The Phillies’ record as of Tuesday afternoon stands at 19-28, which is good enough for fourth place in the NL East, nine games back of the division-leading Nationals. However, they do have a couple young minor-league prospects at Double-A Reading who have performed well so far this year, most notably, pitchers Zach Eflin, 21 (4-3 with a 2.28 ERA), and Aaron Nola, 22 (6-3, 1.87).
So, will Phillies fans get a chance to see either of these young men up with the big club later this year? Probably not, according to GM Ruben Amaro.
“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 b*tch 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.”
Uh oh.
Now, granted, only Ruben Amaro knows the verbal wrath he experiences on a daily basis. Just knowing what exists from the lowest denomination of fans on social media and on sports talk radio makes it easy to assume they do not let him off easy.
Having said that, the team is horrible again this year. If things continue the way they have been, this will be their third-consecutive sub-.500 finish. Also, with four of their eight starting position players on the wrong side of age 30, they’re not the most likely bottom-dweller to experience a quick turnaround.
So, even if it’s true that a lot of fans don’t understand the game, or what goes into building a contender, is now really a good time to say it out loud and in public?
Considering Amaro is the man who built this particular losing team, he may have been better off keeping those thoughts to himself.
[via CSN Philly]
