Winning is everything in sports. From bragging rights to paid gambling income, winning has a lot at stake, including the livelihoods of those involved. When there is a lack of winning, it increases the desperation level. Team executives and fans alike expect winning. But that frustration when things do not come according to plan boils over into urgency, which is what comes to define teams and their legacy. Will teams go through the motions and stay on the course without change when things do not go according to plan, or will they try to reinvent themselves and make a new unscripted mark on the world? Those are the identity shifts that winning teams go through to figure out what works and maintain success in a competitive league where everyone tries to find a winning path.

When front offices throw money into areas to improve the team, expectations rise. Championship caliber players should produce a championship product, right? If the players do not perform to expectations, the manager is the first to go and is often scapegoated by higher management. However, the manager is an extension of the front office, and in most cases, the front office picks who represents them on the field unless they are taking over a previous regime. Whether or not the manager is to blame for lack of success depends on the situation, but when the entire world calls for change, management staff included, change will be imminent.

Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon were laid off from the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, respectively. Despite their presence as veteran managers with a history of success, they were fired for the same reason even though the details may have shifted: they did not create a championship-winning culture in the locker room, which translates to the field. People shouted for a few years to fire Girardi, and the lack of progression from the on-field production of the ballclub spoke for itself. Maddon was touted as an early manager of the year candidate in 2022 until his team went on a then 12-game losing streak, undoubtedly the fireable offense, without much warning. Losing forced the Phillies and Angels' hand, and both teams made the first step in a potential overhaul by letting go of their manager.

Results, or the lack thereof, speak for themselves, and in both situations, ownership decided it was the time to salvage a season. It is not too late for either team, with both teams hovering around a wild card spot, but how the changes resonate with the players over the long term remains to be seen. Both teams may experience early highs or lows under new management, but the consistency and production of the team on a game-by-game basis will determine the outlook of both their successors to Girardi and Maddon, Rob Thomson, and Phil Nevin, and whether they manage the team for the future.

The onus is on the Phillies and Angels players to perform at a high level. Given the management staff’s willingness to make short-term changes, player personnel changes could be on the horizon if neither team establishes itself as a team with the potential for a playoff push. Both teams have playoff-caliber rosters, but given their early-season shortcomings, they may in a corner where selling is the only option. The long-term outlook of the Phillies and Angels is up in the air and finding out their identity is crucial to fielding a successful team.

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