I don't know what I'm doing!

I don’t know what I’m doing!

The Phillies are rebuilding. They have to. Even Pat Gillick has admitted as much: “I think where we are right now, it’s probably a couple years,” Gillick said. “I think somewhere around 2017 or 2018.” Most fans feel even that might be a bit too optimistic. But a rebuild is in the cards, and it’s going to take a few years. But, there’s a very important question to be asked here: Does Ruben Amaro know what that means?

Talking to Al Morganti this morning on WIP about the one year left on his contract, Amaro said that everyone is being evaluated, because apparently evaluated is his favorite word. He even took a subtle dig at that whole analytics fad that every team in professional sports is in on, saying, “I have great faith and great confidence that the people that I work with and work with me and the group of people that are helping us make these decisions, we know baseball.”

But it’ll be about three to five years before the Phillies are major contenders again, if the rebuild is done right. So, how does Ruben balance that with his one-year contract? Oh, what’s that? He totally ignores it and doesn’t understand what rebuild means perhaps because it means we need him to lose his job? Okay, just checking. Amaro, flipping right past “rebuilding” in the dictionary and looking right at “stalling,” said:

“We’re going to have to get players that are going to impact us very, very quickly. And so, there’s no reason for us to be moving players that are really effecting are club in a positive way right now, for players that we’re hoping that will help us in four or five years. That doesn’t work for us.

Our job is, if in fact we are going to make major moves as far as making trades and such and turning over the roster, it’s going to have to churn quickly. We’re going to have to get players that will impact our club very, very shortly.

Translation: Ruben thinks the Phillies are buyers right now, for major league players (or major league-ready players) who can impact the Phillies positively as soon as this season.

What? Your chairman said you need to rebuild and it will take some time. Your president said you need to rebuild and it will take some time. Common sense says you guys need to rebuild and it will take some time. But you? YOU? You think there’s “no reason” to acquire players that will help in “four or five years” if it means getting rid of people who are contributing to this bottom of the barrel, dead in the water, messy carcass you call a baseball club this year? God I hate you.

I know we go a bit overboard on Rube here (often with good reason), but in this case, there is no overboard. We are beyond our ability to cross a line here. Pangea has reformed and we are dead center. This is beyond words. This is embarrassing. Everyone is laughing at you, Ruben. Well, almost everyone. Those who aren’t laughing are crying. [Editor’s note: I’m crying.]

Mini pod:

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