Dave Dombrowski says “we like where we are” and obviously, that’s a big problem for the Phillies

Dave Dombrowski hopped on the Starkville podcast this week and dropped the kind of quote that will make Phillies fans want to jump off the Ben Franklin Bridge.

For some bizarre reason, Dombrowski told Jayson Stark that he likes where the Phillies are at “right now” and I for one, cannot figure out why he would say such a stupid thing.

Basically, that translates to Dave Dombrowski saying that the Phillies won’t do much at the MLB Trade Deadline next month. While he didn’t completely rule out making any moves, he still pulled the emergency brake on any fantasy that this front office would be gearing up the glaring issues that we have all witnessed over the past several seasons.

Honestly, it’s pathetic. Anyone with half of a brain knows that the Phillies are no longer at “tweak” team at the deadline if they want to have a shot at the NL East and ultimately the Pennant and World Series.

For the uninformed, you don’t get to sit on your hands when your offense goes ice-cold three times a week and you’re trotting out Johan Rojas and Buddy Kennedy in a pennant race.

You don’t get to pretend you’re good “as is” when you’re clinging to the NL East by a fingernail and your bullpen has at best, two reliable bullpen arms. You especially don’t get to brag about your contender status like it’s a gold star when your core is aging and your payroll is bloated.

If the Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies do nothing at the deadline, it’s not confidence — it’s negligence.

That’s the thing. We get it. The Phillies are a good baseball team. But the bar shouldn’t be “we made the playoffs and maybe we’ll hit a few bombs in October.”

This team has been knocking on the door for three years. It’s World Series or bust. And if they fall short because the front office wanted to see what Buddy Kennedy could do in a big spot, fans are going to lose their minds.

Honestly, how do you sit there and say with a straight face that you’re “comfortable with your lineup” when you’ve got three guys in the order who can’t slug .300 against lefties? It’s not just a depth issue. It’s a production issue.

I guess none of that really matters when Citizens Bank Park is basically printing money. I would like to think that John Middleton isn’t factoring any of that in but the guy tried to win a World Series for three seasons straight after a decade-long playoff drought and it didn’t happen.

I hope Middleton and Dombrowski realize that sellouts at The Bank won’t be around much longer if this team doesn’t start plugging holes in the lineup and bullpen.

Oh, and everytime fans criticize this team for playing below expectations, there’s a certain crowd that chimes in with: “Be thankful we’re in it every year!”

Cool. I’ll be thankful when you stop treating the trade deadline like it’s optional.

Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies are over here thinking about promoting someone from Lehigh Valley to “add position-player depth” and it’s about time that this fanbase wakes up.

If Dombrowski’s only move at the deadline is some reliever with a 4.90 ERA, a platoon outfielder, and a bucket of sunflower seeds, then it’s a failure.

He has the resources. He has the farm pieces. He has the urgency.

This isn’t a “trust the vibes” season. This is a team with Cy Young-level pitching, a shrinking contention window, and a glaring need for one more legit bat and a real bullpen arm.

That doesn’t get fixed by wishing on consistency from a lineup that we already know is everything but that.

The time is now.

And if “we like where we are” is truly the organizational stance heading into the deadline, then this franchise is content being good, not great and that’s loser behavior.

More from the Phillies at the MLB Trade Deadline:

Phillies linked to Adolis García as Rangers consider selling at the MLB Trade Deadline

ESPN links the Phillies to Jarren Duran in MLB Trade Deadline rumors

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