Maybe. But if there was a Castellano-esque overthrow of Scarfo and you still had Scarfo guys on the street, do you really see them lining up under a kid? First off, Joey at that time isn't even a made guy. If someone was going to overthrow Scarfo, I'm not even sure who it would be, I just don't think it's Joey. And whether Phil was "dusgusted" or not, he'd never take out his uncle. Whether he was hated or not, Scarfo was still feared. Word is now in Philly that even with Joey as boss, the old Scarfo guys really aren't "lining up" under him so why would they in 1989 as made guys far more established than Joey?

When Joey went into Dante and Luigis with the mask on Halloween, most of the Scarfo regime was in prison, an aging Piccolo was a temporary boss and it was a message that Nicky nor Nicky Jr were no longer welcomed in South Philly. He seized the opportunity because it was ripe for the taking as Philly was in complete disarray. Even then, Merlino really only had support from his own group of friends, none of which were made guys.