tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post5363508628935583070..comments2023-07-08T06:36:52.942-07:00Comments on Two guys who, like, never agree: What's the plural for albatross?; or, Pat Gillick, Meet Billy KingDieselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02736353413710315191noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-63994297028310021542007-06-26T20:36:00.000-07:002007-06-26T20:36:00.000-07:00Colin: a valid point. I also don't like it when ...Colin: a valid point. I also don't like it when sports fans or writers get self-righteously revisionist about developments nobody could have seen coming. (I remember this particularly with the T.O. situation, one of the worst six-month stretches of my sports media-consuming life.)<BR/><BR/>My larger point was not just about the ineptitude of Gillick, but the historic ineptitude of the Phillies front office. He's part of that, obviously, though not nearly as bad as Ed Wade was.<BR/><BR/>So, to answer your question about blame, I'll say this:<BR/><BR/>Lieber: not his fault.<BR/><BR/>Garcia: I think it's the organization's fault for not doing the MRI. Exactly what Connor said, essentially. Would it have shown anything? Who knows. But anybody with half a brain orders one in that situation.<BR/><BR/>Gordon: not to blame for his injury, absolutely to blame for signing him to the contract he did. Desperate for bullpen help two years ago, he added an extra year to the deal to convince Flash to sign with Philly. Now we're on the hook for $7M this year and something right around there next year. For a 40-something pitcher who everybody knew had one good year left in him, if that, for the reasons Connor described.<BR/><BR/>Eaton: I'm ambivalent. He's overpaid, but the starting pitching market was/is so ridiculous that it's hard to blame the $ amount on Gillick. We're basically paying near-premium for an average 4th or 5th starter. But that's kind of how it is. So it's not a horrible move by Gillick, but it's far from a masterstroke.<BR/><BR/>Overall, though, once you factor in the continuing effect of Ed Wade's retardedness (the Burrell contract was unforgivable, in any context, and Thome's was a year too long), the Phils' front office has wreaked serious long-term havoc on the team's chances to contend. <BR/><BR/>I just hope their incompetence doesn't waste the entire primes of Utley/Howard/Rollins/Myers, all of whom are homegrown guys in their late 20s who have incredible potential. (I would add Hamels, but he's in his early 20s.)Sthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688861685748385179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-7842694719867832992007-06-26T19:26:00.000-07:002007-06-26T19:26:00.000-07:00Consider me edified on the baseball situation.Re: ...Consider me edified on the baseball situation.<BR/><BR/>Re: Millen. Good points, but I seem to recall you lauding his choice of Calvin Johnson over my agonized wails of 'yet another fucking receiver!!!!!, this is worse than the Holocaust!!!!' at 16th street. Tell me that this team does not need Joe Thomas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-81736105188957778342007-06-26T18:29:00.000-07:002007-06-26T18:29:00.000-07:00I think my latest post addresses some of that, but...I think my latest post addresses some of that, but specific to the Gillick question, here are some answers:<BR/><BR/>Lieber — Bad luck, and he was trying to trade him during the offseason, so maybe there's an excuse to be made here. <BR/><BR/>Garcia — A likely combination of a lack of due dilligence on the part of the Phillies, who should have noticed what a lot of scouts noticed at the end of last season, which was that Garcia's velocity was down (almost always an indication of shoulder problems). MRIs aren't conclusive, and it's possible that had the Phillies done one on Garcia, nothing would have showed up. But they didn't even do that, which is insane. <BR/><BR/>Gordon — His usage patterns with the Yankees, his injury history and his age all suggested that he was an excellent candidate for breakdown. Torre beat the living shit out of him his last two years with the Yankees, something that Gillick should have realized was a problem. Furthermore, power pitchers hardly ever age well, especially ones that were almost out of baseball not five years ago because of arm troubles. <BR/><BR/>A wise man once said that luck is the product of design, and it is Gillick's relative lack of an identifiable, proven strategy that I believe has caused the franchise's "bad luck." It doesn't help that the GM before Gillick was even more incompetent, and saddled his successor with some truly indefensible contracts that hurt the team to this day.<BR/><BR/>As for Millen: I remember the Harrington pick being embraced, but Rodgers was a different story. In fact, I remember a lot of people HATED that pick, if only because a team as bad as the Lions had bigger holes to fill than WR. Further, Millen gets killed because he chased the Rodgers pick with Mike Williams (massive overdraft), Roy Williams (who is awesome, but <I>another fucking wide receiver</I>, and general incompetence in the free agent/trade market. I think Gillick is a bad GM, but he's no Millen.Dieselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02736353413710315191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-3199567678536393052007-06-26T18:02:00.000-07:002007-06-26T18:02:00.000-07:00Is Pat Gillick a bad general manager or just an un...Is Pat Gillick a bad general manager or just an unlucky one? I ask this question in earnest and it is intended in the most non-confrontational way possible; for when it comes to baseball, I typically don't know what I am talking about.<BR/><BR/>But I ask because it SEEMS that you are evincing something that I frequently see elsewhere and is a pet-peeve of mine: that the GM/coach/boss is somehow culpable for events that are out of his control. <BR/><BR/>Example: The otherwise inexcusable Matt Millen as taken a lot of heat for, among other things, Joey Harrington and Charles Rodgers' fall from grace as professionals following sparkling collegiate careers. I know it is a tough slog defending Millen, but can he honestly be blamed for the injuries (Rodgers) and enigmatic suckitude (Harrington) of players for which there was no traceable indication of either? Nary a soul questioned these decisions at the time they were made, yet these debacles never fail to appear among his list of gaffes. <BR/><BR/>I could be wrong, but isn't it a bit harsh throwing Gillick under the bus for Lieber/Garcia/Gordon's injury status? After all, he doesn't exactly have domain over Jon Lieber's right foot tendon. The situation changes if it is revealed that Leiber had a history of such injuries, or was prone to irresponsible foot treatment, but until then, it just seems like Monday morning quarterbacking.<BR/><BR/>Feel free to rip this comment to shreds. I am very excitable (read: fiery), but hard to offend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com