Mum was the word on whether the Philadelphia Phillies had any sort of team meeting prior to Wednesday evening’s game against the Miami Marlins, as they try to snap out of a 7-16 stretch since the All-Star Game.
The Phillies clubhouse was initially supposed to open to the media at 3:10 p.m. ET Wednesday, but shortly before then it was announced that time was pushed back to 4:20 p.m. ET. No reason was given. It was team photo day, but that was done not long after the clubhouse was scheduled to open so it’s unclear if that was the reason for the push back.
Manager Rob Thomson wouldn’t get into whether there was a team meeting during the time that was initially supposed to be open to the media.
“Well, just so you know my policy, I don’t announced meetings,” Thomson said in his media availability about 50 minutes after the clubhouse was initially slated to open. “What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse, and that’s between us.”
When the clubhouse did eventually open up to the media after Thomson spoke in the dugout, right fielder Nick Castellanos was asked if the Phillies spoke as a group before Wednesday’s game.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Castellanos said.
Castellanos is a veteran who has played in parts of 12 seasons, previously spending time with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds before joining the Phillies in 2022. Even if no one was going to directly talk about whether there was a team meeting Wednesday or not, Castellanos is an interesting player to talk to in these types of situations, because he’s been through trials and tribulations in his career. Heck, he’s been through them this season.
How does Castellanos — who is hitting second Wednesday with a struggling Trea Turner out of the lineup — keep believing in himself and not let baseball cliches like “trust the back of your baseball card” get stale when he’s in a prolonged slump?
“It can’t [get stale], or else you lose faith,” Castellanos said. “And if you lose faith, you’re not a very good competitor.”
Kyle Schwarber — perhaps the defacto captain of the team — said after Tuesday’s 5-0 loss that he doesn’t believe major changes are needed to get the Phillies back on track. Schwarber displayed a sense of urgency, but pointed to how talented of a roster the Phillies have and the good clubhouse environment as reasons why he believes things will get turned around.
Castellanos agrees.
“Yes, I believe, I agree with his statement,” Castellanos said. “Now why? Because I believe in the group. I believe in the guys in this clubhouse. And everybody is a professional. And even though we haven’t been winning a bunch of games, it’s not because all of a sudden we’re not working or we don’t care, right? Everybody cares, and at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for because I’ve been in clubhouses that don’t care.”
Earlier this month, Turner pushed back at the idea of the Phillies needing a team meeting, suggesting those are for teams with bad cultures where players aren’t working hard and can often be more just to generate a headline than anything. Does Castellanos agree with that sentiment?
“Well, yes on the headline part,” Castellanos said. “I’ve had team meetings in the past before that have been great. And I’ve had team meetings before that have sent the team in the opposite direction. So depends on the person, depends on the time — there’s not one right answer to that question.”
Are the negative meetings that have the opposite effect as intended ones where players air grievances?
“No, and yes, right? There’s not one answer to that,” Castellanos said. “There’s been meetings where players have aired grievances, and it’s amazing because it needed to get aired. There’s also meetings that start and there’s talk and there’s only one person that says something and no one else opens and their mouth and it goes terribly. So there is no right rhyme or reason. It’s just, some work, some don’t.”
Whether the Phillies had a team meeting or not Wednesday, all that really matters is they get back on track. The Los Angeles Dodgers have usurped them for the No. 1 seed in the NL, with the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres all within striking distance of the Phillies for the second-best record in the senior circuit. Only the top two seeds get byes in the first round of the playoffs.
Above all else, the Phillies need to regain some sort of momentum before the postseason. Perhaps Wednesday — whether there was actually a team meeting or some circumstantial evidence to make the public think there was one — will be the day the Phillies start to get back on track.
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