Joe Girardi's Job Could Be On the Line as Phillies Struggle

Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi could be in trouble. After acquiring star hitters like Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber during the off-season, the Phillies were supposed to be a legitimate contender. MLB analysts bemoaned their defence, but its foreseen struggles were supposed to be offset by the team's potent offence.

48 games into the season, the team owns an ugly .438 winning percentage and a 21-27 record. They're 10.5 games back of the National League East division-leading New York Mets. What's more, the Phillies have been sliding over their past 10 games, during which stretch they're 3-7.

Fans want to point fingers, and manager Joe Girardi seems to be their first scapegoat. In an article published after the Phillies' loss to the Mets yesterday, New York Post columnist Jon Heyman wrote that Joe Girardi seemed anxious when asked about his job security.

Girardi bristles at question about job security. “I don’t worry about my job … You ask me that every day.” Of course he has to know he’s on the clock now. (One scout’s speculation in here why he and star-Philled team may not be a match) https://t.co/i3HrPtoR6b
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 30, 2022

“I don’t worry about my job. I never worry about my job,” Girardi said. "I’ve got to do my job. It’s the business of being a manager.”

Those words seem confident enough on paper, but Heyman noted that the question "bristled" Girardi.

"The frustration is showing," wrote Heyman. "Girardi also told the questioner, 'You ask me that every day.'"

If Joe Girardi has Twitter, he's probably noticed the barrage of Tweets calling for him to be fired. NFL analyst Jeff Kerr commented yesterday that Girardi "has to be fired."