The Braves And Phillies Sucking at the Same Time Is Rare
Earlier today, Buster Olney noted on Twitter that the Braves are now pulling up the rear in terms of run differential:
The Braves surpassed the Phillies for the worst run differential in the majors — ATL now -164, PHI -163.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 4, 2015
It got me to thinking — a dangerous pastime, I know — that it must be rare that two teams in the same division suck this much at the same time. Turns out, there’s something to that notion. Over at ESPN, we can easily find the run differentials back to 2002. Let’s take a look. Teams in bold are/were in the same division:
| Year | Team 1 | RD | Team 2 | RD | Team 3 | RD | Team 4 | RD | Team 5 | RD |
| 2015 | PHI | -163 | ATL | -164 | ||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||
| 2013 | MIN | -174 | HOU | -238 | ||||||
| 2012 | CLE | -178 | HOU | -211 | ||||||
| 2011 | BAL | -152 | MIN | -185 | HOU | -181 | ||||
| 2010 | BAL | -172 | KC | -169 | SEA | -185 | PIT | -279 | ||
| 2009 | KC | -156 | WAS | -164 | ||||||
| 2008 | WAS | -184 | ||||||||
| 2007 | TB | -162 | ||||||||
| 2006 | TB | -167 | KC | -214 | ||||||
| 2005 | TB | -186 | KC | -233 | ARI | -160 | ||||
| 2004 | KC | -185 | CIN | -157 | ARI | -284 | ||||
| 2003 | DET | -337 | MIL | -159 | CIN | -191 | SD | -160 | ||
| 2002 | TB | -245 | KC | -154 | DET | -289 | MIL | -194 | SD | -153 |
A couple of things to note. First, last season was pretty cool, because no one was super awful. That doesn’t happen all that often. But two teams being this bad at the same time in the same division hasn’t happened since 2003. Brewers fans will remember 2003 as the year before Ben Sheets was awesome. Reds fans will remember 2003 as the year when Ken Griffey Jr. was awesome but frequently injured. Well, I guess that was most years Griffey was in Cincy. In any case, things weren’t pretty in either city. Adam Dunn rankled old school devotees with a .215 batting average, Wayne Franklin started 34 games and (I’m just guessing here) a lot of brain cells were murdered with alcohol.
Things haven’t been much better in Atlanta and Philly this season. They’re the first two teams to be this bad in the same division in over a decade. That’s rare. But at least they can take comfort in a couple of things. First, they’re not the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked — do you see that 2003 Tigers run differential? Woof! Second, at least they know that they are not alone. And that’s something. After all, misery needs company.
Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.
Wow Dombrowski took over quite the mess in Detroit in 2002. And did pretty good despite not doing things the Billy Beane way…
It sure helped that his boss was willing to spend money. Dombrowski made some shrewd moves for sure but if you had told anyone in 2002 that Jeremy Bonderman and Mike Maroth were ever going to have half decent seasons, they’d have laughed at you.
There is absolutely no change whatsoever in how the Phillies are run.
Bill Giles put the ownership group together with people who think like him 35 years ago. Guess what? Bill Giles is still there. He took part in the hiring of MacPhail and Klentak both. He was at the press conference announcing the hiring of Klentak.
35 Years.
Jim Thome and Cliff Lee
That’s it.
35 Years.
Carlos Ruiz and Maikel Franco, the only two starting quality players signed out of Latin America. Ruiz was signed out of Panama for eight thousand dollars. Need that in numerical form? $8,000- Eight Stacks.
Maikel Franco was signed for $100,000- That’s one hundred thousand American dollars. One hundred Stacks.
The Red Sox paid $63 million to sign Yoan Moncada. The Phillies paid $108,000- to sign both Carlos Ruiz and Maikel Franco.
Two real free agents and two starting position players from Latin America signed for nothing.
The Phillies Way is unchanged. They will sit in the cellar until they collect enough free talent in the MLB Plantation Slave Auction held every June. These young slave/intern players will be exploited to the max by the Phillies bloodsucking ownership cabal. For seven years they will make these bloodsucking criminals massive profits. If a few become fan favorites and the crowds are still huge as they near free agency then they will be signed to short, team friendly deals. If any have slipped through their screening process and turn out to be normal players seeking long contracts they will be demonized and booted out the door.
The Phillies after telling lies to their fan base from 2012 onward finally admitted they were “rebuilding”. The truth of the matter is they are already planning their next rebuild as they conduct this one.
THAT is The Phillies Way.
Google: Kevin Maitan FREE_AEC
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