I step away from the computer for one goddamn afternoon yesterday – to talk shop with Jim Cramer, perhaps the only person on Earth to whom I’ll ever speak who will casually mention that he got a call from Bob Iger (Disney CEO) in the same way I might say my aunt called to wish me a happy birthday – and the whole world blows up. RADIO WARS officially moved to DEFCON 2 with crazy and dangerous on-air and Twitter brinkmanship (more on that shortly), the Sixers admit that they won’t say the name of their home arena (me thinks Joshua Harris and Wells Fargo have butted heads at some point in the past), and then I check the site and see that Jim has pivoted, without consulting me, to satire by writing a post about how Ruben Amaro just drafted family members of people he knows in the later rounds of the MLB draft.
HAHA. Funny, Jim. But seriously, next time tell me when you’re going to turn the site into The Onion. It’s jarring for readers. I’ll put up a disclaimer or something.
No they actually drafted those people.
Que es?
The Phillies selected four players with family ties to the organization: 35th-round pick Andrew Amaro (nephew of Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.), 38th-round pick Beau Brundage (son of Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Dave Brundage), 39th-round pick Griffin Morandini (son of former Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini) and 40th-round pick Thomas McCarthy (son of Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy).
“We know that they’re going to go to school,” Almaraz said. “It’s always a good gesture, but they do have ability.”
And Ken Koplove— a closer from Duke… who played with Amaro’s nephew at Penn Charter.
The nerve. Yeah, I know, the late rounds of the MLB draft are mostly a waste (even though a few stars have come out of them— most famously Mike Piazza) and are often reserved for a favor or thrill-pick or two. But in the span of five picks, the Phillies took the nephew of the hated GM (for the second time!!!!), the son of the AAA manager, the son of org-favorite Mickey Morandini, and, most offensive of all – I’M OFFENDED BY THE MCCARTHY FAMILY – T-Mac’s kid?!?!?!
UPDATE: Before the inevitable comments about how this always happens in the draft– yeah, it does. But drafting four family favors is such a tone-deaf move by the Phils. They are have zero goodwill with the fan base right now. And seeing “Ruben Amaro drafted his nephew and T-Mac’s kid” is just the worst possible headline for them. Like, you know, maybe don’t overdo it with the family members this year. Maybe just draft one or two of these guys. Maybe show some signs that you’re becoming self-aware. That sort of thing.
25 Responses
Calmer than you are Dude…
Not to defend the Phillies overall mismanagement, but this is a non-story. Pretty much every team does this. The Angels drafted Mike Trout’s girlfriend’s brother.
No doubt. But the Phils took it to a new level yesterday. FIVE is a little… excessive.
So… is that what you look like when the wedding DJ plays “All The Single Ladies?”
According to what/who? Analytics? You? There’s 40 rounds for God’s sake. You don’t even watch the Phillies games and you know this is “a new level” for the draft? Can’t disprove a negative like this so let’s go with it! You’re full of it, Kyle.
Yep, Deej is right. This thing is pretty common. Jordan Hershiser is still kicking arounf the low Dodgers farm teams as a 26 year old. You’re not taking into account just how many people are required for a full minor league system. It’s a LOT of guys, very few of whom become stars – especially ones drafted at this point.
Andrew Amaro is actually a pretty good player. Great opposite field power.
And an 8 incher to boot..
I actually enjoy the radio wars posts. I know (more than) a few shitheads complain in the comments section, but it’s pretty cool that it’s becoming a thing. I remember they never used to discuss the other stations, and they’d cut calls off immediately if someone mentioned them. It has become all-out war now, with Innes trolling the shit out of that hot-head “Mikey Miss” who takes the bait every time.
EVERY team does this. bang on RAJ for being terrible at his job, not for something like this. only mouth breathers from fishtown and Les Bowen would get upset by this.
Tommy Lasorda told the Dodgers to draft his godson about 25 years ago in the 35th round, and his name was Mike Piazza. 99% of the players the Philllies draft won’t make it past AAA, so it’s not worth it to get mad at any pick other then the 1st or 2nd round.
I don’t think this is a joke. Most, if not all, of these players could compete for and win a spot on this pathetic roster right now.
Andrew can at least play, the other three weren’t even great high school players.
Koplove is a stud, it’s 91-94 from 3/4 slot.
Why is the MLB draft so awful?
Because you can’t trade picks. I like easy questions.
There is nothing wrong with this and it is a non story. You are right about this being a dead time of the year for stories.
Trust me, Innes 5-6 pm rant yesterday was classic. MM feeling the heat of getting beat in the ratings. I just love hosts attacking in each other on opposing stations. It’s really never happened locally. Eskin and Cataldi fought with each other but they were on the same station. That’s nothing new. No different than Stern and Imus. You just never hear a local host talking about another station by call letters and station location. It just doesn’t happen.
Innes’s rant yesterday was fucking epic, loved every second of it. Can’t wait for the Radio Wars post to break it all down.
It’s a 38th round draft pick bro. Who cares. They never hit on anything anyway. Way to have a Les Bowen moment Kayle.
When you talk about this move you could say, “yeah, this is just the MLB Draft.” Or you could say that all Ruben Amaro does is bitch and complain but at the end of the day, he really doesn’t understand Philadelphia. These moves speak volumes about how little the Phillies career about their public perception.
As an aside, Kenny Koplove is the brother of former Phillie Mike Koplove. The teammate of Andrew Amaro thing is just a coincidence… But then again, they did draft nephew a few years ago so Rube must really have an attachment here.
They take 40-50 guys every fucking year. You only have to find ONE, ONE goddamn guy a year to build on….and they can’t even do fucking that….so let’s waste picks..
Thanks again Rube for KILLING BASEBALL in Philly
Phuck off.
Kyle, as much as I like this site, I just don’t get how you continue to be as ignorant as you are about anything Phillies. Amaro blows, we all get it, but his kus can actually play and to make fun of the kid is just wrong. He was a very good player coming out of HS and he was a very good college player. Koplove is the son of a ML and again, a very goid college pitcher. Do an ounce of homework, is that too much too ask???
Dude, he’s a TMZ wannabe hack. If he did an ounce of homework, he’d be a real journo.
“I step away from the computer for one goddamn afternoon yesterday… and the whole world blows up.” Maybe that’s why you’re not capable of being real journalist? I mean, being a faux-tabloid “reporter” is a cute niche, but let’s just hope your wife’s/life partner’s income is enough to supplement what you can’t muster through this “news” site.
You should however have a section called the Phunion to post lampooning articles about some of our colorful sports figures and columnist.
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