How do the Phillies snap out of it? They’re opting for patience over ‘gimmicks’

Don’t expect Rob Thomson to bring in a petting zoo or a clown to try to keep his players loose during a slump. Their approach: Keep calm, it’s all part of the game.

Bryce Harper is mired in a 1-for-30 slump, but he isn't the only Phillie struggling.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Lochlahn March

Published Aug. 1, 2024, 12:06 p.m. ET

Longtime manager Joe Maddon once brought a magician to the Chicago Cubs’ clubhouse to lighten things up during an extended slump.

It was one of several gimmicks the irreverent Maddon employed over his career to keep his players loose. He also once hosted a petting zoo at Wrigley Field — a rookie Kyle Schwarber got to hold a baby snow leopard — and hired a clown to come to the field during spring training.

The Phillies are in the midst of a four-game slide, have dropped five straight series, and their stars have been slumping badly. But don’t expect any similar stunts during their West Coast road trip, which begins Friday in Seattle. It’s not really Rob Thomson’s style.

Thomson spent five seasons working on Joe Torre’s coaching staff on the Yankees, and learned a different approach from him. In skids like this, Thomson mainly tries to provide a steadying, even-keeled presence for his players.

“With this group, it’s such an experienced club. I don’t think gimmicks really do much for them,” Thomson said. “I think it’s more just keep pushing them, and keep staying calm, and let them do their thing.”

The team isn’t outwardly panicking, either. As the top half of the lineup fails to produce and the losses pile up, the common refrain from the players is that it’s all part of the game.

“It’s baseball. It’s the way kind of the game works,” said Bryce Harper, who is in a career-worst 1-for-30 slump. “But like I said, we don’t want to play the game that way. But we’re a really good team and we got really good players in here, and we just got to keep going.”

Thomson thought Harper might be getting close to breaking out on Monday when he lofted some deep fly balls to the outfield in a 14-4 loss to the Yankees. But he went hitless in the two games after that and struck out three times. His batting average has fallen from .292 to .274 during his slump.

“I’m excited to turn the page to August,” Harper said. “I think probably a couple other guys are as well.”

One of those other guys is likely Trea Turner, who was 2-for-23 on the homestand. When he was asked to pinpoint what hasn’t been working for him at the plate lately, Turner replied: “Everything.” Thomson gave him a day off for Wednesday’s series finale against the Yankees, hoping the extra rest would give him an opportunity to reset.

But even with his own and his teammates’ struggles, Turner said it hasn’t yet reached the point where the Phillies need to call a closed-door meeting to get things out in the open.

“Those things are for when guys are being lazy or you have a bad culture, you’re not working, you’re not putting in work, and we don’t do those things,” Turner said. “We work our [butts] off, and we’re in the cage. We’re out in the field. We’re doing all sorts of things. It’s just we’re playing bad, that’s what it comes down to.”

Austin Hays has a different point of view on the Phillies’ struggles. He was not a part of their historic start to the season — the former Oriole observed it from afar. Then, he joined the team during its worst stretch of the year after being acquired on July 26. And Hays doesn’t think the Phillies need to overreact.

“I just got here. I’m learning the philosophy, and I’m learning team approaches on the offensive side of the ball,” Hays said. “But I don’t think there’s anything to hit the panic button [about], guys who need to make drastic changes. I think guys are right there.

“And it happens quick. It turns around quick, and then you get on a roll. And I think that’s where this team is right now. I think they’re right there. We’re right there.”

For what it’s worth, the Cubs swept their next series after the magician’s visit in 2015 and made it to the National League Championship Series. But the Phillies believe the key to solving their current problems is something much simpler than a rabbit in a hat: patience.