2014 Phillies in 3 words: NOT GOOD ENOUGH
The 2014 Philadelphia Phillies season is over, finally! I, as a Phillies fan and season ticket holder, want changes and I want them now. Management recently relieved Asst. GM/Director of Amateur Scouting Marti Wolever of his duties. That’s a start. They haven’t had a ton of luck in the drafts under Marti’s direction. However, I’m still an apathetic and hopeless fan.
I don’t think I’m alone in that feeling. Phillies ownership and management should feel our frustration and lack of hope, but I don’t think they do. Even if they do, all things indicate that they are going to protect Ruben Amaro, Jr and his position as General Manager. That’s how they roll. He’s been with the club since he was a bat boy and the organization is inclined to show more loyalty to him than the millions of frustrated fans. The fact that RAJ hasn’t been relieved of his duties today is a shock. He was handed keys to a World Series Championship team and buried them in the basement of the NL East with a payroll that is third highest in MLB.
The obvious fear is that management believes throwing Marti Wolever to the angry and hopeless mobs will satisfy our appetite for change. However, this belief and move can be summed up in the same three words that accurately describes most aspects of the 2014 Phillies: NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Ryan Sandberg: NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Dom Brown: NOT GOOD ENOUGH. He should’ve been traded before this season started or immediately after taunting Philadelphia fans via twitter while wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey.
Chase Utley: NOT GOOD ENOUGH. He should’ve been dealt at the deadline when his numbers weren’t so atrocious.
Ryan Howard: Maybe it’s the injuries or maybe he’s just old. Either way he’s NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Ben Revere: NOT EVEN CLOSE TO GOOD ENOUGH now or in the future. He’s a fourth outfielder on a good team with his inability to walk, bad routes on flyballs and embarrassingly weak arm.
The Bench: NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Gross, even.
The Bullpen: NOT GOOD….Okay, the bullpen might be good enough. However, two Phillies draft picks have helped make the bullpen good enough. Ken Giles (7th round). Jake Diekman (30th round). Marti Wolever, the guy just fired, drafted those two dudes.
Cole Hamels: TOO GOOD FOR THIS TEAM.
Beverages at the Ballpark: NOT GOOD ENOUGH. What’s up with selling out to Goose Island and whichever brewer/distributor represents them? We have way too much good local beers that don’t have enough exposure at the park.
Ruben Amaro, Jr: NOT EVEN REMOTELY GOOD ENOUGH. As mentioned earlier, they fired Marti Wolever. He’s a scapegoat. Ruben was his boss for five years and only now realizes he was an issue? Marti Wolever didn’t make the Hunter Pence trades, both of which sucked for the Phillies. He didn’t trade Shane Victorino for nothing. Marti didn’t give out crazy contract options. Marti Wolever didn’t trade Vance Worley and Trevor May to the twins for Ben Revere while the Nationals traded a single-A pitcher for Denard Span. Wolever didn’t let Davey Lopes walk for what amounts to pennies in the world of Major League Baseball.
Ruben is the problem. He’s not qualified for the job no matter how many times Pat Gillick and Dave Montgomery swear that he is. We aren’t idiots. Stop insulting us. We have no hope. We need a new future and a new General Manager. We are the customers, the patrons and that’s what we want.
Should Ruben remain GM chances are that I’ll retain my tickets because I’ve been a ticket-holder long enough to have great seats. That doesn’t mean I have to use the tickets. I can make sure me and nobody else sits in those seats and gives the Phillies one extra penny in concessions or merchandise.
There’s nothing worse than hopelessness in the world of sports and that is where I am as a Phillies fan.