Heartfelt goodbyes can’t obscure atmosphere of regret in Phillies clubhouse

PHILADELPHIA — The noise in the background of the recordings from the Phillies clubhouse Tuesday night was constant and rhythmic. As players stepped to the cameras to answer what went wrong in a 4-2 loss to Arizona in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, the rest of the room out of microphone range descended into farewells.

The noises weren’t from the perfunctory bro hugs, a pound here and a fist bump there. They were long embraces between friends, displays of genuine gratitude to mentors or pupils, in some instances for help that may have turned around a career. From owner John Middleton loudly thanking Michael Lorenzen for the franchise history that was his August no-hitter to players sitting cross-legged on the floor, cradling beers to chat up teammates for what might be the last time, the show of affection came with the dying breaths from the emergent organism that was this 2023 Phillies team.

They carried a stubborn insistence, one that had made what transpired at Citizens Bank Park over the previous 28 hours all the more agonizing. What the Phillies had in that room was a championship worthy baseball dynamic, but one whose execution between the lines betrayed them at the most crucial time.

“I think the special thing is that we’re such a tight-knit group and we play for each other, we play for the city and that’s the thing that I think is why everyone’s sick,” Kyle Schwarber said. “You invest so much into what you do on a daily basis and you put so much work into it, you spend more time here than you do with your family because you’re trying to win a championship. That’s why it hurts.”

There was little to differentiate this year’s hurt from last year’s. A year ago, the same painful paeans were paid in Houston, after the Phillies had ended a 10-year playoff drought and won a surprising pennant only to get worn down by a superior Houston team.

This year, the Phillies believed they were better. With Trea Turner and a handful of sturdier arms, they were better than last year’s team. And having again vanquished a 100-win Atlanta squad to earn home-field advantage in the NLCS against the sixth-seeded but scrappy Diamondbacks, they felt assured they were the better team in this NLCS.

But two games won by a combined score of 15-3 turned into two one-run losses in the desert, turned into the no-show of Game 6, turned into Tuesday’s frustration to convert with runners in scoring position against a rookie starter and a troupe of relievers the Phillies could do little against when it counted most.

“It feels pretty much the same,” J.T. Realmuto said. “Losing is losing. We set out with one goal in spring training, and that was to win a World Series. It wasn’t to make the postseason or even get to the World Series. It was to win a World Series. So we fell short of that goal. It’s a sucky feeling.”

Last year, the path forward seemed somewhat clear, even from the haze at Minute Maid Park. The Phillies would go into the offseason looking to shore up a pitching staff that had run out of steam so badly that it couldn’t field four passable postseason starters. They would add to a bullen that leaked oil late, then dip into the free agent frenzy at shortstop to upgrade the lineup.

But a year later, there they still were, trotting out eight pitchers in losing Game 4. Needing Zack Wheeler, on short rest, to record five outs in Game 7 just to give the offense a chance. Waiting on Castellanos, 1-for-24 in the NLCS, to mount a turnaround that never happened. Getting Trea Turner, their $300-million offensive upgrade, to the plate three times with the would-be go-ahead or trying runs on base only for him to extend his streak of NLCS futility to 0-for-14.

“The game’s the game, and you’ve got to find a way,” Schwarber said. “Even if something doesn’t go your way, you’ve still got to try to find a way. It just seemed like we couldn’t find the hit, find the hole. It seemed like they were able to put the ball in play and find some things.”

Finding a way forward will be even more difficult. Another year without their world title objective met is another year on veteran legs. Aaron Nola will reach free agency for the first time at age 30, his only opportunity for a life-changing contract. Rhys Hoskins, with a surgically repaired knee that never got a chance to be tested in a World Series, is free to walk elsewhere, too. How the organization decides to handle two pillars of an onerous rebuild and subsequent nearly-there success will not just determine the club’s direction but define the clubhouse atmosphere so vital to this year’s success.

Change will come. It is the sport’s only constant. And the fact that this group’s core mission remained unfulfilled means it won’t be spared.

“This group is special,” Schwarber said. “There’s going to be a lot of pieces back. New season, I’m sure there will be some different things going on, but hopefully we have a lot of the same group back and we can do this thing again.”