Aug 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (9) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
By virtue of being one of the top two seeds in the NL, the Phillies will have off Monday-Friday next week, with a bye through the NLWCS.
This is uncharted territory for the Phillies, as this is just the third year of the new playoff system that allows the top two teams in each league to immediately advance to the Division Series.
Much has been made of the pros and cons of having a first-round bye, and Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos was asked about his thoughts on the bye in an appearance on Foul Territory Friday.
"What do I think about the bye? I think it can be a beautiful thing if we use it the right way," Castellanos said. "I think that the down time could probably be good for a lot of our bodies with the grind of 162 [games] that we just finished.
"But I know that we're also going to have a responsibility to figure out ways to stay mentally sharp so it's not like we're knocking the rust off the first game," Castellanos added.
Notably, the Phillies have won in the NLWCS in each of the last two years, and then upset the Braves in the NLDS after Atlanta had been on the bye. Braves manager Brian Snitker said during Spring Training that he isn't a fan of the playoff format that was instituted in 2022.
“The biggest thing we haven’t done is hit,” Snitker said. “And I just don’t think in baseball — you know, I always worry about four days off at the All-Star Break, but everybody’s going through that, not just a couple of teams — you know, it’s hard to hit velocity when you haven’t seen anything in five days. So that’s my biggest thing.
“We had a team that set all these records and everything offensively, and we didn’t hit much in the postseason. I don’t know that it’s approach. I think it’s just a matter of, I don’t like the system, quite honestly.”
"A number of Phillies took offense. They believe Snitker was making excuses and demeaning their back-to-back triumphs as a Wild Card over the Braves in the DS."@Ken_Rosenthal talks about how the Phillies felt about the comments made in the spring by the Braves manager pic.twitter.com/F8DbUmap2s
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 20, 2024
Ken Rosenthal noted on a FOX telecast earlier this month that there were numerous members of the Phillies who didn't appreciate Snitker's comments.
For his part, Castellanos doesn't seem to have been one of the Phillies who took exception. Or at least he didn't want to reveal it.
"As for what the Braves said? I don't really care," Castellanos said bluntly.
"As for what the Braves said I don't really care."
Nick Castellanos when asked about the Atlanta Braves whining about last years first round bye.
Video: @FoulTerritoryTV pic.twitter.com/Oq8Uyyr8Db
