The Phillies’ miserable start to the COVID-19 baseball season is not as bad as it might seem | Bob Brookover

The best thing we can say about the start to the Phillies’ 2020 season is that it could be worse. The obvious follow-up question is how, and that really is a great question.

This is, after all, the team that lost two of three to the Marlins at home to start the long-delayed, pandemic-shortened season and then sat out the first full week while undergoing daily COVID-19 testing to make sure the virus that ravaged the Miami roster did not spread to the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

And if that wasn’t enough, they the Phillies had to restart their season Monday by going against the aptly named Bronx Bombers at Yankee Stadium while also facing their $324 million ace Gerrit Cole.

And if that wasn’t enough, they had to sit through a 67-minute rain delay before their 6-3 loss to the New York Yankees left them with a 1-3 record and a bunch of socially distanced after-midnight bus rides from the Bronx to Philadelphia.

And if that wasn’t enough, they then had to sit through an eighth off day in nine days because Hurricane Isaias plowed through the northeast Tuesday morning, causing that night’s scheduled game against the Yankees to be postponed.

And if that wasn’t enough, they return to the field Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park against the 8-1 Yankees with the first of what is sure to be multiple seven-inning doubleheaders this season as they attempt to play 56 games in 54 days.

“I think someone could probably write a pretty good book with some of the stuff we have had to face this year,” manager Joe Girardi said after Monday night’s game. “It has just been a strange year and I really think our players have adapted to it pretty well, and if they continue to do that, good things are going to happen.”

Girardi’s attitude toward the massive number of challenges that have already confronted the Phillies is a major reason things might not be as bad as they seem. It is clear his players are taking their cues from the manager. Instead of whining, they are pining to get back on the field on a regular basis.

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“It would seem that we are at a disadvantage not being able to play pretty much every day like we’re accustomed to,” pitcher Jake Arrieta said before making his first start in nearly a year for the Phillies on Monday. “But if you lean too much on that, it could creep into your mind too heavily and it could most certainly affect your performance. That’s not where my head is at. Your mindset can shift and you can develop negative thoughts and that can just be contagious and develop into something that’s not going to benefit our team in any way.”

Arrieta followed up his words with an admirable performance against the Yankees. He surrendered a leadoff home run to DJ LeMahieu and a single to Aaron Judge to start the game, and gave up two more runs in the third on a homer by Brett Gardner and back-to-back doubles by Judge and Aaron Hicks. His ERA after one start is 5.40, but his stuff was better than the results and left Girardi feeling confident about the No. 3 starter in his rotation.

“I thought he pitched really, really well,” Girardi said. “I think it was the best that we saw him pitch during the spring training that we had and a gutsy performance by him.”

It wasn’t just the manager saying that either. David Cone, a Yankees analyst on the YES network and one heck of a pitcher in his day, was impressed with the way Arrieta attacked the Yankees’ loaded lineup, calling it “a savvy performance by a veteran pitcher.”

If Arrieta can be good for the next two months, it gives the Phillies hope that they can end their long playoff drought that dates to 2011.

Hope also comes in the form of Wednesday night’s doubleheader. Yes, the Phillies have to play the Yankees again, but the pitching matchups in the two seven-inning games are actually in their favor. Aaron Nola will take on J.A. Happ in the first game and Zack Wheeler will pitch the second game after an outstanding performance in his Phillies debut against Miami.

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Sweep the doubleheader and the Phillies are back to .500, which right now is a good enough winning percentage to be one of the eight teams to qualify for the postseason.

Therein lies another reason why things might not be as bad as they seem for the Phillies. Despite all they’ve been through, no team in their division has run away from them. The 2-1 Marlins actually entered Tuesday in first place based on their .667 winning percentage, but it’s hard to imagine their virus-ravaged lineup staying on top very long.

The defending division champion Atlanta Braves are off to a 7-4 start, but suffered a major blow Monday night when they lost staff ace Mike Soroka for the season to a torn Achllies tendon. Examine the rest of the Atlanta rotation and it just does not look that daunting. The Mets, meanwhile, stumbled out of the gate and watched Yoenis Cespedes opt out Sunday, reportedly without telling any team officials.

Washington, the defending World Series champion, is also off to a slow start after opening the year without Stephen Strasburg, who is battling a hand injury, and Juan Soto, who tested positive for COVID-19 despite the fact he now believes he was the victim of a false positive. Both players are expected back soon and the Soroka injury makes the Nats the overwhelming favorite to win the division.

The Phillies and Marlins are not alone in their COVID-19 misery. The 2-3 Cardinals are also going to sit idle for a week and are not going to be at full strength when they return. The NL West, with the Rockies, Dodgers and Padres off to good starts, looks like the league’s best division, but who knows what obstacles lie ahead when there is a virus as vicious as this one lurking nationwide.

It’s true the Phillies have some serious problems, including a bullpen that has so far lived down to expectations. But it could be worse and things could get better. At least that’s the mindset the Phillies have chosen to maintain amid their otherwise miserable start.