Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 4

The Philadelphia Phillies saw two of their top pitching prospects turn in solid starts this past week, with one coming at the major league level and the other at Double-A.

While Jonathan Pettibone made his major league debut and saw the Phillies win both of his two starts, Jesse Biddle racked up 16 strikeouts while picking up a win at Double-A.

The Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate also closed out the week strong, using 12 runs and 15 hits to pick up a win and help multiple players improve their offensive statistics heading into week five.

But what about the rest of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects?  Who will follow in Pettibone’s footsteps and earn the next major league call-up?  Who will earn the first minor league promotion?

The following list contains the Phillies’ top 10 prospects according to Baseball America.  Of these players, six are either currently at or began the season at the Triple-A level, meaning that the majority are one step away from the major leagues.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at which players’ stocks are up and which are down following week four.

 

All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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What Will Philadelphia Phillies Lineup Look Like Once Carlos Ruiz Returns?

The Philadelphia Phillies lineup saw minimal changes through the first 15 games of the regular season, with both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the batting order together in April for the first time since 2010.

Of course, all the Phillies had to show for these returns was a 6-9 record after April 17 and a 6.5 game deficit behind the Atlanta Braves in first place.

Following their 15th game of the season, the Phillies decided to move Jimmy Rollins back into the leadoff spot and Ben Revere to the seventh spot.  Since the move, Rollins’ average has gone from .232 to .258, while Revere’s average has increased from .194 to .207, including a .240 average from the seven hole.

These changes haven’t led to much to much more success as of yet, as the Phillies are now 3-5 since moving Rollins back into the leadoff spot.

However, on Sunday, the Phillies will have another lineup decision to make with hopes of improving the team’s .301 OBP, which ranks as the third lowest in the National League, and 80 total runs scored, which ranks as fifth lowest.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz is set to return from a 25-game suspension, which he served for testing positive for a banned stimulant, on Sunday in time for game No. 26 of the season.

Ruiz’s return will also give manager Charlie Manuel a few more options for a lineup that recently saw Chase Utley and Michael Young move up in the batting order.

For the majority of this season, the Phillies have had four consecutive left-handed batters at the top of their order against right-handed pitching (causing Rollins to bat from the left side).  Rollins is batting .246 from the left side, compared to .292 from the right side. 

Young, who has primarily batted fifth, was the first right-handed batter that other teams faced at times.

When Laynce Nix started over John Mayberry, Jr. in right field, the Phillies lineup only had two right-handed batters at times, with either Erik Kratz or Humberto Quintero joining Young in the batting order.

With Ruiz back in the lineup, the Phillies will have the option of batting Young third and Ruiz fifth, likely leaving no more than two left-handers batting in consecutive spots in any part of the batting order.

Ruiz is coming off of the best statistical season of his career after he batted .325 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI in 2012, all career highs.  Ruiz also posted a .394 OBP, an improvement over his .371 mark in 2011, despite drawing 19 fewer walks.

The chances of Ruiz batting above .300, let alone .325, this season are slim, but his return could still play a crucial part in helping to boost an offense that is now under pressure to succeed before first place it too far out of reach.

If Ruiz can match, or exceed, the .265 batting average he had from the fifth spot in the lineup last season, and Domonic Brown can continue to regain the form he showed during spring training, the Phillies lineup will potentially have a pair of power hitters lower in the lineup. 

Add in Delmon Young to the mix, with Revere potentially batting eighth, and the Phillies lineup will have undergone the last few changes it can using internal options.

Ruiz’s return will also mean that a player currently struggling to find consistent offensive success will move to a reserve role.

Phillies catchers have combined to have the fourth-lowest batting average in the National League so far this season, and have the lowest OBP in the league.  Kratz is currently batting .185 with 16 strikeouts to 12 hits, while Quintero is batting .313 but has played in just six games.

Although solid work behind the plate initially could have outweighed any early offensive struggles, the Phillies now find themselves seven games out of first place before the first month of the season has ended.

Ruiz’s return should lead to an offensive upgrade by putting his bat in the lineup and also by moving either Kratz or Quintero primarily into a reserve role.  Although Ruiz only had one hit in two games in a High-A ball tuneup recently, his one hit was a three-run home run.  He also did not strike out in his eight at-bats.

It’s not often that a team adds a .300 hitter from the prior season to their lineup in late April, but the Phillies will be doing just that when Ruiz returns on Sunday. 

More importantly, they will be adding a right-handed batter to a lineup that primarily features left-handed batters against opposing right-handers at a time when any sustained offensive success has been difficult to find.

Whether he bats fifth, sixth or even seventh, Ruiz will give the Phillies a potential power addition as they chase down a first-place team whose season has featured anything but a lack of early power.

 

*Ruiz’s minor league statistics can be found on MiLB.com, while all other statistics can be found on ESPN.com

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Philadelphia Phillies: Phundamentally-Challenged Phigtins Are Cheating Phans

In the immortal words of Casey Stengel, “Can’t anybody here play this game?”

Judging by the results of the Phillies‘ recently-completed 3-5 homestand that left them at a desolate 9-14 overall, at least in Philadelphia the answer seems to be “not so much.”

Entering the season, the big question marks were, in no particular order:

• Roy Halladay’s diminishing velocity and effectiveness
• Ryan Howard and his ability to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2012 
• Chase Utley’s ability to stay healthy and produce
• Michael Young and the challenge of playing third base every day after spending last season as a designated hitter
• Mike Adams and the rest of the bullpen’s ability to handle the eighth inning

Amazingly, all of those question marks have, in the main, turned out all right so far.

After a very shaky couple of outings, Halladay has turned in three outings that have ranged from above-average to really good.

Howard is hitting over .280 and playing every day.

Utley is hitting over .300 and his power has returned. He leads the team in runs batted in thus far.

Young is also hitting well over .300 and his defense at third base has been more than adequate.

And Adams, but for a violent hiccup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been the steadying late-inning presence he was advertised to be.

Recent troubles have focused on the sixth and seventh innings, but then everyone figured that the bullpen leading up to Adams and Jonathan Papelbon would be a cover-your-eyes proposition.

Despite all of the favorable harbingers, the Phillies are in 4th place in the National League East and sinking like a stone.

Why? To a significant extent, it is because the Phillies play terrible fundamental baseball.

Consider:

• In a 6-4 loss to the Pirates, Cliff Lee was picked off second base, and in the same game Utley ran into an out at home plate with first-and-third and nobody out; dishonorable mentions go to Cliff Lee giving up the game-tying single on an 0-2 pitch and Phillippe Aumont putting a .148 hitter on by hitting him with a pitch.
• The night before in a 5-3 loss to the Pirates, Rollins negligently ran into an out at home plate with (wait for it) first-and-third and nobody out, and Utley played a semi-difficult Starling Marte pop-up to short right field into an RBI triple.
• The night before that in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates, John Mayberry Jr. ran into an out at home plate with (hard to believe, really) first-and-third and nobody out.
• Two nights earlier, in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Utley was doubled off second base on a routine fly ball by Young because he apparently lost track of the outs, and Domonic Brown loafed a Matt Adams short fly ball into a single.

Note to the reader: Not one of the examples above is criticizing a player for grounding into an inopportune double play, or committing an error in the normal course of play. No team and no player is above human frailty.

But the displays of baseball from the Phillies lately, in legal parlance, range beyond the simply negligent and eke into the careless or reckless.

The Phillies’ slow start has been minimized by other facts out of their control, including but not limited to the fact that the presumptive division favorites, the Washington Nationals, are still languishing around .500. “Small sample size,” you might hear.

Unfortunately, unwavering effort and a rudimentary understanding of the fundamentals of baseball are not things that tend to correct themselves over a 162-game schedule. If anything, these flaws just multiply and become magnified as the weather warms and the season drags on.

Phillies fans keep talking about how the returns of Carlos Ruiz (from suspension) and Delmon Young (from injury) should right the ship.

They might be better off calling on Fred McGriff and Tom Emanski.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Old, Brittle, Overpaid Team’s Flaws Already Being Exposed

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ preseason was best summed up with Andy Dufresne’s words to Red in The Shawshank Redemption: “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Three weeks into the season, though, the Phillies’ reality of greatness lost is more like Red’s summation of his reckless youth to the parole board: “that kid’s long gone and this old man is all that’s left.”

Tremendous energy has been poured into analyzing the troubles Roy Halladay has encountered through four starts in 2013. Most of that heated conjecture is wasted.

The plain truth is that Halladay has lost velocity on all his pitches (not just his fastball), and thus has to learn to compete with what he has left, per NESN.com. While it is true that his last two starts were much better than his first two, it all adds up to 2-2 record and a 6.04 earned run average.

Given the prevailing wisdom that Halladay needs to be special for the Phillies to compete in 2013, early returns are not all that convincing.

Compared to Ryan Howard’s situation, though, Halladay’s first three weeks look positively promising.

The Phillies would certainly take a .274 batting average from Howard this season. But that is where the good news ends.

Howard is slugging .384. His OPS is .678. Those power numbers sync with the expectations a team might have for a decent middle infielder or a speedy outfielder.

But Howard is being paid $25 million this season to hit home runs and knock runners in. Currently, he is on pace for eight home runs and 48 RBI. 

That’s not all. Howard’s Achilles injury of October 2011 is still not fully a memory, per the Philadelphia Daily News. As a result, manager Charlie Manuel has taken to pinch-running for Howard late in close games, favoring the chance to score with a faster runner over keeping his franchise first baseman in the game.

Digest that for a minute.

The diminished production from two aging players each making more than $20 million per season is only somewhat masking more subtle problems around the diamond.

The Phillies’ hitters are in the bottom third in Major League Baseball in both on-base percentage and OPS. They’re also in the top quarter in strikeouts and trail traditionally power-starved teams like the Oakland A’s, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in home runs.

The big offseason acquisition, Ben Revere, is learning that no matter how fast you are, you cannot steal first base. His .205 batting average and .241 on-base percentage have utterly blunted his effectiveness.

The only other regular starter younger than 30 years of age, Domonic Brown, is lolloping along at .206 and playing what can charitably be called an unconvincing left field. One wonders at this point if Brown’s name was, say, Steve Smith, whether he would already be at AAA Lehigh Valley.

Maybe the most troubling news for Philadelphia is this: Chase Utley and Michael Young are both healthy and hitting over .300, Antonio Bastardo and Phillippe Aumont have yet to give up an earned run, Jonathan Papelbon is perfect in save chances this season…and the Phillies are still below .500.

Yes, Cole Hamels is almost certainly not going to post an earned run average over five and go winless for a whole season. That problem will right itself.

Ultimately, though, while fans might argue that proven players like Halladay and Howard can turn it around, and that Revere won’t hit .205 all season, and that Brown is better than he has been, the likelihood is that as those players’ performances trend up to the mean, the performances of Utley, Young, Bastardo and Papelbon will regress to it.

The sort of good news for the Phillies is that the consensus division favorite, the Washington Nationals, are out of the gates slowly themselves.

Still, these first three weeks might have Phillies’ fans—who hoped that 2012 was a temporary setback—reflecting on Dufresne’s realization on how wrong things could yet go.

“I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn’t expect the storm would last as long as it has.”

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5 Trades Philadelphia Phillies Should Already Be Thinking About

The 2013 MLB season may still be in its preliminary stages, but it hasn’t been kind to the Philadelphia Phillies so far.

The Phillies, who came into the season with a healthy roster, have failed to live up to their initially middling expectations, and currently sit at 9-11. They are fourth in the NL East, ahead of only the 4-15 Miami Marlins, who are the worst team in baseball.

While it is certainly early to be thinking about realistic outcomes at the July 31 trade deadline, it’s never too early to speculate on who may be dealt by Philadelphia.

At this point, should the Phillies’ mediocre trends continue, they are bound to be sellers at the deadline. In fact, with players coming off the payroll like Chase Utley, Michael Young, Carlos Ruiz and most likely Roy Halladay, the fire sale could be even bigger than last year’s when Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and Joe Blanton were ushered out of Philadelphia.

Not only are impending free agents potential trade chips, but established veterans under team control for a few years are also appealing.

Headlining this distinction of Phillies is Cliff Lee. Although under contract for three more years at a minimum of $87.5 million, including this year, Lee has value and could be worthy as a legitimate ace for a team in need of one.

Here’s a list of five players and the team that, at this point in the season, would be the best fit, both from the perspective of positional need and valuable assets to trade in return.

*All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. All prospect rankings and information courtesy of Baseball America Prospect Handbook unless otherwise noted. All contract information courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 3

It didn’t take too long for the Philadelphia Phillies to call up a top prospect.

Despite two less than ideal starts, the first of the Phillies’ top prospects to reach the major league level this season appears to be Jonathan Pettibone, according to Paul Hagen on the Phillies’ website.

Pettibone has only made two starts at Triple-A, and hasn’t had the same type of results that he had in 2012 following a midseason call-up from Double-A.  He still is, however, a pitcher who can now begin making his case for a permanent rotation spot this season or next.

Besides Pettibone, the rest of the Phillies’ top prospects continued their minor league seasons with some improving while others still looking for early season success. 

The following list features the Phillies’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America.  Since Pettibone’s last start came at Triple-A, he remains on the list for this week.  However, with John Lannan now on the disabled list, a strong start from Pettibone could keep him in the rotation for several more starts.

Let’s take a look at which players’ stocks are up and which are down following week three.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Changes Philadelphia Phillies Must Make to Spark a Winning Streak

The Philadelphia Phillies will finish in the bottom half of the division if they continue to play disinterested and uninspired baseball.

While the team is lacking those two intangible qualities, there are plenty of areas in the physical realm of the game of baseball which are visibly lacking also.

Phillies fans shouldn’t fret just yet, however.

The good news is there are 143 games left in the young season.

For this team, though, these following changes must be made sooner rather than later in order to compete in the tough National League East before they fall out of contention.

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Philadelphia Phillies Pick Pettibone, Will Make MLB Debut Against Pirates

When Philadelphia Phillies‘ fifth starting pitcher John Lannan hit the 15-day disabled list with a strained knee tendon, two questions came to mind. The first was how long Lannan would have to sit out, and the second (and more important), who would take his place in the Phillies’ rotation?

MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki answered the first question last week on Thursday, April 18 when he tweeted the following:

 

 

Manuel said Lannan could miss six to eight weeks. Maybe less.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 18, 2013

 

While the disabled list qualification stood at 15 days, Lannan could very well miss as much as two months. Consequently, someone would need to be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his place. But who were the candidates, and who would win out?

Zolecki also laid out the candidates in another tweet:

 

 

Amaro said Biddle not option to replace Lannan. Replacement to come from Triple-A: Morgan, Martin, Cloyd, Pettibone. Morgan pitched today.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 18, 2013

 

B.J. Rosenberg also has a spot in the IronPigs‘ rotation, but he’s served solely as a reliever in the major leagues and hasn’t fared well in that role.

Martin is in need of more seasoning, leaving Cloyd, Morgan and Pettibone as candidates to make it to the majors.

Cloyd was viewed as the favorite, as he’s the only one of the bunch to have major league experience. He was called up to make a spot start for a sick Cole Hamels last August and fared off against another starting pitcher making his MLB debut, Matt Harvey. The Phillies failed to provide Cloyd with any run support and lost the game, 3-1.

Morgan has the most potential and the highest praise of the bunch, ranked as the Phillies’ fifth and seventh-best prospect by Baseball America (BA) and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, respectively. As I mentioned last week, Morgan has a solid repertoire with all four pitches considered above-average.

Alas, I was wrong when I said that Morgan would make the majors before Pettibone. According to Zolecki once again (I promise this is the last one), starter Jonathan Pettibone has been called up to take Lannan‘s place in the Phillies’ rotation:

 

 

RHP Jonathan Pettibone will start for the Phillies tomorrow. A roster move will be made tomorrow to accommodate him.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 21, 2013

 

What can be expected of Pettibone? In my opinion, he sits between Cloyd and Morgan in terms of talent. While he lacks overwhelming speed, Pettibone, ranked as the fourth-best prospect by both BA and Mayo, tops out at 92-93 miles per hour on his fastball, which should be more than sufficient. His control is excellent, and along with his changeup, is considered the best in the Phillies’ system, according to BA.

Pettibone will not be a starter who overwhelms the opposition with his pitching, so there may not be too many strikeouts. Fortunately, what you also won’t see a lot of from Pettibone are walks. Per Baseball-Reference.com, he has averaged a 2.6 BB/9 rate over his minor league career.

In addition, Pettibone sports a minor league career 3.44 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. And though he’s off to a rough start in 2013 with an 0-1 record and 9.64 ERA, given his abilities and praise concerning control, he’s probably the safest bet to fill in for Lannan.

Maybe Morgan has more potential. Maybe Cloyd has the experience. But Pettibone has the readiness the other two lack, and most importantly, he has the fifth spot in the Phillies’ rotation until further notice. While he’ll be up against some stiff competition in A.J. Burnett and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night, Pettibone should be able to hold his own in his major league debut at Citizens Bank Park.

Congratulations to Pettibone on his call-up and best of luck to him as he starts his major league career.

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Mapping out the Path to a Blockbuster Cliff Lee Deadline Trade

The 2013 Phillies are off to a difficult start. At 6-10, on the heels of an injury-plagued, disappointing 81-81 finish in 2012, concern is mounting in Philadelphia.

While the problems of offense, specifically on-base percentage, Roy Halladay’s decline and the future of manager Charlie Manuel will take center stage over the next few months, don’t forget the best player on the 25-man roster: Cliff Lee.

Regardless of how dominant Lee is in 2013, it might not be enough to drag Philadelphia back into the postseason. In reality, it might not be enough to garner a winning record. While the headlines in Atlanta on Wednesday revolved around Braves broadcaster Chip Carey’s “mother’s basement” comments in regard to Baseball Prospectus’ updated playoff odds, the real story should be how meek Philadelphia’s start has their current outlook for October baseball.

On Wednesday afternoon, holding a 6-8 record at the time, Baseball Prospectus gave the Phillies only a 25.1 percent chance of playing October baseball. They’ve lost twice more since that graphic, falling to 6-10. As you can imagine, the odds are rising in their favor.

While general manager Ruben Amaro has delayed the inevitable rebuilding process up to this point, a change in Philadelphia is on the horizon.

At some point, fan support will dwindle, Atlanta and Washington could pull away and moves will need to be made to ensure a more competitive outfit in 2014 and beyond. While putting Cole Hamels, 29, on the trading block would ensure the highest possible return, there’s little chance the franchise would move a player they just committed over $140 million to last season.

Instead, look to Cliff Lee’s dominance, trade rumors from last summer and pitching-hungry teams this July and August for the most likely domino to fall. In order to rebuild a barren farm system, Lee’s durable, strike-throwing arm may be moved.

Considering the prowess of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, it looks as though Philadelphia’s most realistic route back to contention and postseason baseball in 2013 is through the second wild-card avenue. It’s only April, but the glut of quality rosters across the National League make it hard to believe that these Phillies, even with Lee and Hamels, can get to the 87-90 wins it will likely take to snag one of those spots. Between Los Angeles, St. Louis and Arizona, the second-tier teams in the NL Central and West are deeper, younger and built for the long haul.

The most intriguing part of potential Cliff Lee trades this summer: value in the eye of the beholder.

If Philadelphia falls out of contention and looks to be proactive with Lee’s value, he can be marketed to many different organizations due to the Phillies’ high payroll structure and their need for high-end prospects.

For example: If, say, the New York Yankees, long-time admirers and chasers of Lee’s left arm, decide to make a run at him, Philadelphia could offset its payroll concerns by paying a large chunk of the $87.5 million he’s guaranteed through 2016. In return, New York could supply Philadelphia with some of the best prospects in its organization.

On the other hand, Philadelphia could rid itself of Lee’s current and future cost by allowing a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a seemingly endless supply of payroll, to take the full brunt of Lee’s deal in return for middling or poor prospects.

While that wouldn’t solve Philadelphia’s issue in the minor league ranks, it would allow them to re-invest that payroll in future free-agent markets, potentially filling multiple positions. It’s the approach the Boston Red Sox took last winter in re-investing the payroll they sent to Los Angeles last August.

The odds against Philadelphia are growing by the day. Due to Lee’s large contract and Philadelphia’s dueling needs and payroll prowess, suitors can come from almost any direction if the lefty hits the market.

Of course, the last step in the puzzle would be Lee’s blessing.

As part of the free agent-contract awarded to Lee in December of 2010, there is a list of 21 teams that Lee can’t be moved to without his consent.

Considering his dramatic return to Philadelphia, multiple moves around the country from Cleveland to Philadelphia to Seattle to Texas—all within a few years—and stories about placing his family near the best hospitals, it won’t be easy to gain the blessing in order to complete a trade.

Yet it won’t be impossible.

Lee is 34 years old. Despite his reputation as a great big-game pitcher, he has yet to hoist a World Series trophy. In theory, the return to Philadelphia prior to the 2011 season was seen as the final stepping stone to achieving that goal. The quarter of Lee-Hamels-Halladay-Roy Oswalt was set to deliver the Phillies their second World Series within five years.

Of course, it hasn’t materialized. Considering the age of the roster, the window is closing fast.

Lee has dazzled fans, won on the biggest stage and brought home a Cy Young award.

If broached with an offer to move to a contender, save Philadelphia payroll and/or bring them back a brighter future and collect his hefty salary, it’s a move all parties would have to consider later this summer.

Are the 2013 Phillies a contender in the National League? Comment below, follow me on Twitter or “Like” my Facebook page to talk all things baseball!

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On Jonathan Papelbon, Obama, Guns and What Athletes Can and Can’t Say

In the last two presidential elections, several members of the Philadelphia Phillies openly campaigned for Barack Obama. Jonathan Papelbon was not one of them.

Yesterday, Papelbon was talking to CSN Philly about the bombings in Boston—Papelbon used to live near the blast area—and he said how unsafe he feels at sporting events, specifically being so close to the fans. 

On that notion, Papelbon and I agree, stadiums and the players (and fans) are not nearly as safe as we should be. The thing is…Papelbon took his clearly emotional yet justifiable fears and went…off book. Via The700Level.com:

I don’t feel comfortable doing that. I really, truly don’t. Today’s day and age has gotten so crazy, every, you know…all this stuff going on and, you know, shoot, man, Obama wants to take our guns from us and everything and you got this kind of stuff (the Boston bombing) going on, it’s a little bit insane for me, man. I really don’t even know how to take it.

OK, look, I know that gun control is a big issue in society right now and I know that there are a lot of people in this world who actually believe the president is trying to take away their guns. I also get that Papelbon is legitimately scared after a street he walked down for years was bombed. But to somehow correlate the two into a sound bite about the safety of being in a stadium is severely wrong-headed for a baseball player in that situation.

Again, I agree with Papelbon that stadiums aren’t safe enough and it doesn’t take much for a maniac in the stands to attack a player who is shaking hands, signing autographs or giving a few high-fives. This is a different world we live in than when most of us were kids. The rules—and in some cases the access and ability to interact with celebrities—have to change.

But what in the world does that have to do with Obama, or guns, or Obama taking our guns? Does the Phillies closer want to start packing in the bullpen? Those fans on Ashburn Alley in Philly can get pretty rowdy late in the game, but he tried to combine two very disparate topics into one talking point.

The gun control debate is our nation’s most polarizing issue right now, so it’s no surprise a famous athlete would use his stature in the community—and his ability to talk into a microphone and have everyone in the country hear him—to share his thoughts.

But…well…should he? 

 

Athletes speaking their minds

Should Papelbon have mentioned Obama taking our guns away at all, let alone in the context of the Boston bombing?

Let’s answer that two ways.

First, specifically: No. Papelbon was a moron for saying the line he did, even if it was in context of a confusing and emotional time for him. The president is not actually going door to door with a bucket asking law-abiding citizens to hand in their firearms. That’s not even close to what the gun control debate really is, and for someone like Papelbon to make a flippant comment like that on television doesn’t help anything.

Now, more generally: Was Papelbon right to make a comment, any comment, about today’s hottest political fight? Yes and no.

Yes, Papelbon is entitled to his opinion and if someone is going to put a microphone in front of his face and ask him about a societal issue—the Boston bombing is certainly a societal issue—he is entitled to use that time to make his point. If Jimmy Rollins and other members of the team can stand hand in hand with Obama at a rally on an off day, Papelbon is well within his limits to say something before a game that may not jibe with the current path our President hopes policy will go.

And then there’s the “no” side of whether or not he should have commented. It’s the same “no” that would pertain to Rollins or any other player on a team sport who delves into political commentary.

 

Can sports be apolitical?

“Republicans buy shoes too,” is the old saying attributed to Michael Jordan about his not speaking out on societal or political issues. That is the go-to line whenever athletes jump into political pools. More to the point of this specific issue with Papelbon, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and the wholly apolitical not only buy shoes, but shirts, jerseys, caps and tickets to support their local teams.

We want to root for our favorite teams without having to necessarily agree with the beliefs of the players, coaches or owners.

If you are a liberal in the Philadelphia area, you must hate the comment Papelbon made this week, making it difficult to root for the guy the next time he comes in to close a game. 

Last year when Rollins was stumping around town for President Obama, the conservative fans must have been incredibly annoyed as well. Hearing an athlete talk politically forces fans to acknowledge that players have affiliations outside of our favorite team. 

 

The greater issue

This concern isn’t just about guns, or Papelbon. Players on the same team have different views on the same topic, and it’s up to fans to either ignore those beliefs or make a conscious decision to root for (or against) that player accordingly. 

I don’t want to suddenly make this a story about Tim Tebow, but he is the best example of an athlete with a set of beliefs—religious, political or otherwise—shaping his fanbase. It can be hard to root for a team when you know a player on the roster has different beliefs than you. You know that his personal success earns him more fame and more money, both of which can be used to spread the word of those beliefs.

In a way, rooting for him to help the team can be a tacit approval of everything else. At the same time, he’s just one member of a team that includes many other players, some of whom feel the exact opposite. Are we, as fans, just supposed to ignore it all?

Most fans root for a team because that team plays the closest to our house. That’s how we usually choose our sports allegiances: proximity and familial lineage. For generations, sports fans haven’t cared who owns the team or how they got the money to afford a professional sports franchise in the first place. The team is close, we can go to the games and watch them on TV, and the rest never mattered.

We love our local athletes if they can hit, run and pitch better than the guys from the other city, even if the players on that team are actually more likable guys or fall in line closer to our system of beliefs.

We never had to care about all this other stuff in the past because the players were never this accessible during their careers. Now, thanks to 24-hour sports networks, Twitter, etc., we know about so much it makes it harder to be a fan.

Now, I’m not asking for us to go back to the era of don’t ask-don’t tell, or whatever the proper vernacular in sports may be, but I do wonder if we simply know too much about our team-sport athletes.

 

All-Access

I know I’m a hypocrite, both as a writer and as a sports fan, for even suggesting that we know too much. I get that.

We want our athletes to be themselves and share their lives and experiences with us. We certainly want them to be good talkers, so it gives us stuff (like this) to write. So if this article scares Papelbon or the next Papelbon out of talking to the media, I’ve just cut off my own face to prove a point to my head. Or whatever the expression is. 

Just because an athlete says something we don’t like, or says something socially uninformed—such as saying the president of the United States wants to round up all the firearms of law-abiding citizens—doesn’t mean we shouldn’t want them to say it. Right? Besides, who are we to stop our athletes from talking? Writers? Reporters? Please. 

We live in a day and age where people can become their own private publishing house. If someone has something to say, they’ll find a way to say it, stupid as it may be. We should probably just embrace that.

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