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| Wikipedia photo by ElCapitan |
The Phillies had a losing September in 2011. They lost in the first round of the playoffs that year. In 2012, they went 81-81. In 2013, they are 50-57.
Ruben missed that apparently:
The Phillies had at least one late opportunity to move veterans Michael Young and Carlos Ruiz, both of whom are set to become free agents, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Philadelphia ultimately stood pat at the deadline, in spite of the fact that the team is seven games under .500. Of course, both Young and Ruiz are potential August trade candidates.According to Heyman, Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. about an hour before the deadline. After confirming that Young was willing to waive his no-trade clause if he were dealt to New York, Cashman offered to send a prospect to Philadelphia and take on the remainder of the third baseman's salary. (Heyman does not provide any information about the prospect that the Yankees reportedly offered.) When Amaro declined that proposal, Heyman says, Cashman asked about the availability of the catcher Ruiz but was told that he was not on the table.
W.T.F.!
The Phillies are not a good baseball team. Michael Young and Carlos Ruiz are both aging players who are declining in performance. Michael Young and Carlos Ruiz are both free agents after the season. You do not re-sign declining players, and you certainly don't turn down a trade to get them off of your roster, recoup their remaining money, and maybe even get a player or two. This is malpractice, almost regardless of who the prospect offered for Young is.
Ruben honestly doesn't get it. He thinks his team is good, they just have injury issues. He might be right, but injury issues don't get better in 34 year olds. Injury issues wear down performance. That doesn't change back at age 34. With Cody Asche up, keeping Young makes little to no sense. Ruiz plays a position that the Phillies have literally stockpiled prospects at. Sure, none of them may be ready yet, but you don't give an extension to him as he declines.
If Ruben thinks he can put a nearly identical team out on the field next year, with just maybe one new person in the line-up, he's lost. He appears to be delusional. If that is in fact true, it's time for the Phillies ownership to fire him. Fire him now.
