Bryce Harper calls out Phillies stars. Joel Embiid, Jalen Hurts, and A.J. Brown had better be listening, too.
Superstars must "show up," the Phillies slugger says. That comment should resonate from Citizens Bank Park to Lincoln Financial Field to the Wells Fargo Center.
![Phillies first base Bryce Harper tossing his bat in frustration after flying out in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/40GiNsTv2kYaltO-py1Ls2XOZy8=/760x507/smart/filters:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/5DKHURGIXBFXPP2TGD7HDYZLYU.jpg)
Bryce Harper gets it. He almost always does.
Harper said Sunday, after the Phillies lost their fifth of six series, “The superstars got to show up.” He was referencing the trade-deadline additions of Austin Hays and Carlos Estévez, and how their presence in the outfield and in the bullpen should bolster those flagging units, but his words resonated all over South Philly.
They resonated across Broad Street, where the Eagles were holding training camp.
The resonated across Pattison Avenue, where the Sixers have failed for 11 straight years.
Jalen Hurts, the $255 million quarterback? Show up. A.J. Brown, who signed a $100 million deal, then a $96 million deal? Show up. Especially in January.
Paul George and Tyrese Maxey joined Joel Embiid in the Sixers’ $200 million club. Show up. Especially in May and June.
Embiid, still large of bottom but small of heart, hasn’t only failed to show up for most playoff runs, he isn’t showing up at the Olympics in France, either, even after he legislated his way into the U.S. starting lineup. Show up, big guy.
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For the past three decades nobody has been more milquetoast regarding Philly’s pro teams than I have been. For years, my mantra has been, “The owners’ responsibility is to compile rosters, front offices, and coaching staff that routinely produce championship-caliber teams. Championships are not an entitlement, but competitive teams are, and if you’re competitive frequently enough, titles will follow.”
No more.
Win now.
The honeymoon’s over.
The Phils still have the best record in baseball, but they no longer are the best team; that’s probably the Astros, who entered Monday night 30-17 since June 1. The Phillies were 25-22 in that stretch.
The Yankees, Mariners, Dodgers, and red-hot Diamondbacks are up next for the Phillies. All are above .500. All but the Mariners are viable World Series contenders. The Yankees clobbered the Phillies and their best pitcher on Monday night. This could get a lot worse before it gets better.
As the Phillies regress toward the mean, the region is, understandably, concerned. They’re playing sloppy, tired, lazy baseball.
This is the other shoe they’ve dreaded would drop since the Phillies sprinted out to their promising 61-32 start.
Folks around here are fed up with empty promises. They don’t want the ol’ college try.
They want hardware.
They want a parade.
Or else.
It feels like it’s World Series or bust for Rob Thomson, a first-time manager. The seat of Eagles cheerleader Nick Sirianni, another first-time coach, could hardly be hotter. Nick Nurse probably gets two seasons, now that the Sixers have given Embiid the best teammate he’s had so far and Nurse has a championship on his resumé. But no more than two.
As the MLB trade deadline approaches at 6 p.m. Tuesday, this feels like an inflection point.
The choking has to end.
The Phillies’ superstar hitters — Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, and Trea Turner in 2023 — disappeared in the World Series two years ago and in the NLCS last year. They might not all be superstars, but they’re signed to a combined $927 million in contracts. They’re hitting a combined .225 in the Phillies’ last four series, all of which they’ve lost.
» READ MORE: Howie Roseman just finished his biggest and best Eagles offseason with 10 moves to help Jalen Hurts
They Phillies have gone 4-8 in those games, and the bullpen has been an issue, but they’ve scored three or fewer runs in six of the eight losses. That’s the opposite of showing up.
This is probably just a midseason swoon, but it’s amplified in Philly because swooning is something of a theme lately.
Two years ago, Hurts choked in the first half of Super Bowl LVII — his unforced fumble was the game’s biggest mistake — and the defense choked in the second half. Everybody choked at the end of last season, no one more so than Hurts and Brown, the team’s best and most important players.
And nobody in Philly history gags like The Process. Embiid did so most markedly two years ago in a collapse against Boston, then last year against an undermanned and under-talented Knicks team. Embiid has now bombed with Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, James Harden, Maxey, and each time with Tobias Harris, who was at peak, then mid, then garbage. At some point, Embiid’s going to have to stop blaming the supporting cast and look in the mirror, like Harper’s doing.
You can argue that Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is a superstar who consistently has shown up, but starting pitchers can do only so much.
You can point to specific series in which Harper and Embiid have shined, but they’ve got no trophies; neither does George, who just arrived.
You can recall flashes of greatness from Hurts, but you can remember his moments of struggle, too; his passer rating in two wild-card playoff losses in Tampa is 78.4, almost 13 points lower than his career regular-season rating.
Philadelphia has three bona fide, everyday superstars. No more excuses. Harper’s right, again:
They’ve got to show up.