Dave Dombrowski is concerned about what is going on with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he said manager Rob Thomson is not on the hot seat despite the team’s seven-game losing streak.
Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, instead is focused on the team’s overall play during an 8-15 start this season.
“We just haven’t played very well. It’s really every portion of our game,” Dombrowski told reporters before Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. “There’s been some individual players that have done fine, by all means, who are doing well. As a group, I don’t think any part of our team has excelled: offensively, pitching-wise, starting pitching-wise, defensively.”
It’s the first time the Phillies have lost seven straight since June 2019, but Dombrowski said he isn’t considering moving on from Thomson, who has led the team since succeeding Joe Girardi during the 2022 season.
“Put it this way. We’re not,” Dombrowski said. “But if we were, that’s not something we’ve ever shared. Rob Thomson’s been a good manager for us since [2022]. We always look at everything that’s taking place, but no.
“Generally, I’ve said about 40 games of the season is when you start to say, ‘OK, where are we shaping up? Guys have had enough time.’ But there’s no magic in that number. Sometimes it’s a little bit more; sometimes it’s a little bit less. They’re not happy with their performances. Shoot, I’m responsible for putting the club on the field, so I’m not happy with the way it’s going. But I think you just balance that all the time on a daily basis.”
Dombrowski said he is more concerned over the lack of offense in a lineup that features Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner. The Phillies have been outscored 49-14 during the losing streak. Overall this season, they are hitting .218 (28th in MLB) with 80 runs scored (28th).
“That’s why you got to keep battling, day in and day out, because the one thing you can’t do is give into it,” Dombrowski told reporters. “You got to keep on working and fighting hard and battling through it. And if we do, and I think we will, we will come out of it. I can’t give you a date, when or where, because we’re just too talented to not.
“Alec Bohm didn’t forget how to be a good big league hitter. Bryson Stott didn’t forget how to be a good big league hitter. And the list goes on with other people too. They’re good players, they’re good hitters, it’s just not working for them right now.”
Bohm, the third baseman, is hitting .128 with 11 RBIs, while Stott, the second baseman, has a .210 batting average with three RBIs.
“There’s no sense of worrying about things you can’t control,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve learned that a long time ago, so I don’t really fret when that type of stuff happens. You get frustrated, but the way you go about it is, well, the next day you got to go do it again, and eventually they end up falling in. And there’s going to be bloopers that fall in and dribblers that come in for us at some time here. You hope it’s sooner rather than later.”