Rob Thomson isn’t the type of manager who allows himself to look too far ahead. In his world it’s this game, this inning. Staying in the moment, he says, is often how he is.

So, it was a little surprising Sunday, as he talked to the media in the Phillies dugout a couple of hours before his team faced the Minnesota Twins in the regular season finale, that he allowed himself to ponder on a situation that could not even happen, or at least be some time away.

The subject was Kyle Schwarber, who will be a free agent after this season, and how Thomson may see this club without their designated hitter.

“It’s difficult,” said Thomson of imagining that possible future. “Especially not only the talent but what he brings to the room, what he brings to the community. He’s an all-around man, in many respects. I just love having him around. He’s a great human being. It’s hard to think about this team without him.”

Schwarber is the one who says all the right things, leads by his actions. While you hear and see many people in life who attempt to do that, Schwarber really does it without trying. It just seems to be who he genuinely is.

Sunday, Thomson penciled his name in the lineup for the 162nd time this season, the only player to play each game this season.

“Well, I never wanted to take him out of the lineup,” Thomson laughed. “That’s the biggest thing. I think everybody aspires to play every single day. He’s never done it before. Nick (Castellanos) did it last year, which, for an outfielder, is really impressive. But even as a DH I think it’s still impressive to be able to answer the bell every single day.”

Schwarber needs two home runs to tie Ryan Howard’s regular season club record of 58, and Thomson has stated that he would let him try to go after it.

‘Pull him back’

Cristopher Sánchez, who will be the Phillies Game 1 starter on Saturday when the postseason begins, will make his final start–though an abbreviated one–against the Twins.

“Pull him back a little bit,” said Thomson. “I can’t see him going past five innings. Maybe 5 1/3, that way the fans can congratulate him. It’s been a great year.”

Sánchez enters Sunday’s contest with a 13-5 record and a 2.57 ERA.

“He’s been great,” the manager said. “You lose a guy like Zack Wheeler, I mean everybody really stepped up, but he didn’t put too much pressure on himself and just went out there and did his thing. He was just being Sanchy and mowing people down and filling up the strike zone. He was great. He really was.”

Sánchez’s consistency is really a microcosm of what the team has been most of the season, when down times were quickly deleted.

“Since I’ve been here, the most consistent over the course of the year,” is how Thomson described this year’s team. “We had a little bit of a down swell in July, but other than that, I thought we were really consistent all year long. The starting pitching was outstanding all year long. I think it’s just the consistency of the ball club. The other year’s it was cold start, hot finish, hot start, cold finish. This was kind of, stayed the same throughout.

“I think it’s just the group, the players. They came to play every day and didn’t get too high and didn’t get too low. It was even keel every day.”

Trea Turner will be back in the leadoff spot and at shortstop against the Twins, at least for a part of the game.

“He wants to play and the trainers deemed him healthy. We’ll get him out there, check box and let him run around a little bit,” said Thomson. “When he comes out, don’t assume he’s hurt.”

Intrasquad game

For their intrasquad game, Thomson believes that he will make out the lineups for both sides instead of letting captains do a draft, which is what happened last year.

“We had a draft last year and, you only have a couple of centerfielders and a couple of shortstops and if one guy picks one then the other guy gets the other one,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure out how to do it. This year I might just drop the lineups.”