Yeah I think Ed is probably right. Not only the Dodgers thing but Phillies have just been better than the Padres for the last two months. The trade deadline felt like it was going to shift that, but it has not worked out that way at all (Hader imploding, Tatis suspended).
We'll see though - the schedule is the Phillies' friend but losing two key relievers (Knebel was not pitching badly for the most part) plus a hobbled Schwarber and an unknown Harper isn't exactly a positive trend either.
And yeah for sure once the playoffs come around anything can happen. Unfortunately I'm afraid if the Phillies are 5th they won't have to worry about the Mets. While we are 3-3 against Atlanta both away and home with more to play, right now I gotta think the Braves take a playoff series with all three games in Atlanta. We've seen how slim the margin of error is if any one of the four key elements (offense, defense, starters, relievers) has a bad game or two but we've also seen that the young players, encouraging as they have often been, can disappear.
Of course if this is the equivalent of the 2007 team where they make the playoffs for the first time but aren't quite ready to win, I'd take that.
