Remember, This Guy Traded For Mo Vaughn
This is the leader in the clubhouse for the award of Stupidist Column of the Spring.
I'm really not quite sure what he's saying here. "Josh Hamilton is a great story and he deserves a chance, but giving him one sends a bad message?"
Phillips is disappointed because Hamilton was selected in the Rule V draft, which requires that any player selected must stay in the majors or be offered back to the team that lost him. Phillips used to run a major league franchise; he should know what the success rate for these guys is. For every Roberto Clemente or George Bell there are hundreds of guys who wash out because the development time lost sitting on a major league bench stalls their career just as it's reaching the end of the runway.
Realistically, spending the year with the Reds is probably not a good thing for Hamilton's career. Having been out of the game as long as he's been, what he needs is to get 500 at-bats in AAA, or perhaps even AA. He needs experience, which is not what he'll get sitting around on the bench. Actually becoming a starter might be even worse, once the spring training magic wears off and he shows himself to be overmatched.
By the way, Steve, you once traded for a guy who spit in the face of an umpire to help your team try and win a pennant. What kind of message did that send?
Making a major league roster through the Rule V draft might very well turn out to be anything but a boon for Josh Hamilton, who has already lost four years of his development time. Ironically, it's the young players working all the way up through the system, the ones Phillips feels such anguish for, who have the better chance right now of having major league careers.
I'm really not quite sure what he's saying here. "Josh Hamilton is a great story and he deserves a chance, but giving him one sends a bad message?"
Phillips is disappointed because Hamilton was selected in the Rule V draft, which requires that any player selected must stay in the majors or be offered back to the team that lost him. Phillips used to run a major league franchise; he should know what the success rate for these guys is. For every Roberto Clemente or George Bell there are hundreds of guys who wash out because the development time lost sitting on a major league bench stalls their career just as it's reaching the end of the runway.
Realistically, spending the year with the Reds is probably not a good thing for Hamilton's career. Having been out of the game as long as he's been, what he needs is to get 500 at-bats in AAA, or perhaps even AA. He needs experience, which is not what he'll get sitting around on the bench. Actually becoming a starter might be even worse, once the spring training magic wears off and he shows himself to be overmatched.
By the way, Steve, you once traded for a guy who spit in the face of an umpire to help your team try and win a pennant. What kind of message did that send?
Making a major league roster through the Rule V draft might very well turn out to be anything but a boon for Josh Hamilton, who has already lost four years of his development time. Ironically, it's the young players working all the way up through the system, the ones Phillips feels such anguish for, who have the better chance right now of having major league careers.
Labels: incompetent GMs, steve phillips, wtf statements
posted by Jim at
6:16 PM
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