For eight months, since spring training dawned on a February morning in Clearwater, Fla., the Phillies' universe revolved around Gabe Kapler. Because of the way he looks and thinks and speaks and acts, the first-year manager became a polarizing figure. If the 2018 Phillies will be remembered for anything, it will be for giving us "Gabe Ball." Will the national pastime ever be the same around here?
Beginning this week, it will be Klentak's job to give Kapler a better team. And when you get right down to it, after their surprising spring and their summer surge and their September swoon, the Phillies just weren't good enough to make the playoffs.