Sunday, October 03, 2004
Final Day...
Larry Bowa fired … something some Phillies fans were urging last year. While I agree with Phil Sheridan and ESPN’s Tim Kurtjian [sic] that there is a lot of blame to be spread around, I think that most of it has to, and should be, leveled at Bowa. Other managers succeed with as much or less talent and still consistently win: I think that it is meaningful that the Phils finally managed a sustained winning streak (6 wins) at a point in the season when everyone had written them off and the pressure on the team to win had evaporated. True, the Phils pitching staff disappointed us this year, but this team was remarkably injury-free in ’04 and in ’03. These players had so much talent and it is baffling to see them choke. They never put together a sustained winning streak, they never played with any sort of consistency.
But as I said there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with Ed Wade’s fetish for dealing for relief pitchers at the trading deadline instead of another bat in the outfield, or another front-line starter to patch up the rotation. The Dodgers liked having Steve Finley in centerfield. I’m sure we could have used him instead of Marlon Byrd and Doug Glanville. This team needs to up-grade its management strategies and be more aggressive and shrewder. I think the Seattle Mariners in ’02 and ’03 showed what happens when a team fails to keep pace with its competitors and upgrade. Ed Wade would do well to remember what Sun-Tzu said in The Art of War:
“Bring war material with you from home, but forge on the enemy … use the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength.”
And there should probably be a house-cleaning this fall, starting with cutting out deadwood like Glanville. The starting line up of Polanco, Rollins, Thome, Abreu, Burrell, Bell and Lieberthal looks strong. The Phillies really need to think about dealing Bell and/or re-signing Polanco (and moving Utley to third) and upgrading centerfield. It is in the pitching staff that the Phils need to do some work.
Final day of the season, at least the Phils get second-place rather than third this year ...
… Go Eagles!
But as I said there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with Ed Wade’s fetish for dealing for relief pitchers at the trading deadline instead of another bat in the outfield, or another front-line starter to patch up the rotation. The Dodgers liked having Steve Finley in centerfield. I’m sure we could have used him instead of Marlon Byrd and Doug Glanville. This team needs to up-grade its management strategies and be more aggressive and shrewder. I think the Seattle Mariners in ’02 and ’03 showed what happens when a team fails to keep pace with its competitors and upgrade. Ed Wade would do well to remember what Sun-Tzu said in The Art of War:
“Bring war material with you from home, but forge on the enemy … use the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength.”
And there should probably be a house-cleaning this fall, starting with cutting out deadwood like Glanville. The starting line up of Polanco, Rollins, Thome, Abreu, Burrell, Bell and Lieberthal looks strong. The Phillies really need to think about dealing Bell and/or re-signing Polanco (and moving Utley to third) and upgrading centerfield. It is in the pitching staff that the Phils need to do some work.
Final day of the season, at least the Phils get second-place rather than third this year ...
… Go Eagles!
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# posted by 
: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 11:32:00 AM
: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 11:32:00 AM
