ATLANTA _ Another player filtered Wednesday afternoon into Gabe Kapler's office, shut the door behind him, and sat down to talk about the season.
The Phillies were three hours from beginning a 4-1 win over the Braves, but Kapler first wanted his players to "open up about their season." Kapler, along with general manager Matt Klentak, is spending the final road-trip of the season conducting exit interviews with every player on the roster.
They know the season is probably 11 days away from completion, ending in September instead of October. And the Phillies want to gather as much information as possible from a season that is charting as a disappointment. But first, Kapler opens the interviews with a reminder that the season is not yet finished.
"Those meetings start by reminding guys how close we are to doing something special," said Kapler, whose team entered Wednesday with a less than 1% chance to reach the playoffs. "They start with the understanding that every day is an opportunity to start that 9-out-of-10 stretch."
The manager tells each player about how the Brewers won nine of 10 games this season, how the 2007 Phillies erased a seven-game deficit with 17 to play, and how his Red Sox rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the 2004 American League pennant. The Phillies, if they are to chase down the National League's second wild-card spot, will need to overcome similar odds.
"These are the stories that we're thinking about right now to use as inspiration for what could happen," Kapler said.
Those playoff dreams remained possible Wednesday, thanks to starter Zach Eflin, who did not allow an earned run in seven innings. Maybe it was Kapler's inspiration that powered the Phillies to a second-straight win against the division-leading Braves, guaranteeing that Atlanta will not clinch the National League East until the Phillies leave town.
Or maybe it was Bryce Harper's two-run homer, as he continued to punish Braves starter Julio Teheran. Harper has nine homers off the veteran right-hander, which is three more than he has against any other pitcher. A night after Kapler lauded Vince Velasquez and Hector Neris for their composure, Cesar Hernandez made a fielding error that led to a run and then responded by hitting a homer in the sixth.
The Phillies came to Atlanta with their playoff chances deflated by two home losses to Boston. The Braves were ready to celebrate their second-straight division title. And the Phillies, just as they did last September, would be in the ballpark to witness it.
"I think we always want to avoid someone else's celebration and their celebratory moment when it is at our expense," Kapler said. "It's really important that we push hard for that not to happen."
The Phillies did not fold. Their playoff chances are still slim. They still have 12 road games left on a three-city trip that will provide the ultimate test. They still need the Nationals, Brewers, and Cubs to stumble. But at least they still have hope. They are already gathering information for next season. But this season still has some time left.
"The number one message," Kapler said, " is about what we have left."
