The Marlins have made the Phillies better
As the Miami Marlins unveiled their gauche new ballpark last winter, proud team president David Samson oddly pointed out that the outside portion of the place did not have any right angles.
The Marlins have made the Phillies better
Bob Brookover
As the Miami Marlins unveiled their gauche new ballpark last winter, proud team president David Samson oddly pointed out that the outside portion of the place did not have any right angles.
"That's the way (owner) Jeffrey Loria wanted it," Samson said.
A short time later the Marlins learned that they had not made any of the right moves in an effort to revamp the moribund franchise.
That's what led to the firing of manager Ozzie Guillen after one season as well as the latest Marlins' roster purge Tuesday night. Among others, the Marlins traded shortstop Jose Reyes and star pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to the Toronto Blue Jays.
They were moves that mystified Miami's remaining veterans and assured that the Marlins will stink again in 2013.
“Alright, I’m pissed off!!! Plain & Simple,” outfielder Giancarlo Stanton tweeted.
All of this should come as great news to the Phillies.
Without making any major moves this offseason, the Phillies' chances of returning to the postseason in 2013 should have already improved considerably.
As Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. continues to ponder ways to upgrade his roster, he already has a team that should be able to put at least five more games in the win column.
The Phillies went 10-8 against the Marlins in 2012 and 8-10 against the Mets. Their record against the N.L. East was 33-39. Given how bad the Marlins are going to be next season and how terrible the Phillies played against the Mets, they should pick up at least five games in the standings by consistently beating those two teams.
It's true that the rest of the division is also going to have the opportunity to beat up on the wretched Marlins, but the two wild-card system put in place last year gives an advantage to the teams that have the league's worst team in their division.
At this point, the three best teams in the N.L. East are the Phillies, Washington and Atlanta and that does not figure to change regardless of what the Mets do this offseason. It's conceivable the Marlins could go 12-42 against the Phillies, Nats and Braves, giving them all an advantage over the other National League teams.
That's especially true because Houston, the worst team in baseball in 2012, has moved from the National League Central to the American League West.
The Astros, of course, provide a cautionary tale for the Phillies about any given day. On the other hand, the fact that St. Louis was 11-4 against Houston last season and 10-5 the year before provides proof that having a terrible team in your division when the schedule is unbalanced is a distinct advantage.
Take the Astros out of the N.L. Central and it's entirely possible the Cardinals don't even make the playoffs the last two seasons.
The point is, the Marlins have helped the Phillies before the Phillies have even helped themselves.
Didn't Atlanta and Washington just get better, too?— Tedyuscung- Reading this artical is 2 minutes I will never get back in my life. It makes no logical sense at all. Wake me up when the Phils actually make worthwhile news this winter.— skipdog
- what an absurd article, nothing but more pandering in the direction of the all-powerful GM from his fawning local media. Any attempt possible to shine a better light on Amaro's Phils is what these guys are all about, and this one takes the cake. Let's see...the Marlins just gutted their team and this makes the Phils that much better? Only at the end of the article do the authors allow for the fact that the same thing makes everyone several games better.
But, boy oh boy, that Amaro sure is a genius, isn't he? The Phils offseason is off and running with the gutting of one of their competitors for 3rd place in the division. Now that's news!!!!!— advantasux - The Marlins are great at rebuilding and my money say they will earn the big prize long before the Phils will.— fafink
- Bob, this will be a fine entry for the most meaningless article catagory year end awards. Well done.— jimmymack
- Does the trade make the Braves and Nationals better also? Or just the Phils??? Great article.— pnolan
- Stop dreaming about Stanton. He's going nowhere. For starters, he's 23 years old, the best young slugger in the game and is in club control until 2017. Second, if they decide to trade him, it won't be to an NL teal, let alone the Phillies. If you look at the big trades they have made over the years, including the one they just made this week, all have been to the AL, the Becket/Lowell deal to Boston, Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, who at the time was 24 years old. Look at him now. Do you think they want to make the same mistake with Stanton at a similar age? And please, Dom Brown and Cloyd for Stanton? That won't get you Logan Morrison, maybe Yunel Escobar and a player to be named later.— EL Zorro
- By this logic the Florida governor just gained popularity. By the way, I don't see Loria remaining the Marlin's owner. I expect a coup d'etat at some point soon.— JayW
- The Phillies can most help themselves by signing Youklis to play 3B in 2013 while Cody Asche develops as the 3B of the future, and signing Josh Hamilton to play CF, then starting Ruf in LF, and landing a bonafide 8th inning RP. They are probably stuck with Rollins batting lead-off, but a lineup of Rollins, Utley, Hamilton, Howard, Youklis, Chooch, Ruf, Brown looks pretty good to me. Not much speed other than Rollins and Brown, but high contact, low strikeout guys in the 2-3 and 5-6 holes, power throughout, and the two young guys in the least pressurized slots in the lineup. Forget about the Marlins. They will stink and that will help the Braves and Nats as much as the Phils.— topwonk
- Is this what it's come to? Addition by other people's subtraction? Everyone else will benefit by these teams being weakened as well - ditto with Astros moving to AL.
It's sad when you grasp for good news like this. Oh look! My team doesn't su_k as bad as their's.... sheessh— IrishJoe - I predict the Marlins and Phillies will provide keen competition for the basement.— 4thand10
- Great! We've sunk to telling the Phillies how good they are by comparing them to cellar dwellers.— ricciaje
- Pumpkin head??!! That's a good one! Why was this article even written? That doesn't make the Phillies better. They still have to learn how to hit the ball, they still need 3 outfielders, they still need a third baseman, they still need a new manager, they still need a GM with some sense in his noggin, and so forth! How did the Fish trading those players make the Phillies better?— vietnamvet
- 1Republican, yes to us!
— hodigger - It has been reported that teams from NL Central and NL West have complained to the Commissioner's office about the trade...It didn't take them long to figure out it lessens the likelihood of their teams making the playoffs as a wildcard...which is what Brookover was trying to say..— stan the man too
