Ruben Amaro Jr. put himself on the hot seat earlier today with some comments that upset the Phillies fanbase. Mired in a season in which the Phillies are on pace to lose 97 games, Phillies fans certainly do not wish to be berated. Amaro appeared this afternoon on 97.5 the Fanatic with Mike Missanelli to apologize.
The comments that caused controversy came from a CSN Philly piece from Jim Salisbury:
“I think we’re going to be conservative,” he said. That often does not sit well with fans who want to see the Phillies be aggressive with their prospects. “They don’t understand the game,” Amaro said. "They don’t understand the process. There’s a process. And then they bitch and complain because we don’t have a plan. There’s a plan in place and we’re sticking with the plan. We can’t do what’s best for the fan. We have to do what’s best for the organization so the fan can reap the benefit of it later on. That’s the truth.”
Missanelli asked Amaro if he understood that how could say that those words "wreaked of arrogance" and Amaro offered his apologies and agreed:
"No question – like I said probably a wrong choice of words…it was not directed to all of the Philly fans…it was more directed to those who want to see guys like Eflin and Aaron Nola".
Amaro said that he understands fans want to see those players in the big leagues, but pointed out that Nola has made just 21 professional appearances to this point and needs more time.
