Road To 10,000 Losses: Finally, Mediocrity!

Road to 10,000 Losses is a countdown to the Phillies’ 10,000th loss, coming sometime later this year. Finishing up a 7-3 homestand, the Phillies stand at 9977 losses, only 23 away from 10,000.

Hey, how about that! When they returned home from a road trip for a 10 game homestand, the Phillies needed a 7-3 homestand to get to .500. And then, wildly, they actually went out and did it, losing only one game to Chicago, then-NL leading Milwaukee and Toronto.

Last weekend was when teams supposedly played their natural interleague rival. Since the Phillies lost Baltimore — who now plays Washington — the rivalry went to Toronto, as baseball looked to match up two teams in a rivalry almost as fierce as that yearly Colorado Rockies-Kansas City Royals dustup. (Okay, the 1993 World Series, but, is that it? And the Phillies were called the Blue Jays for two years in the 1940s. One of the all-time great rivalries!)

The Phillies are now a whopping 22-22, and have gone 18-11 since a 4-11 start. As Rich Hoffman writes today, though, the Phillies 7-3 homestand improved the team from 6 1/2 games back in the NL East to… 6 1/2 games back in the NL East. And since the Mets have both starting pitching, offense and a bullpen, the Wild Card is pretty much the best case scenario already. And it’s May.

The important thing about today’s Phillies game is, well, there isn’t one. And so, for the first time all season, the Phillies will spend a full day with at least a .500 winning percentage. Baby steps, people.