There are only two holdovers left from the Phillies’ mid-to-late 2000s glory years: Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz. They couldn’t been seen in a more different light. Howard is the overpaid, lazy, bust who should have been out of here years ago. Chooch is a lovable, scrappy, underdog who you hope is here forever. Not saying this right, it’s just how people feel.

Ask any Phillies fan how they feel about Howard leaving at the deadline. Some will throw a party, others will be thankful for what he did here but they know it’s time for him to go. Ask them about Chooch. You’ll get a pause. We know he’s not contributing a ton, he’s lost the starting catcher job, and by the time the Phils are true contenders (maybe), he’ll be too old to play. But we love him. We want him to stay forever. He wants to stay forever too, according to Jim Salisbury:

So, Ruiz was asked the question: If the Phils came to him with a trade opportunity after his 10-and-5 rights kicked in, would he accept or reject the deal?

“That’s a tough question for me because I believe in the group we have here,” he said. “I’m real happy with the way we’re playing and I would like to go to the playoffs with the young guys we have. I hope we continue to play that way and the Phillies don’t have to make a move, trade somebody, myself, (Ryan) Howard.

“That’s what I told all my friends in the clubhouse, Freddy (Galvis), (Andres) Blanco – ‘You have to continue to play good because I want to stay here.’”

You’re crying. I’m not crying. I’m totally fine. I don’t even care that one of the most lovable Philly athletes of all time is asking his younger teammates to play well so he doesn’t have to leave. Nope. I’m not sad about that at all. There’s definitely no tears on my keyboard making it hard to type.