Manuel says Phils are ‘tight’ after latest loss

A close working relationship in the clubhouse is a good thiii…oh.

The Phillies blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning in suffering a 7-4 loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday night. The Phils are 14-17, last place in the NL East, and have lost four of their last five games.

“Basically we’re kind of spinning our wheels,” Manuel said moments after the pitching, the offense and the defense all evaporated in the late innings. “The teams that we’re playing – at times they try to give us a game then we act like we don’t want to take it and we make mistakes and give it right back to them when we have a lead.”

Manuel thinks his team is pressing.

“I think we’re tight,” he said. “I think we try too hard. I think that’s why we chase bad balls out of the strike zone ahead in the count. I think that’s why we swing at first-pitch bad balls. I think we’re trying too hard. If we can relax and do things because we enjoy it and we want to do it you’ll see a more cool, collected team.”

Might it be time for a team meeting?

“I’ve been wanting to talk to them,” Manuel said. “But at this point I don’t really know what to say to them. That’s kind of how I feel. I’m going to talk to them sooner or later but right now I don’t know what I want to say.”