Despite Crushing Loss to Reds, Philadelphia Phillies Determined To Bounce Back

The Philadelphia Phillies had one of the best offseasons of any team in Major League Baseball.

They signed Trea Turner, arguably the top free agent.

They filled in needs in every area of their roster.

They looked like a World Series team on paper.

But nothing is guaranteed in professional sports.

The Phillies’ 5-10 is proof of that. A crushing 13-0 loss Saturday on the road against the Cincinnati Reds dropped them to 5-10.

“We’ve got to clean up our baserunning, we’ve got to throw strikes, grind out at-bats – and we will,” manager Rob Thomson said. “This is a good team.”

It might sound weird, but Thomson is correct. The Phillies are a good team.

They’ve been besieged with injuries to the likes of Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Ranger Suarez.

They’ve scored 61 runs.

They’ve been running the bases poorly and even a seasoned veteran like Kyle Schwarber has made mistakes.

The Phillies are simply not clicking now.

Only four teams -- the 2002 Los Angeles Angels, the 1991 Minnesota Twins, the '79 Pittsburgh Pirates and the '14 Atlanta Braves -- have won the World Series after a 5-10 start.

While Hoskins is lost for the regular season with a torn ACL, Harper will be back between mid-May and mid-July and Suarez is also expected to return soon.

The Phillies do feature plenty of depth and Thomson is the perfect manager to deal with early season adversity with his calm demeanor.

It has only been 15 games. There are 147 more. The season is a long way from over.

Things don’t look great now, but a quick winning streak can erase bad memories.

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