Photo: St. Pete Beach Photo
ALRIGHT! A MOVE AT THE WINTER MEETINGS! WHO IS IT, RUBE? WHO?! WHO?! A BIG BAT? AN ACE? SOMEONE UNDER THE AGE OF 34?!?!?!?! WHO! WHO!!!!!
UPDATE: Jim Salisbury reports it’s 33-year-old Roberto Hernandez, formerly Fausto Carmona. He has a career 4.67 ERA. He was 6-13 with the Rays last year with a 4.89 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.
Ruben Amaro is lying to the world. He told reporters today: “We’re built to win. I like our lineup. I’d like to add some pitching to it.”
See my thoughts on that sentiment here.
He also called rumors that he would trade Cole Hamels or Cliff Lee ”silly.”
You’re silly, Rube.
#bestpostever
First showed you Jonathan Papelbon’s ugly Christmas sweater on Sunday, but I’m assuming that got lost in the Snow Bowl coverage. So, here’s another one, tweeted by his wife, Ashley, yesterday.
I think Papelbon is a dick, but in the absence of any other entertainment being provided by the Phillies, I say they keep him around for shit like this.
Matt Gelb, writing in the Inquirer, which, today, in 2013, almost 2014, had to be printed on giant broadsheet reels in Conshohocken, placed into trucks, driven in the snow to a central location or store, or a meeting place for delivery men, who then drive them, again, in the snow, to your home, where you have to walk outside, again, in the snow, to grab the soggy mound of 12-hour-old news and information:
Ruben Amaro Jr. is searching for pitching at these winter meetings, and that is no secret. The Phillies general manager is alarmed at the market prices for a mid-rotation starter. He could acquire one via a trade, but his chips are limited. The path to improving a starting staff that ranked 14th among National League teams in ERA is muddled.
It is increasingly becoming apparent that the Phillies must decide what they value more: a young power-hitting outfielder or a No. 3 starting pitcher. Domonic Brown is their best commodity. For years, they have listened to offers for him. That, of course, does not assure a trade. Brown, four years from free agency, is the type of player every team would covet. The Phillies would want a pitcher with similar upside in return.
Removing Brown from an offense that scored 3.77 runs per game in 2013 – the franchise’s lowest output since 1988 – is problematic. Brown bashed 27 home runs last season and became an all-star. The Phillies harbor concerns about his defense and durability.
Count me among those who think that hitting is more of a need than pitching. Hamels and Lee will be fine. And then you have Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who projects to be a number three caliber starter. Then there’s Kyle Kendrick, who is serviceable and at least slightly better than a replacement level starter. And then there’s the fifth spot, which is a toss-up on any team.
Meanwhile, the offense is horrific. Counting on Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, at this point, is incredibly risky. Any near-All-Star production they give you should be seen as a bonus.
If you believe reports, Amaro clearly hasn’t chosen which area – pitching or hitting – he will focus on. But I think the answer is pretty clear. I’d take my chances with Lee, Hamels, MAG, Kendrick and [fifth starter]. You could do much worse.
Go get someone that can hit baseballs being thrown at high rates of speed.
I don’t know what I’m doing!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING, RUBE? STEP AWAY FROM THE TEAM! THAT’S IT. JUST LIKE THAT. PUT IT DOWN, DON’T HURT CHOOCH(!), AND PLACE YOUR HANDS AND YOUR SWINGING DICK IN THE AIR, WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM. GOOOOD, GOOOOD. JUST LIKE THAT. NOW WALK TOWARDS ME. CALMLY. I SAID CALMLY, DAMMIT!!!!
Lots of reports coming out of the Winter Meetings today. This is the gist of them:
Buster Olney is reporting that the Phillies have told other teams they are willing to discuss trading Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.
Jon Heyman confirms that report.
Peter Gammons says the Phils would attach Dom Brown to a trade if someone takes Papelbon, and they would use the saved money for a starter.
Matt Gelb reports that the Phils will not eat any money.
This makes… no sense. By signing admitted PED user Marlon Byrd and re-signing Carlos Ruiz, the Phillies are obviously still in win-now mode. But then why, IN THE SAM HILL FUCK, would they be exploring trades for Hamels, Lee and Brown? They have to be screwing with reporters. Rube is feeding them shit, so they all go right when he goes left and trades for Giancarlo Stanton. That’s the only thing I can think. Because the one report – that they would use the money saved from trading Papelbon (packaged with Brown, mind you) to sign a starting pitcher – doesn’t jive with the other– that they are willing to trade Hamels and Lee. It makes no sense. Their biggest need isn’t even starting pitching. It’s people that can hit baseballs. They don’t have many of those.
Here’s what Olney wrote in an Insider article:
The Phillies have been veering toward a financial crunch for the past couple of seasons, given the whopping obligations to Ryan Howard – who is owed $85 million over the next three years — and Jimmy Rollins and others.
But it’s hard to find a consistent strain of thought in what the Phillies are doing. On one hand, Philadelphia spent big onCarlos Ruiz earlier this offseason, giving him a three-year, $26 million contract, and signed Marlon Byrd to a two-year, $16 million deal. Those moves suggested Philadelphia is still looking to win in 2014 and 2015.
In recent days, however, they have told other teams they’d be ready to move either of their two best starting pitchers, as well as closer Jonathan Papelbon.
You’re wrong, Buster. There is no financial crunch. The Phillies are about to get roughly $170 million more – per season – from TV contracts. If not now, then soon. Their only “crunch” is staying under the luxury tax threshold ($189 million).
I’m at a loss. I have no idea what’s going on. Neither does Rube. It’s like he has rabies. He’s just stringing together movements and actions with no logical progression. Old guy, old guy again!, trade young guy, trade our best player!, money, lie to someone, shush a reporter, lie to a reporter, spend money, save money, lick my ass, lick his ass, Happy Hanukkah.
STEP AWAY FROM THE TEAM, SIR!
It’s fairly difficult to be “actively shopping someone” when the report comes out as the GM is sitting in the retirement press conference of the greatest player he ever acquired or will ever acquire and sushing reporters… but we’ll take Jeff Passan at his word that the Phillies are, for some reason, trying to trade Dom Brown:
Sources: Phillies actively shopping OF Domonic Brown. Looking for controllable starting pitching in return. Idea is to sell high on him.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2013
I don’t get the theme that the Phillies need starting pitching. That is the least of their problems. They can’t hit. Their lineup is old. They need good, controllable young talent that can hit baseballs. Brown may not be the guy his one-month swinging-dick fest might have led you to believe he was, but he’s arguably the Phillies’ best hitter – which isn’t saying much – and the nonstop reports that they want to trade him don’t make a lot of sense to me.
David Murphy, oh he of ust highest un cheeses, actually makes a good argument for why Brown is better than you think, for what Brown can do for you… and the Phillies:
So just stop with the “one good month” malarkey. Among players with at least 900 plate appearances since the start of the 2011 season, Brown’s .775 OPS during that span ranks ahead of Jason Heyward, Shane Victorino, Brian McCann, Brandon Phillips, Jon Jay, Michael Bourn, and, yes, your newest Phillies fan favorite, Marlon Byrd. Among players younger than 26, he ranks ninth, trailing Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Upton, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Willin Rosario and Brandon Belt. In 1,032 career plate appearances, Brown has a .764 OPS and 107 OPS+. So he has been an above-league-average hitter for the equivalent of two full major league seasons, despite playing uninterrupted as a regular for only one campaign.
The question is why, after all of the development work that the organization has devoted to Brown, would they trade him away when he is right on the verge of showing just how good of a player he can be? He’s already given the Phillies plenty of reason to believe that he will, bare minimum, be an above-league-average hitter throughout his prime. Why trade him away for a hitter at a non premium position who has already peaked?
Because Ruben Amaro.
Best thing Rube has done this offseason.
