anything but productive, leading Thomson to be non-committal on a starter in left field for Game 4.
Then there's Sosa, who played for Stott at second base. Stott was one of the heroes of Game 2. He's been productive in the postseason before and has had success against Manaea. But Thomson chose to ride the small sample size of Sosa's 4-for-8 of Manaea lifetime as a good enough reason to sit Stott.
Sosa was fine. He was hit by a pitch, struck out and beat out an infield single, so it wasn't really the plate appearances that were the issue. But...
In that fateful sixth inning when Kerkering came on to clean up Nola's bases loaded mess. the first batter - Iglesias - hit a weak grounder to Sosa at second base. Sosa booted the ball. He recovered in time to throw home and get a force out, but had he fielded it cleanly, there's a good bet there was a double play possibility. Turn two there and you get out of the inning on the next batter and it's still 2-0.
Instead, two batters later it's 4-0.
Does Stott make that play? Probably.
Bohm was benched for a playoff game. It was a message, no question. Bohm hadn't hit, and his attitude wasn't the greatest.
But when you put the guy right back in the next game, in the same spot - especially after two awful at bats in Game 3, it leads to questions again.
Obviously, the message didn't get through. Bohm was incredibly impatient at the plate. He saw five pitches in four at bats, and although he had one hit, he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
This was an insane play from Tyrone Taylor to cut down Alec Bohm at second base. That was a no-doubt double off the bat. Hustle from Taylor, plus an 87-mph throw to get him. pic.twitter.com/jRN2XfAf09
If you put him back in, which some may question was the right call, maybe bat him down if he isn't hitting?
As the Phillies were trying to mount one final comeback in the eighth inning - they scored two runs and had two runners on base, Bohm stranded both runners by swinging at the first pitch and hitting a can of corn to centerfield.
Rob has less than 24 hours to find whatever magic touch he had the past two seasons, or the Phillies are going to be one of the greatest disappointments in recent memory.
