All That Glitters....

The Phils have won five straight.  Whoopee!!

I'm hardly one to minimize taking four in a row from the Brewers in Milwaukee (OK, I should point out Milwaukee was already tumbling back to earth when the Phillies arrived, but, hey.....).  Then they come home at stomp Washington (which also has been less than impressive of late).  It should be noted the Phillies hate home cookin' this season.

Anyway, the streak lifts the Phils from 14 games under .500 to 9 under.  (Math was never my strong suit but even I can figure this one out.)

So, if you, let alone Ruben Amaro, are tempted to think maybe these guys shouldn't start unloading a lot of veterans at the trade deadline, I have a suggestion for you:  DON'T!!!!!

Amaro isn't much of a judge of talent despite all those years watching the game.  He made a lot of foolish decisions about talent and money over the past several seasons desperately trying to go all in with the core of players held over from the glory years.  The problem has been four-fold:  the core has aged dramatically, the acquisitions have been less than stellar, the team is saddled with some crushing contracts, and the farm system is pretty much empty.

Now Amaro and Phils have arrived at another crossroads.  Five straight wins (forget the miserable series in Pittsburgh just before that when the Phils were themselves swept) may tempt Amaro to try and squeeze one more playoff appearance out of the core and bits and pieces he surrounded those players with.  It won't work.  The Phils aren't mathematically out of it, yet, because the rest of division has its own problems.  But make no mistake, the Phils aren't good and they need to begin the rebuilding immediately.

Amaro probably doesn't get that.  He's like the gambler who thinks the big pot is really just one more hand away.