Whenever a team collapses the way the Phillies did in 2024 — with such high expectations and a season’s worth of anticipation crushed over a relatively uncompetitive four-game span by a superior division rival — and when it looked a lot like the collapse did last year, there is demand for change. Something needs to give.
Kevin Long might find himself as the unfortunate starting point.
The Phillies’ last two Octobers have come to a crashing halt in much the same fashion: the bullpen hits a wall and, primarily, the offense chases its way to an early offseason.