Phillies

Angelo Cataldi Predictably Playing the “He Won’t Hustle” Card with Manny Machado

By Russ Joy

Published: Dec 20th, 2018 · 10:07 AM EST

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‘Tis the season for family, friends, and a festive holiday.

Ben Simmons has been seen around town doing couple things with Kendall Jenner – most recently at Build-A-Bear – and embracing the spirit of the season.

While the Phillies are preparing to woo free agent superstar Manny Machado, Angelo Cataldi took to Twitter way too early this morning to call humbug:

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1075685419050827777

I can’t be the only person fed up with this type of antiquated thinking. There’s an obvious give-and-take with this sort of thing. Cataldi is trying to drum up interest in his show prior to the holiday weekend – not that the ratings are exactly close between his show and 97.5’s – and he might not even believe what’s he’s putting out. In a way, Angelo Cataldi is like the Alex Jones of Philly sports media, peddling nonsense to the masses and – for better or worse – people listen religiously. It’s feigning outrage to foment anger. The thing that many understand is what I mentioned before: he’s an entertainer who very well might not believe what he’s saying. $300 million for an elite infielder who would immediately raise the Phillies’ profile and their odds of contending in the 2019 season is an absolute steal. If Cataldi actually believes this “rah rah, he doesn’t hustle” crap, he’s a fool, as Bob wrote so eloquently here. Any time you can add a 26-year-old  who slugged 37 HR and 107 RBI (13 HR and 42 RBI after moving to the National League), you do it.

More after the jump:

Machado’s already met with the White Sox and Yankees. If I’m John Middleton, I throw down a wad of cash and wrap this thing up today. There’s obviously the counter argument that Machado might not want to play for the Phillies, but is using them as leverage for a larger deal from New York. I can’t dispute that, but if that were really the case, wouldn’t you think the Yankees would have locked him into a deal on Wednesday?

I don’t care if Gabe Kapler has to carry Matt Klentak into the room for sympathy. Get the deal done.