Philadelphia Phillies, Lost Season of 2012: Why Ruben Amaro Jr. Is to Blame

At nine games under .500 and 11 games back from the N.L. East-leading Washington Nationals, to say that the Philadelphia Phillies have been a disappointment is an underwhelming statement.

The fact is, many of us were called “doomsdayers” when we forecasted a seismic shift in the winning percentage for the Phillies in 2012.

Sure, the same, tired arguments are sufficient in making excuses for the excessive failures of the Phillies in 2012. Ryan Howard is injured, Chase Utley missed 70-plus games, Lee and Halladay have been nicked up and the bullpen misses the 2011 forms of Antonio Bastardo and the still-injured Michael Stutes.

Injuries aside, another tired narrative focuses on where the Phillies went wrong. Unfortunately, the finger is usually wagged in the wrong direction.

While all of the following deserve some blame, they are not the primary culprits of the Phillies lost season of 2012.

Manager Charlie Manuel has made some questionable moves from the dugout.

Shane Victorino is having a down year.

Jimmy Rollins couldn’t hit a beach ball until his child was born.

With the exception of Jonathan Papelbon, the bullpen looks like it belongs in Double-A.

Hunter Pence has struggled mightily in situational hitting.

John Mayberry has been a bust.

Juan Pierre’s defense is worse than Raul Ibanez (mostly attributed to his Chad Pennington-like arm).

Cliff Lee has yet to earn a win.

No, the aforementioned are not the primary culprits to this season’s woes.

The primary culprit is general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

Upon former GM Pat Gillick’s retirement after the Phillies’ 2008 World Series victory, Amaro Jr. proceeded to shed the Phillies farm system of its talent.

This is the part where it hurts.

Jonathan Singleton, a first base prospect who was sent to the Houston Astros last year has been raking in the minors. Similar to Ryan Howard but only 20 years old, the Phillies received Hunter Pence in return for Singleton.

Never mind the fact that Hunter Pence is making more than $10 million this season and will be entering into arbitration with the Phillies for 2013.

Needless to say, Pence’s future is cloudy in Philadelphia albeit the fact that the Phillies traded away one of the top prospects in baseball for the lanky outfielder.

22-year-old Jarrod Cosart was also packaged to Houston in the Pence deal. While his numbers thus far do not scream “stud,” his peripherals are of that of a very good prospect with the upside of a No. 2 or No. 3 pitcher in the Big Show.

Outfielder Anthony Gose, part of the deal where the Phillies landed Roy Oswalt from the Astros, is likely to be promoted to the majors shortly. When he does, a lot of regard will be traveling with him.

After all, Gose is one of the top outfielder prospects in Triple-A. With Shane Victorino on his way out of Philadelphia and Juan Pierre signed only in 2012, Gose would have been a more than formidable starter in the future. He was much more regarded within Phillies’ circles than John Mayberry.

Despite recently tearing his PCL, Toronto prospect catcher Travis d’Arnaud is widely regarded as the top catching prospect in all of baseball. Acquired from the Phillies in 2010 as part of the Roy Halladay trade, d’Arnaud is likely to end up making the Phillies regret trading him.

Sure, there are no regrets in getting Halladay but, with Halladay likely reaching the apex of his career last season—and with Carlos Ruiz possibly gone after 2013—the Phillies are going to be stuck in neutral with some lackluster catching prospects in their farm system.

There have been numerous other prospects who have emerged as decent MLB players that the Phillies have traded away in order to bolster their win-now approach.

Either way, Ruben Amaro Jr. turned the Phillies into a house built out of papier-mache. 

One could easily say that the prospects traded away might never materialize on the Major League level—much like Domonic Brown. On the flip side, most would rather like to find out instead of overpaying on the like’s of Jimmy Rollins, Jonathan Papelbon, Chad Qualls and Ty Wigginton.

Speaking of Jimmy Rollins, the former NL MVP and fan favorite in Philadelphia, is making $11 million annually until 2016. When he plays out the length of his current contract, Rollins will be 36 years old. Sure, his recent splurge has given him an uptick in his statistics but, overall, Rollins’ numbers have been on a steep decline since he won the NL MVP Award in 2007.

By overpaying on Rollins, Amaro Jr. was faced with the prospect of having to go cheap on key positions that matter to the Phillies lineup.

Prior to his injury, Laynce Nix was not producing at the level he was expected to when platooning with the equally nonproductive John Mayberry.

Juan Pierre is hitting for a good average and stealing bases, but he struggles with extra base hits and continues to demonstrate his vulnerabilities defensively.

Ty Wigginton is a Triple-A player with a $4 million salary.

Mainstays such as Placido Polanco, Brian Schneider and Shane Victorino have been terribly awful too.

Needless to say, it is Amaro Jr.’s job to have a keen ability to manage the finances of the Phillies in order to win with a sharp eye on tomorrow. He has failed in both respects.

He overpaid for closer Jonathan Papelbon.

He overpaid for Jimmy Rollins to return.

He overpaid Cliff Lee (as ungrateful as that may sound, many of us thought that when the deal went down, despite Lee taking less to sign with the Phillies instead of the New York Yankees).

The sweetheart deal struck with Ryan Howard is more bittersweet than ever.

Here are a couple reminders.

The Phillies brought back the aging and injury-vulnerable Placido Polanco instead of pursuing then fellow free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Instead of locking up the most dynamic pitcher in the rotation—when age is a factor—in Cole Hamels, Amaro Jr. overpaid for Rollins, Papelbon and Wigginton.

Admittedly, it is as if Amaro Jr. has done everything in his power so the Phillies can win now. When I say now, I mean from 2009-2011.

Without the foresight to acknowledge that the window has closed on the Phillies, the organization is going down the tubes. Reports continue to linger that the Phillies are still in the race.

Theoretically, they are.

Realistically, last weekend’s sweep to the Miami Marlins was the funeral for the 2012 Phillies.

Sorry folks, Amaro Jr. has exported our young talent for a win-now approach that is now tired. The reckless moves he has made has forced the boat to leave the harbor.

Presumably, Cole Hamels is on that boat and will likely never be seen in a Phillies uniform again.

The run was great but Ruben Amaro Jr.’s actions have turned the lights out at Citizen’s Bank Park.

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Trading Cole Hamels Doesn’t Spell the End of His Phillies’ Career

It’s been a topic of conversation that has polarized the Philadelphia Phillies‘ fan base for nearly a year now: Should the club explore signing Cole Hamels to one of the most lucrative pitching contracts in histry before he reaches free agency or cash in on a weak trade market?

The thing is, signing Hamels to a big contract extension and being backed into trading him at the end of July are not mutually exclusive options. So why don’t you just back away from the edge of the Walt Whitman Bridge for a moment and ask yourself this:

What if the Phillies can trade Hamels at the deadline and sign him to a new, mammoth contract at the end of the season? What if they can do both?

It’s something that seems far-fetched when you say it aloud for the first time, but keep repeating it to yourself. It’s a scenario that makes a lot of sense.

Hamels, who will be a 28-year-old this winter and arguably the best free agent on the market, has made no bones about his desire to remain with the Phillies for the foreseeable future.

“I live in Philadelphia. I’ve been here for I guess 10 years now, so that’s been something that’s been kind of nice, kind of something I’ve been focused on. It’s a great organization to play for and I’d love to be a part of it.”

That was a statement that stood out to a passionate Phillies fan base. After years of having guys like Scott Rolen and Billy Wagner demand trades and leave as free agents, slandering the city on their way out of town, fans love hearing a guy like Hamels profess his desire to stay.

It’s also the reason that this fan base is so passionate about wanting general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to hammer out a contract extension with his prized left-handed starter quickly. Hamels, a former World Series MVP, has brought this city a ring and won more than 80 games for this club during his career.

Once he reaches free agency, there are no guarantees. The big game hunters will be out in full effect this year, and that extends beyond the usual suspects like the New York Yankees. You can count teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in too.

And while Hamels has gone on the record saying that playing on the West Coast won’t be a deciding factor should he reach free agency, a team like the Dodgers, in a ball park that Hamels has historically pitched well in, could be tempting.

But the Phillies have to step back for a moment. They have to evaluate their future and make a decision on Hamels, who is putting them between a rock and a hard place with his talent level alone.

This is a club that has stripped the farm system barren over the last couple of seasons in mega-deals for All-Stars like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Hunter Pence. Realistically, they can’t afford to add to the MLB club this season through a trade even if they wanted to be buyers.

Guys that would help their putrid offense and bullpen are likely going to be too expensive in prospects for them to stomach.

Just take a look at the Phillies’ current on-field product. You know that’s what the front office is doing. The Phillies are 36-45—nine games below .500. They’re 11 games out of first place and eight games out of a Wild Card spot. They’d have to leap frog every team in the National League East to earn that right.

And those are teams that are looking to add. The Atlanta Braves have been linked extensively to Milwaukee Brewers‘ ace Zack Greinke. The Washington Nationals have one of the best records in all of baseball. Even the New York Mets are making a run. The Miami Marlins have been one of the worst teams of the first half, but even they have a better record than the Phillies.

Couple their position in the standings with a barren farm system and you have the makings of a perfect seller come the trade deadline. With Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino on the precipice of their own free agency and no legitimate prospect waiting in the wings, how do the Phillies avoid selling?

Hamels could reverse their fortune. While there’s no doubt that the Phillies could afford to re-sign their third ace right now, trading him at the deadline would make any would-be contender drool.

It would give the Phillies an opportunity to add a legitimate third baseman for the future, like Texas Rangers‘ prospect Mike Olt, or Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers. Both teams could have serious interest in Hamels come the deadline.

There’s no doubt that the addition of guys like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Roy Halladay will help the Phillies in the second half, but at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself: Is this a team that can truly contend for a World Series in 2012?

The answer is no.

Trading Hamels lets them re-tool for the 2013 season. You can come back with one of the strongest rotations in baseball, headlined by Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Vance Worley. You have one of the game’s best closers in Jonathan Papelbon. There’s a great core of offensive players in a healthy Utley, Howard, Hunter Pence, Carlos Ruiz, and Jimmy Rollins.

Trading Hamels makes the team better in the future in a way that keeping him throughout the regular season and re-signing him at year’s end cannot.

But again, trading Hamels and closing the book on his future with the Phillies are not mutually exclusive. The Phillies can trade Hamels at the deadline and attempt to re-sign him when the season is over.

If Hamels is truly intent on staying with the Phillies, he’ll give the club an opportunity to match any offer in free agency, and we all know that the Phillies can afford to give him a contract that rivals the one the Yankees gave to CC Sabathia, especially with the luxury tax set to rise in 2013.

In fact, that may be the best plan of attack for the Phillies: admit that the 2012 season is a lost one. There’s no shame in being dealt a bad hand.

If you move Hamels now, you can add the third baseman and outfielder of the future that this farm system so desperately craves. A few months later, you can add the game’s best free agent.

Sure, there’s a certain understanding that if the Phillies trade Hamels it appears as though they will have given up on him, but if the front office approached Hamels and laid out the situation for him, don’t you think that he would at least consider it?

A few months of competitive baseball would be good for him. It’d give him a chance to add to his ring collection and secure his place among the game’s elite pitchers, and there’s no doubt that he’s going to get a massive contract in free agency whether the Phillies trade him or not.

It makes sense for the club to ask Hamels to accept a move for a few months and come back strong and ready to win a World Series for the Phillies again starting in 2013.

That’s the kind of situation he should be willing to accept if the goal is to truly spend the rest of his career with the Phillies. Just ask Cliff Lee how it worked out.

In the end, no one is going to remember a three month vacation in 2012 if he wins multiple World Series titles as a Phillie.

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MLB Trade Rumors: How Bad Would Losing Cole Hamels Hurt the Phillies?

After being swept by the Miami Marlins in their most recent tale of despair, the panic surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies has reached an all-time high.

Impending free-agent and All-Star pitcher Cole Hamels has been the center of trade speculation for weeks, and the Phillies’ struggles are not helping combat any rumors.

Although the Phillies are sitting at a lowly 36-45 mark, 11 games behind the first-place Washington Nationals in the National League East, there’s still plenty of time to turn the season around.

With the return of Chase Utley, and eventually Ryan Howard to the starting lineup, the Phillies will have the band back together for the second half of the regular season.

Phillies’ general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has never been one to panic, and he shouldn’t start to because of the team’s poor performance thus far. Amaro has always found ways to keep or reacquire his team’s most prized pieces, and Hamels is no different.

According to CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury, Amaro won’t be jumping the gun on a potential Hamels deal:

“Our goal is the same,” Amaro said in a telephone interview Monday. “It hasn’t changed. All this rumor and speculation is a product of the time of the year and the way we’ve been playing. That’s how this works. Our goal has always been to keep Cole Hamels in our uniform for a long time and that hasn’t changed.”

Losing Hamels wouldn’t just be detrimental to the team’s immediate future, but it would signal the end of an era to one of the league’s most loyal fanbases.

Rushing to deal Hamels for prospects by the trade deadline would be a message from the front office that it’s time to rebuild a once great team. For a franchise that has flashed so much promise over the last five years, it feels far too early to deem this team dead. 

It’s understood that Hamels could very well walk out on the Phillies if they don’t deal him at the deadline, but that’s a risk Amaro should be willing to take.

Holding onto Hamels appears risky, but Amaro has shown in the past that he’s aggressive when it comes to retaining his own players. Signing Hamels may require letting a player like Shane Victorino walk, but it’s a price worth paying.

It’s safe to assume that Hamels will cost a fortune to retain, but there’s still hope that his loyalty to Philadelphia will bring him back long term.

After San Francisco Giants‘ pitcher Matt Cain signed a lucrative extension this season, Hamels will likely demand a contract in excess of $120 million, according to USA Today. 

With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Hamels, the Phillies have composed one of Major League Baseball’s elite starting rotations, and it would be a shame to see it all self-destruct after just two seasons.

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Philadelphia Phillies Could Not, Would Not, Should Not Trade Cole Hamels

The Philadelphia Phillies could not trade Cole Hamels, could they? They would not trade their lefty ace, would they? 

They certainly could trade him, as the team is reportedly fielding offers (via Jon Heyman of CBS Sports). Whether they would trade him is still up for debate in Philadelphia despite general manager Ruben Amaro specifically stating he plans to re-sign Hamels to a long-term deal before next season.

The question of whether or not they should trade Hamels, no matter how far the team falls out of the playoff hunt this season, is the easiest to answer. They should not.

Simply put, if the Phillies trade Hamels, they will never be able to re-sign him. If they keep him, there is still a chance the lefty ace will stay in town.

With the 2012 season all but lost at this point, why would the Phillies front office give up on a future with Hamels if they still think there is any hope to re-sign him? Can the Phillies realistically expect to get more in return for Hamels than the bargain-basement, rent-a-player price for a guy who is planning to test the free-agent waters in the offseason? Why would a team overpay for three months of Hamels unless they thought they could sign him?

Most importantly, if Hamels has given the Phillies every indication—the only franchise for which the man has ever played—that he intends to test the free-agent market at season’s end, why would that decision change for a new team? 

Do people really think the Dodgers or Yankees or Rangers will pay top-prospect price for three months of Hamels because they think they can take that time to sign him to a long-term deal? If he won’t re-sign in Philly right now, why the heck would he sign with anyone else before becoming a free agent? He owes them nothing.

Not that Hamels necessarily owes the Phillies anything either. He has every right to test free agency to see what the deep-pocket owners in Los Angeles, Texas, Anaheim or New York will offer him. Phillies fans should hope Hamels will give the Fightins a fair shake to match any offer that comes in this offseason. He certainly owes them at least that. 

No matter what the price on Hamels, the Phillies should pay it.

Amaro understands that. Fans are clamoring for him to sign Hamels now, indignant at the fact the organization hasn’t “done enough” to sign him already. How does anyone really know how much they have done? Just because Hamels isn’t signed yet does not mean the Phillies have not tried. 

When, in the history of sports, has a negotiation for a contract that will certainly pay more than $25 million a year been played out in public? When has a team announced in the middle of a season that they’ve offered a five-year deal worth $20 million per season, while the player wants a 10-year deal for $27 million per season, and laid out a timeline for when the two sides will eventually meet in the middle? 

When has that ever happened? Never! It has never happened because that’s not how teams negotiate with players. Keeping the fans in the loop through every single step of the negotiation process would be asinine.

Having said that, with how terribly wrong the Phillies season has gone, fans have begun to look ahead to starting the 2013 campaign without Hamels, and they are freaking out. Letting Hamels leave after the season, without getting any compensation in a late-season trade this year, is enough to rankle quite a few disgruntled diehards.

People in Philadelphia point to the Roy Halladay trade for what a team can get in return for a player it knows it cannot re-sign. Toronto pulled in some of the Phillies top prospects in Kyle Drabek, Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Taylor.

Less than three years later, the players Toronto received for Halladay are a bit of a mixed bag. Drabek was in the Toronto rotation this season after a terrible 2011 campaign. He was slightly better this year before blowing out his elbow, requiring his second Tommy John surgery in six years.

D’Arnaud has yet to reach the majors, but he has been regarded as one of the top catching prospects in the game. Regardless of where he was sent, the Phillies were set to trade d’Arnaud somewhere, as Carlos Ruiz is the everyday backstop in Philadelphia. 

Bradley was flipped in a trade with Oakland for Brett Wallace, who was then dealt to Houston for Anthony Gose. Gose, ironically, was originally a Phillies prospect traded to Houston as part of the Roy Oswalt deal. He has yet to see major-league time.

Confusing, isn’t it? That’s the roll of the dice teams get when they trade top talent for a bag of prospects.

Toronto had allegedly taken three of Philadelphia’s top-four prospects in the Halladay trade and, three years later, still doesn’t have much to show for it at the major-league level. Besides, Halladay had already agreed to an extension with Philadelphia before getting dealt, so that completely upped the price tag on his sale.

It would be very surprising to see Hamels agree to a deal like that. Again, if he is signing anywhere before free agency begins, why wouldn’t he re-up with Philadelphia?

The recent blockbuster that best compares to Hamels’ situation is CC Sabathia going to Milwaukee from Cleveland for a two-month rental in 2008. Milwaukee thought it might be able to keep the southpaw, but essentially rented him for nothing more than a playoff run that never panned out.

The Brewers traded Matt LaPorta—a relatively well-regarded prospect who has been a disaster in Cleveland—along with Rob Bryson (who is currently in AA), Zach Jackson (who is now in AAA in the Rangers’ system) and a player to be named later (who ended up being the Indians‘ current centerfielder, Michael Brantley). 

The Indians traded a Cy Young Award winner for a bust, two minor leaguers and a player to be named who happened to pan out, and the only reason the Brewers were willing to give up that much was because at the time, the rules were set up to give teams compensation if players left via free agency.

The Brewers lost Sabathia to the Yankees that offseason and recouped New York’s second-round pick and a first-round supplemental pick from MLB. The Yankees rode Sabathia to the 2009 World Series.

With the compensation rule changed, whoever loses Hamels to free agency—including the Phillies—will not receive that compensation, meaning any team that tries to sign the lefty ace will be walking the Hamels high wire without a net. 

Contrary to popular belief, the lack of compensation may be more reason to keep Hamels in Philly in hopes of re-signing him. The Phillies are smart to kick the tires to see if some team is willing to completely overpay for a few months with Hamels, but without the guarantee of compensation, it’s unlikely the Phillies will be able to fleece another team of its top group of prospects. 

Amaro has to know that if he trades Hamels, he forfeits any chance to re-sign him in the offseason.

Sure, the Phillies could work out a deal with Hamels to trade him to a contender for prospects with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge agreement that he’d re-sign at the end of the year.

Why would Hamels do that? More importantly, why would the Phillies trust him to do that? It would never happen.

If Hamels agrees to stay in Philadelphia, he will sign right away. No prospect in the world is worth the risk of renting him out on a handshake.

Trading Hamels, therefore, is a sign of giving up on him completely. Hamels has his family in Philadelphia. He walks his dog in a backpack around town. He wears Capri pants during charity fashion shows. He is very comfortable in Philly. As an adult, the town is all he knows. 

Giving Hamels a two-month experience elsewhere and expecting he will decide to return to Philadelphia is not a viable option. This isn’t his personal Rumspringa, for crying out loud. 

Letting the best free-agent pitcher in the game leave for so much as a day will be signing his walking papers for good. The Phillies are better off holding on to Hamels and guaranteeing him they will match any realistically competitive offer.

The guy is that good, and he will be worth that much money. With a TV deal that ends in 2015, the Phillies are just three years away from the biggest payday in local TV history. They should not worry about money, even if Hamels puts them over the luxury tax. He is worth the money.

So, promise to match any serious offer. And if Hamels wants to leave after that, the Phillies can hold their heads high, knowing they did everything they could to keep him.

Some fans may be upset about getting nothing in return for him when he leaves, but the mere chance at keeping him in the fold is worth taking that risk. Unless the package in return includes a major-league-ready starting pitcher, what the Phillies get in exchange will be a complete roll of the dice. 

With the season all but lost in Philadelphia, the view of the future will always be better with Hamels on the mound. The Phillies have to know that. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Reasons Chase Utley’s Return Will Jump Start Team

Few teams could use a jump start more than the Philadelphia Phillies this season.

For the months of April and June, the Phils were not able to string together more than two consecutive wins.  In the month of May, the Phils were able to win six consecutive games and four consecutive games on separate occasions.  However, these two win streaks were eventually followed by four- and six-game losing streaks.

With consistency proving difficult to find throughout the first half of the season, the Phillies could use a way to jump start the team so that win streaks become more common and losing streaks occur less frequently.

Enter Chase Utley.

After missing 76 games, Utley has returned to the Phillies’ lineup at the most crucial point in the season.

Although Utley’s return will not single-handedly push the team to the top of the National League East, it will still give the Phils the boost they need while they await the returns of other players, such as Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay.

Here are five reasons why Utley’s return will jump start the Phillies.

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MLB Trade Rumors: When Will Cole Hamels Be Dealt by Philadelphia Phillies?

As we all know by now, the Philadelphia Phillies are gauging interest in left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels.

The Phillies are looking for quite a bit in return for the All-Star, as would be expected.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, it will take four or five prospects to reel in Hamels, with a particular emphasis on the outfield and, of course, third base.

Cole Hamels has shown that he is one of the top pitchers in baseball this season with a 10-4 record and 3.08 ERA. He is also averaging a strikeout per inning, with 111 of them in total.

Trading for Hamels would obviously be a big deal for any contender, and he could easily make an impact on any playoff race.

However that price tag is incredibly high.

That price tag is so high, in fact, that it could interfere with a deal getting done.

But with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in somewhat recent memory, teams are willing to part with a lot of prospects for an ace.

However, are the Philadelphia Phillies really ready to admit defeat? The franchise has become very proud over the past few seasons, and it would be very hard to admit that it might be time to rebuild and worry about 2013 and beyond.

With the imminent return of both Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, the Phillies should not and probably will not make a trade right away. Even though they are gauging interest right now, nothing will happen until the end of July.

There is no way that they admit defeat until all of their guns are firing.

If even that isn’t helping them turn the season around, Hamels could very well be on the move, with a boatload of prospects coming back.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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The “Team to Defeat”: Why the Phillies Need to Replace Ruben Amaro Jr.

From the moment the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee, Ruben Amaro Jr. was an instant crowd pleaser.

Then, out of nowhere, he dazzled the city with the signing of Roy “Doc” Halladay.

Then again, he shocked the City—as well as the rest of the league—when he signed Cliff Lee as a free agent.

Lastly, he once again proved to be a “wheeler and dealer” with the acquisition of Hunter Pence.

But, despite the praise he’s received from the fan base for his extravagant trades and signings, Ruben Amaro Jr. has lacked the parental instinct—and foresight—that generally allows one to rely on the phrase, “You’ll thank me later.”

Indeed, while fans applauded each deal Ruben made, the sad reality is that we, as fans, aren’t thanking Ruben now. Instead, Ruben is being criticized, and his poor judgment is being exploited and highlighted—again and again. 

With every desperate move Ruben Amaro, Jr. makes to try and salvage the 2012-2013 season and, more importantly, to keep the Phillies from slipping into the depths of despair similar to that which engulfed the team for a 14-year playoff drought, it becomes more apparent that Ruben lacks the makeup to be a great General Manager. 

For example, while Ruben pleased the fans and put together a rotation that, for all intents and purposes, was the best rotation in the league, he has failed to replenish position players. He has also failed to apportion salary to allow for trades and signings that will improve the team. 

More importantly, Ruben is on the cusp of saying goodbye to one of the best homegrown pitchers in the history of the franchise.

That’s right.

Rumor has it that the Phillies are shopping Cole Hamels, Buster Olney and Jon Heyman have reported. Who can blame them for trying to trade the lefty? 

It seems all but a foregone conclusion that the Phillies will not sign Hamels at the end of the season. The lefty will undoubtedly demand, and deserve, more money than the team can afford.

More importantly, Cole most likely sees the writing on the wall—that the Phillies are no longer the “team to beat”—and, consequently, will want to go to a team that can win another championship. 

Sadly, it seems to be inevitable that we’ll see Cole Hamels in another uniform next season, and our only consolation prize will be a bunch of prospects who we’ll most likely never see in the majors.

Hopefully his departure will sound the alarm to the front office that Ruben is not fit to be a general manager. 

By all accounts, general managers are not supposed to be in the business for fan approval— we all remember when Billy Beane traded Carlos Pena.

They’re supposed to be in the business to win championships. A general manager has to be committed to making the moves that are best for the team, not the most popular. And, in doing so they’re not supposed to “leverage the farm.”

Ruben has failed to adhere to these general principles. Instead, he has placed the team in a position that appears to be destined to end not only its NL East Championship steak, but its playoff appearance streak as well. 

All in all, there’s no denying it. Ruben is to blame for the team’s demise.

His inability to plan for the future has left the Phillies without an identity. Unless the Phillies replace him at the end of the season, he will continue to mismanage the team.

Ultimately, we’ll not only say goodbye to Cole Hamels, we’ll say goodbye to a dynasty as well.

So, as the Phillies enter the All-Star break, we can only hope that the Phillies are not only shopping Cole Hamels, but shopping for a new general manager as well.

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Phillies vs. Mets: Live Stream, Injuries, Pitching Matchups and Fantasy Preview

Before the 2012 Major League Baseball season started, if someone told you the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets would be playing a series in July with one of them in second place and the other in last place in the National League East, most people would have believed you. 

No one would have told you that the Mets would be in second place and the Phillies would be in last place, however. 

The Phillies are doing all they can to stay afloat right now. Injuries, age and poor performances from a lot of their stars have done a number on this team. They need some kind of return to normalcy soon if they want to stay in the race. 

The Mets are in the midst of a rebuilding process, though they have so many players firing on all cylinders right now that they look a lot better than they really are. 

 

Where: Citi Field in Queens, NY

When: July 3-5

Watch: Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia); SNY TV (New York)

Live Stream: MLB.tv

 

Injury Report (via CBS Sports)

Philadelphia Phillies

60-day DL: RP Jose Contreras (Elbow), RP Justin De Fratus (Elbow)

15-day DL: RP David Herndon (Elbow), 1B Ryan Howard (Achilles), C Brian Schneider (Ankle), RP Michael Stutes (Elbow), SP Roy Halladay (Shoulder), 1B Laynce Nix (Calf)

 

New York Mets

7-day DL: OF Jason Bay (Concussion)

15-day DL: OF Mike Baxter (Shoulder), RP Frank Francisco (Oblique)

60-day DL: SP Mike Pelfrey (Elbow)

 

Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: Vance Worley (4-4, 2.92 ERA) vs. Jonathon Niese (6-3, 3.55 ERA)

Wednesday: Cliff Lee (0-5, 4.13 ERA) vs. Chris Young (2-1, 3.30 ERA)

Thursday: Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.08 ERA) vs. R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.15 ERA)

 

Fantasy Studs

Cole Hamels, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

I am going with a pitching-heavy fantasy list for you, because I don’t trust either offense to produce a lot in this series. Plus, it helps when you have some of the arms going in this series that these two teams do. 

Hamels has been the most consistent pitcher for the Phillies all season. The team is reportedly exploring trade options for the 28-year-old lefty, so he will have even more eyes on him than usual. 

Going against a weak Mets lineup, don’t be shocked to see Hamels approach double-digit strikeout numbers in Thursday’s game. 

 

R.A. Dickey, SP, New York Mets

Who better to challenge Hamels for best pitcher in this series than the knuckleballer who will be going against him?

Dickey has excelled this season despite no one really being able to pinpoint how he is doing it. We know he throws a knuckleball and somehow seems to command the pitch like no one in history. Beyond that, his season has been bafflingly beautiful to watch. 

Considering the Phillies lineup isn’t much better than the Mets’, Dickey should have one of his patented seven-inning, 10-strikeout performances. 

 

Prediction

The Phillies are a sinking ship right now. This could be the series where everything completely blows up for them, though I don’t see it coming to that as they will steal a game in New York. 

Mets win series, 2-1

Follow @adamwells1985

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Philadelphia Phillies: Is 1979 Repeating Itself in 2012?

The Phillies were coming off three consecutive NL East titles in 1979 and three very disappointing NLCS playoff losses.  They shocked the baseball world by signing Pete Rose to play first base and acquired second basemen Manny Trillo in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.  Not only did they look to be primed for another playoff run, they looked even better than they did in the previous three seasons.

However, after sprinting out of the gate to a 27-16 start, injuries to Greg Luzinski, Manny Trillo, Larry Christenson and Larry Bowa saw them go into a tailspin that dropped their record to 65-67 and as a result, they were buried behind the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos.  They were able to right the ship toward the end of the season, winning 13 of their last 20, but it was too little too late, and the Phils finished the 1979 season 84-78 and in fourth place.

When spring training came around in 1980, it was widely known that the nucleus of Mike Schmidt, Bob Boone and Bake McBride, as well as Bowa and Luzinski, could be broken up if they did not win now.  We all know what happened in 1980, as the Phillies won their first-ever World Series championship.

In essence, the team needed to take a step back before it could move forward again.

That brings us to 2012.  The team is coming off two extremely disappointing playoff exits and a World Series defeat in 2009.  Injuries have decimated the team, losing significant amounts of time from stars Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay.  Many others have spent time on the shelf as the season slowly and painfully slips away.

The pessimistic Phillies fan can see this as a possible “beginning of the end” of arguably the best run in Philadelphia Phillies history.  The core has aged and the minor league system doesn’t have capable reinforcements to turn this thing around.  The optimist can point to 1979.  The team needs to be humbled and take a step back to taste failure to bring the hunger back.

2013 should have enough talent to make another run if the team remains healthy.  That’s the key when dealing with an old team.  Halladay will be 36 while Lee will turn 34.  Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley will be 34. Howard will be 33. 

It’s possible Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino will be gone, while Placido Polanco will definitely be gone. There is a ton of uncertainty but at the same time, the ’80 season started the same way. 

Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has his work cut out for him between the 2012 trading deadline and 2013 spring training.  Can he get younger by dealing Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino at the trade deadline?  The ’80 squad was energized with young talent like Lonnie Smith, Keith Moreland, Bob Walk and Marty Bystrom.

Does Amaro have what it takes to make this team relevant again? A lot will be riding on him to make 2012 look like 1979…and 2013 to look like 1980.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies Must Keep Cole Hamels

The 2012 season has been nothing but disastrous for the Phillies thus far. The Phillies have played exactly half of their schedule and it hasn’t been pretty. They currently reside in last place of the NL East with a record of 36-45.

Ryan Howard has still not played a game for the Phillies as he and Roy Halladay currently remain on the disabled list. For the Phillies to make the postseason, they will likely need to win 88-plus games. If they finish the season 52-29, they will hit exactly 88 wins on the season.

Many fans have given up on the Phillies this season suggesting that they should start auctioning off their biggest asset: Cole Hamels.

This would be a massive mistake for the Phillies. It’s perplexing why they haven’t already given Hamels the huge extension that he deserves. The southpaw is 28 years old and might be the best left-handed pitcher in the game.

He also won the Phillies a World Series in 2008. Homegrown talent is supposed to be taken care of, and yet, Jon Heyman reports the Phillies are supposedly shopping their only superstar in the prime of his career. 

The idea makes little sense. This is an aging ball club that got old really, really fast. The Phillies entire infield is over 30 years old. Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay are both in their thirties, too.

Hamels is going to be seeking a huge pay day, but it’s well deserved. He has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball for several years. He is young and left-handed, a coveted combination in baseball.

If the Phillies organization has truly decided that this team is too old to win, the last thing they should be doing is trading Cole Hamels. A more intelligent move would be trying to trade Lee so they could free up more money for Hamels.

A much smarter idea would be to build around Hamels, who has a lot of baseball left in that left arm.

Unfortunately, this Phillies team is sinking fast. They are currently on life support and the return of Howard and Halladay will likely be too little too late.

The Phillies ultimately need to get younger and there will be changes made. Hamels should be re-signed, but I think the Phillies would have done it already if they were going to. It’s unfortunate because he never received the love from Phillies fans that he deserved.

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