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Your Daily Cole Hamels Update: Still Here, Because Ruben is Trying to Save his Job
By Jim Adair
Published:
Tale as old as time, true as it can be: Ruben Amaro is “trying” to make a trade, but executives from other teams really doubt his commitment. It was the theme of last trade deadline, and now, it’s continuing.
Just yesterday, we heard a report that Cole Hamels would likely begin the season in a Phillies jersey, but that hasn’t stopped teams from trying to make a deal. Maybe, though, Amaro is just waiting for the perfect deal that probably doesn’t exist. According to Ken Rosenthal:
A rival executive interested in Cole Hamels was puzzled by a recent conversation he had with Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., wondering if Amaro truly intends to trade his prized left-hander.
The Phillies say they are open to moving Hamels for the right package. The problem, the rival exec speculated, is that Amaro wants to make the “perfect” deal — and perhaps needs such a deal to keep his job.
Unless I’m missing something, I don’t think a Hamels deal can really make or break Amaro’s employment status. The fans all hate him, sure, but the organization has said over and over again that he has their trust. If he ends up dealing Hamels for a pile of rocks, yeah that’s a problem. But a group of prospects who we might not see pan out for a couple of seasons aren’t going to move the needle either way on the organization’s feelings towards Amaro.
Common sense tells you that if Amaro thinks this is a make or break deal for his career, he’ll make the best one he possibly can. But then again, this is Ruben Amaro. His brain doesn’t seem to run on common sense.
When he's not writing about sports here or ranting about them on Twitter, Jim is probably watching X-Files on Netflix or drinking a beer somewhere. Jim has nothing against hockey, it's just not his style. He once met Duce Staley at a Sixers game.