Phillies GM Matt Klentek made one of his infamous deals yesterday, trading for lefty Jason Vargas . More junk from our general manager. Why would the rival Mets give anything good to the Phillies?
Granted Vargas may be an upgrade over what the rotation is now. How sad is it that Vargas may be the No. 2 starter on this staff? He will give you 5 or 6 innings at the most. He's a "soft-tosser" as Klentek himself puts it. He pitches to contact. Given the inconsistent defense and the bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park how effective will be Vargas be?
Along with Drew Smyly, this is what Phillies fans get at the July trade deadline.
Don't say wait until the off-season for significant deals. Klentek and the front office tend to make promises they don't keep.
What's worse, Klentek made the comment after the Vargas deal that if he makes no more moves before the deadline on Wednesday "We will go with what we got." We already see "what the Phillies have" isn't good.
They are only a game out of a wild card spot. Getting into the playoffs may not mean much to this front office but it does to the long-suffering fans, who haven't sniffed the post-season for 8 years.
What does owner John Middleton think? Who knows? He remains silent.
Middleton is the same guy who once proclaimed "I want my f***ing trophy back!" How does he feel about Klentek and Andy MacPhail's arrogant and non-caring attitude of 'If we don't, we don't?."
Tonight the San Francisco Giants invade Philly, the same red-hot giants who are only 2 1/2 games away from a wild card spot. The Phils throw the trio of Smyly, Valasquez and Arrieta against the Giants.
They will miss Madison Baumgarner, who pitched on Sunday.
Will the slide continue? If Klentek failed to improve this team even more before the deadline will the team collapse again as they did last summer? What kind of a message does these mediocre moves send to the players and the fans?
Bryce Harper is getting his money so I suppose he won't speak up about the moves-or lack of-moves. I admit that it's going to take more than one player to fix this mess. But why not try to make the wild card ( catching the braves is unrealistic)? It's a step forward in the process.
Don't trade away prospects like Spencer Howard or Alex Bohm. Other teams are smarter than to seek failed prospects such as Mickey Moniak or Cornelius Randolph.
It's Klentek's own doing that he finds himself stuck in a corner with nowhere to go. After management spent tons of "stupid money" on players like Harper , with the purpose of winning now, Middleton has to at least be disappointed, if not angry with Klentak and MacPhail for their ineptness.
They pitched the analytics concept to Middleton and he took the bait, hook, line and sinker. But it's not too late to back out and clean house.
I'm not saying total disavow analytics. Just use it as a tool not as your Bible in how to run a baseball team.
If the Phillies don't make the playoffs, as management hoped for and the fans paid for with increased ticket sales, will Middleton pull the trigger and bring in new people to help him get his "f***ling" back?
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