
Why Wolves' relegation had been coming after slow decline
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The Philadelphia Phillies are struggling with an 8-13 record, placing them 6.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. Concerns are rising that the team's poor start and internal issues may signal the end of their World Series contention window.
Phillies' World Series window might close with bad vibes start to 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies are off to one of the worst starts in all of Major League Baseball. If it weren't for the New York Mets losing 11 straight, the Phillies might be the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.
Through the first 21 games of the season, the Phillies are 8-13, 6.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East, and only 1.5 games ahead of the Mets for the worst record in baseball.
Amid such a brutal start to the year, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report presented a worrying verdict that the bad vibes within the team could potentially be the warning sign that the World Series window is over for this aging Phillies roster.
"The vibes coming from the Phillies are bad," Kelly writes. "Still, it's hard to shake just how badly the Phillies have played in April, and wonder whether the window has closed on a team with so many players on the wrong side of 30."
The Phillies have the worst run differential in all of Major League Baseball. They are being outscored by 38 runs so far this season, with only 75 runs scored and 113 allowed on the year. They're 5-10 at home and have lost five straight.
Alec Bohm has a .407 OPS on the year, while Bryson Stott has a .511 OPS. hasn't played well lately, and has a .648 OPS on the season.
The Philadelphia Phillies currently have an 8-13 record.
The Phillies are 6.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East.
The internal issues and poor performance may indicate that the Phillies' window for World Series contention is closing.

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If it weren't for Kyle Schwarber's .936 OPS and Bryce Harper's .883 OPS, the Phillies might be the worst offense in the Major Leagues.
Add in that Jose Alvarado has a 9.00 ERA, Jesus Luzardo has the worst ERA (7.94) among starters, and Jhoan Duran is on the injured list, and things are not going well in the pitching staff either.
The offense looks terrible this season, and the pitching staff isn't looking nearly as good as it should be. What was meant to be the best bullpen the Phillies have had in recent years has severely underwhelmed.
As Kelly notes, the vibes around the Phillies are very bad. They weren't great at the end of the 2024 or 2025 seasons, and they're even worse now. The World Series window feels more closed than ever, as nothing seems to be working for the Phillies.