Why Do I Have to Be From Philadelphia: Navigating Sports Frustrations and Playoff Dreams

Phillies pitching coach, Caleb Cotham, must have had too much pink champagne on Tuesday night.

I’m assuming it led to him seeing his pitching staff through rose-colored glasses.

Take a look at these two quotes, as reported by Scott Lauber in the Inquirer yesterday: “I feel really good about our bullpen”... “We have a lot of trust in really anyone out there.”

In psychiatry, we define trust as consistency over time. Is there anyone in the bullpen that remotely meets that criteria? Maybe Hoffman, but we don’t know if that would apply to the late innings in the postseason. Certainly Kerkering, but the time sample is too short. Maybe Strahm, but again the time sample really hasn’t been long enough.

With all of them, with the exception of Hoffman in the sixth or seventh, can you really say that when the reliever goes out there you’re not chewing your fingernails and pacing up and down, crossing your fingers as well? It is what we call in sports psychiatry “little faith,” and it is justified.

A good coach is complementary to his players, but when the compliment is untrue, it rings false, whether you are a little leaguer or a major leaguer. It actually erodes the trust an athlete might feel in the coach.

Let’s hope it was the pink champagne.