Video: Bob Ford on Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s offseason tactics
Inquirer columnist Bob Ford chats with Brian Clark of Cinesport about whether Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has been too casual in handling the offseason and who the ideal center fielder signing might be.
Video: Bob Ford on Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s offseason tactics
Video: Inquirer columnist Bob Ford chats with Brian Clark of Cinesport about whether Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has been too casual in handling the offseason and who the ideal center fielder signing might be.
Comments (24)
It's not patience. He's purely overwhelmed and in over his smug head. The other GMs have figured him out and it doesn't help that he put himself in the position to look desperate at these meetings.— ghost of callison- its not patience...its a lack of ability to perform his role at a high level.— psualum
- This was all very predictable when he started filling openings with older players (Ibanez, Polanco, Oswalt) and wasted a draft pick in the Cliff Lee debacle. He's already traded his most valuable prospects to Houston in the Oswalt and Pence deals. Now, he's left with question marks in half his starting lineup, with the remaining guys on the downside of their careers. He's just not a good GM.— Jeff Dowder
- Sometimes patience is a good thing. It is no big deal that they didn't get Upton . How many teams have made trades already?— 1danny
- I got a bad feeling about next season. Maybe Howie Roseman can stop over and help him out.— truthfirst
- I guess they all wanted Pagan for 4 years, Vic for 40 million or Upton for 75 million. If they made any of those deals these fans would have been on here crying and howling. Maybe we should have thrown big dough at Haren also..lol— pattymac3
- Your post inadvertently points out why Amaro is incompetent.
All of the holes in the team should have been predicted 3 years before they happened.
Amaro always seems surprised by things like contracts expiring, or guys getting old.
If you think that Amaro's role is simply to comb through retreads on the FA list, then I think you have a narrow view of his role.
The roster blame is squarly on the shoulders of Amaro. And no matter how well Howard and Utley play this year, it will have no impact on the Phillies likely falling into the depths of the NL East basement.
If that happens, not only should Amaro be fired, Montgomery should slap him in the face as he leaves the park.— fmMD - pattymac: You don't get it, do you? It's all about the other teams in our division improving while we do nothing. THAT'S what it's all about.— ghost of callison
- It's not a matter of patience so much as it is that here's nothing that can be done. Short of a miracle, how are they going to fix this mess? Aging players, bloated contracts, bad manager ... it's a crying shame. The one WS was nice and all but at the end of the day they should have had two or three.— Bradley85
- What you're seeing from Amaro isn't patience, it's a man with limited options who's boxed in and has little idea what to do next. He's spent as much money as the owners will allow, and now he's outta free agent bullets. None of this should be a surprise to any astute baseball fan with decent powers of observation and reasoning ability. Successful teams build from within, filling in with free agents and trades. The 2008 Phillies were built this way, which is why they won. Has it been the case after that, when Amaro took over? Let's see - Amaro's earned a 'B ' for free agent acquisitions (not an 'A' because he overpaid for some of 'em!), a 'C ' for trades and an 'F' for developing home grown players, which at root, is what's responsible for the post-2008 downward trajectory of the Phillies. Not a single minor league player has become a starter for the Phillies under Amaro. Darin Ruf may become one, but he's a Gillick get. All Amaro can do now is ink a few lower priced guys and hope like hell that all of his high-priced veterans and fee agents can somehow bounce back to where they were 3 or 4 years ago. Is that realistic? He can make a trade or two. Dom Brown or Vance Worley? You'd get only like players in return. Does that really help? Why have the Cardinals and Giants, ranked 7th and 9th respectively in payroll, typically outperformed the 2nd highest spending Phillies during Amaro's tenure as GM, winning 4 World Series between them?— RightSaidJeff
- Rube the Boob will blow another off-season.
This team has no major league quality starting outfielders or third baseman.
Not to mention that its less than clear that Howard will ever regain mobility because of his very serious injury.
The team is a mess.— fmMD - People would be complaining if he went oiut and signed anybody, b/c it would take a boatload of money to do it right now, and people are complaining b/c he is waiting things out. Bottom line, people just like to complain about him....— Philliefan75inAZ
- People are complaining because the team was predictably awful in 2012.
People are loudly complaining because the team will be worse in 2013, and short of signing 4 major league caliber players to play outfield and 3rd base, they will be notably worse in 2013.
Enjoy The Phillies.— fmMD - People would be complaining if he went oiut and signed anybody, b/c it would take a boatload of money to do it right now, and people are complaining b/c he is waiting things out. Bottom line, people just like to complain about him....— Philliefan75inAZ
- Give Amaro credit for not signing someone who wouldn't help the Phils enough any way. That includes Upton, Span, Pagan and Victorino. The forest is starting to thin out and the real prizes are starting to show themselves. The Padres are still looking for starters. Headley wouldn't be a bad catch. The Rangers are going all out for Grienke and Upton. That makes Hamilton available and the Phils one of the only teams who could afford him. Before this week is over, Stanton could become available as well. You just don't know. Bourn, Fowler and Young have been linked to the Phils and, while they'd each help the Phils to a certain degree, they wouldn't help the Phils as much as Hamilton, Stanton or Headley. If Soriano could play right field and the Phils could acquire him as well as Headley, it would be a nice week's work for Amaro. The real prizes are still out there, so give Amaro a little more time. I have a feeling most fans will be happy with the players he brings to Philly.— onthebucks
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About this blog
Bob Ford has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 1981, and is still trying to figure it all out. A former beat writer covering the Phillies and the 76ers, Ford became a general sports columnist for the Inquirer in 2003, following in and occasionally falling in the deep footsteps of Bill Lyon, Frank Dolson and many distinguished others. He comes to the Philly.com blogosphere after award-winning success as designer/editor of the fabulous Pen & Pencil Club softball blog. Likes: Palestra, inside-the-park home runs, sunny days. Dislikes: phony people, cloudy days, rewrites.
Reach Bob at bford@phillynews.com.
Bob Ford
Inquirer Sports Columnist
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