I think I enjoy watching the games a lot more than the people who post in these game threads do, because what I like about baseball is that it is a game of failure, and no one inning or game is the end of the world or season (unlike, say, college football. Or a 2-1 hockey game). But the level of frustration experienced in the heat of the moment of a blown save or big strikeout with men on base is not necessarily the same as it is in a bigger-picture discussion.
Tough spot you're in there Patch - you want them to make the playoffs but you also don't like the manager. If they make the playoffs, he stays, and if they fall just a little short he probably stays too. Really you need a September that's a disastrous as June was. It really depends just how sensitive ownership ends up being to fan and media unrest because in reality I still think this team has fulfilled or even exceeded expectations.
Here's Joe Sheehan the other day for instance:
The Phillies feel more like a disaster than they actually are. If the season ended today -- sorry, Tigers fans, it does not --they’d be in playoff position, tied for the two wild-card spots with the Nationals. This despite getting very little for their massive offseason shopping spree.
I suppose if another manager had faded disappointing performances by stars and a meteor landing in his pen, we’d find a way to praise him, but that’s not how we handle Gabe Kapler. Kapler, though, has kept the Phillies above water, and he deserves a measure of credit for that.