It rained Tuesday night for 22 minutes, then John Middleton joined Andy MacPhail in his suite at Citizens Bank Park for the ninth inning and they experienced the emotional swings like everyone else. Middleton muttered something to MacPhail, the team’s president, when Héctor Neris blew another save. Then, when Bryce Harper cracked a game-winning double to center and shouted on the infield dirt, Middleton and MacPhail stood to clap. A few fans waved to them. Middleton, the club’s managing partner, flashed a thumbs-up to one.



As the front office has watched this stretch of bad baseball, punctuated by a 16-2 nine-inning embarrassment Monday, it has preached patience. That is a trait MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak have stressed since both were installed in their current roles prior to the 2016 season. It would take time, they said, but then the Phillies traded two of their better prospects and spent significant free-agent dollars last winter. Ownership...