The Philadelphia Phillies have shown some signs of life and hope for the future over the last few weeks.
With third baseman Maikal Franco enjoying some solid early success since joining the major league roster, and the resurgence of Ryan Howard, the Phils went on a run last week where they won six in a row and eight of nine.
The team’s minor league system has also been making some waves through the exciting performances of guys like Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, and J.P. Crawford.
For the first time in several years, there’s a hint of hope in the air surrounding this team’s future, and with a handful of prospects to build around the franchise is far from the black hole that they appeared to be several months ago.
And now with the club’s recent run of success, embattled Phillies’ village idiot General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. took this rare run of success as an opportunity to take some shots at the fans that have been longing for the team to move on from him.
“They don’t understand the game,” Amaro said. “They don’t understand the process. There’s a process. And then they bitch and complain because we don’t have a plan. There’s a plan in place and we’re sticking with the plan. We can’t do what’s best for the fan. We have to do what’s best for the organization so the fan can reap the benefit of it later on. That’s the truth.”
The truth, Ruben? Oh my, that’s rich. Yes, let’s have a look at the truth, shall we?
The truth is that this franchise has degenerated and crumpled under your watch.
The truth is that you’ve handed out some of the most absurd contracts in baseball complete with easily attainable vesting options that have made a lot of the veterans on your club very difficult to trade.
The truth is that you’ve blatantly failed to replenish the talent in the outfield. When Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Hunter Pence left, your hand-picked replacements were Juan Pierre, Delmon Young, Marlon Byrd, Ben Revere, Laynce Nix, Grady Sizemore, and Jeff Francoeur while you completely passed on opportunities to bring in guys like Nelson Cruz that were available on the open market. The team has had easily the worst outfield in the majors for years, and it still completely lacks power.
The truth is that this team is where it is today because you’ve failed miserably to acquire decent prospects when it came time to sell veterans. The 2009 Cliff Lee trade was a complete joke. The deal that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco was utterly laughable.
The truth is that at the last two trade deadlines when the team desperately needed to sell, you, Mr. Amaro, stood pat and did nothing. You waited too long to try to trade Cliff Lee. You waited too long to trade Chase Utley. Now both veterans are cooked, and the team will be stuck with their mammoth contracts for several years.
The truth is that the team’s current top prospects, the Nola’s and Eflin’s have been brought into the franchise only after former general manager Pat Gillick began to assume a major role in the front office again, thus effectively holding your hand throughout the last year and a half.
Fans might not be patient. And they might not understand the game or the processes involved as well as those who actually work within the business. But they’re smart enough to realize when the way a certain organization, or a certain prominent figure within said organization, is clearly part of the problem.
The truth is that the Phillies should have cut ties with you two or three years ago, Ruben. They’ve only delayed the rebuilding process by keeping you in power as long as they have, and the shortsightedness and incompetence of the powers that operate behind closed doors are the reason you remain in your current position.
Follow Denny Basens on Twitter @DennyBasens
The problem with Ruben (besides his total ineptitude as a GM) is that he doesn’t understand that the arrogant know-it-all GM/Coach thing only works if you have actually won something. He has won nothing and in the team has gotten progressively worse under his reign. He should be thanking any fan for going to a game.
The fact that he is still here shows that the organization has no baseball sense IMO. This team needs to be rebuilt because the team that he built is a last place team and he is the guy rebuilding it? Can someone explain that to me?
your last sentence is very telling…. why if they were going to fire him are they letting him handle last off season and this current trade deadline? I think Middleton takes over from Monty but in a surprise turn to disgruntled fans sticks with Amaro– again, why in the world is he still here if they are going to fire him at seasons end. It is too important of a time-
Many of us have seen and expected the decline of the Phillies under GM Amaro who is no more than a Glorified Ticket/Marketing Manager than a Baseball Talent and Roster Evaluator… He’s been overwhelmed and in over his head from the get go and walked into a gravy situation of a Team built by Gillick with a Core of mostly Young Players Drafted by Gillick’s predecessor Ed Wade..
If it wasn’t for Reuben’s Father’s long standing Relationship with the Phillies, I doubt Ruben Amaro Jr ever becomes a General Manager for any MLB Organization for his experience was on the PR/Marketing Side of Stadium and Club Operations and not the Player Personnel/Talent Evaluations and Roster Management side of things..
This entire train wreck under Amaro Jr is the result of poor planning by the Ownership Group of the Philadelphia Phillies who feel its ok to Compete for a WS every 20-25 Years and then suck for the middle 15-20 Years is how things have been run since the 70’s ..