By James Silvanio
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Camden County College students expressed disappointment this week after the Philadelphia Phillies lost the National League Championship Series and reacted to several players’ comments after game 7.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper talked to the media after the loss in the seventh game and took accountability. “It just devastates me. I let the city down,” he said.
Camden County College student Eddie Vigganio reacted to this quote, saying, “This just makes me sad. I’m not mad at Bryce at all. (Craig) Kimbrel, Rob (Thomson) and (Aaron) Nola are the ones I’m mad at honestly.”
The Phillies came into the series hot and jumped to a 2-0 lead. Fans, local media and national media had the Phillies as a lock to win their ninth NL pennant and cash their ticket to the World Series.
Then the Phillies traveled to Arizona and lost two games in gut-wrenching fashion. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, after going down 2-0 and getting hit with criticism, pushed the right buttons in the rest of the series. Lovullo made adjustments throughout the series, using different lineups and managing his pitching staff nearly perfectly after the first two games.
Meanwhile, Phillies manager Rob Thomson had a different philosophy than the Diamondbacks manager. He stuck with what had gotten them so far and opted not to make any adjustments throughout the series. Thomson was criticized for going with reliever Craig Kimbrel in the biggest spots of the games when he noticeably had hit a wall.
Also, the Phillies hitters in their last two games at home were 2-17 with runners in scoring position. Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper were a combined 0-23.
Soon after the Phillies’ game 7 loss, Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker went on Twitter, saying, “Disrespect is at an all-time high #nextyear.” Walker thereafter liked replies to his tweet, supporting him and bad-mouthing Thomson for not using him. Walker signed a four-year, $72 million contract last off-season. Although he had a 15-6 record in the regular season, Walker had a 7.15 ERA in the first inning, according to CBS Sports.
Camden County College student Owen English supported Walker. “I agree with Walker’s thought on Rob Thomson. He was afraid of change and couldn’t admit it. Walker saw that firsthand. The Phillies paid Taijuan over $70 million for him to never even be considered when it mattered most,” he said.