No one is going to wave a white flag, but it would be appropriate.
The Phillies’ 2007 season should begin tonight against the Pirates. This season is over as far as contending for a playoff spot. The balance of the year should be devoted to developing a plan for the future including shedding dead wood, acquiring new talent and providing opportunities for the core of this team to continue developing.
Forget salving the egos of some veteran players. Don’t worry about who isn’t receiving sufficient playing time. Get rid of malcontents. Trim salaries. Run controlled experiments instead of throwing un- or ill-prepared youngsters to the wolves. Let Utley, Howard, Rollins, Hamels et al know that the organization is finally serious about the future. Are you listening, Mr. Gillick? That means no more Ryan Franklins, Arthur Rhodes and the like. Stop wasting time and money on such filler. Admit that the waters around you have grown.
Above all, restock the farm system. That means trading veterans for prospects, not other veterans. We don’t need no more stinkin’ veterans. Utley and Rollins will suffice on that front. Heck, a year and a half with the Phillies must feel like ten years to Utley.
And whatever else they do, the Phillies’ alleged brain trust should not fail to include the manager and coaches when the house-cleaning gets underway in earnest.
5 comments:
Would you be happy to trade gordon? the majority of me says yes - he's putting up decent numbers, his contract makes him a comparitively cheap closer, we should be able to make good on that deal.
But given the long time it takes any minor league pitcher to come to fruition, part of me wonders whether we should just gamble on keeping him on.
Then again, maybe gillick sees closing in fabio castro's future. That of course, would be bold and farsighted, so I doubt it . . .
I'd trade Gordon. He isn't getting any younger or better based on his last few outings. This team has to get seriously younger. No more half-baked attempts at infusing new blood. The Phillies need a major transfusion.
The Phillies have seriously needed a major purge for at least the last year -- it's been clear, at least to me, that they were trying to fit square pegs into round holes with their roster. These guys will just never, ever contend as a unit. How come we're the only ones that seem to realize that?
Gordon's someone I'd hold onto unless the offer was overwhelming. Good closers are hard to come by, and aren't the 'luxury' people make them out to be. You wouldn't want to see how much worse it would be without one.
RSB: I would not be upset in the least if the Phils held onto Flash for another season, but I don't think Gordon has a whole lot more left in him and his trade value will only diminish. The Phillies need to take a look at young guys like aChad Cordero or John Papelbon, who come up through the ranks focused on one thing: becoming big league closers. Instead, they invariably try to acquire veterans with decidedly mixed results.
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