A few thoughts on the current state of the Phillies as we go back and forth between the Fightins and coverage of the
timeless Walter Cronkite's death.
There are opinions everywhere about what the Phillies should do with their starting rotation for the stretch run. Speculation on the front office's interest in Pedro Martinez culminated with the club announcing they'd reached an agreement with the three-time Cy Young award winner on a one-year contract. Further speculation has Ruben Amaro, Jr. and his lieutenants hot on the trail of Toronto uber ace Roy Halladay.
Will Amaro give Blue Jays counterpart J.P. Ricciardi what he wants in order to bring the best pitcher in baseball to south Philly?
Time will tell.
Some answer the question by imploring Amaro to empty the cupboard, to do what it takes to bring in Halladay. Others, in what seems to be a minority opinion, express concern with the idea of dealing away multiple prospects out of a farm system that has become extraordinarily healthy over the past year. Premium outfielders (Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown), catchers (Lou Marson, Travis D'Arnaud) and pitchers (Kyle Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Joe Savery) could be available.
(We interrupt this post to say damn you, Wes Helms!)
Back at the ranch...we say to do what it takes, within reason, to bring Halladay into the fold. If it takes including J.A. Happ, do it. It might save you one of your prospects down on the farm.
Pedro only costs money. Halladay, of course, will cost money and players - probably several players.
You get what you pay for.
**
We try to temper our criticism of sports broadcasters because we know how hard the job is. Having worked as my friend Jed Donahue's producer and co-host for nearly three years drove home just how tough it is to put on a quality product.
However, ESPN Radio's afternoon personality, the grating Doug Gottlieb, must be called out. In his "Zoning In" segment Thursday afternoon, Gottlieb talked with someone from 950 ESPN in Philly (can't recall the name or find it on their
site) about the Pedro signing. Following a conversation most likely scripted by his producer, Gottlieb ended the conversation by saying "All I'm saying is everyone else passed" on signing Pedro.
It makes for a neat little exclamation point. If it were actually true.
Early reports had the Yankees, Rays, Cubs and Angels showing interest. At the press conference, Pedro alluded to the fact that other teams were willing to offer him more money, but he wanted the chance to play for a team with a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing.
We've never been a big fan of the nasally Gottlieb, who loves to throw out his southern California roots frequently. Yes Doug, we know you're from "SoCal."
**
While we're taking members of the media to task, let's not forget one close to home: the aforementioned 950 ESPN's Mike Missanelli.
Missanelli ripped the Phillies for allowing Pedro to wear #45, which, as you know, was also the number of the beloved Tug McGraw. The foundation of Missanelli's argument is that nobody has worn the number since the Tugger.
Not true. Missanelli, who's worked in this town for years, should know better.
Remember
Terry Mulholland? He wore the number.
So did
Tom Gordon.
It's easy to miss things. But Mike should know better.
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