Philadelphia: Fans Want Championships, Owners Want Playoffs

I am not a general manager. I am not a sports franchise owner. I don’t claim to know all of the complexities of making a trade or managing a salary cap. I write for Bleed Eagles Green.

What I do have is an opinion. What I do know is that the fans of Philadelphia are starving for a championship. What I do know is that the owners and GMs of the Phillies and Eagles do not give us fans the opportunity to bring home that championship.

Today’s passing of the MLB trade deadline and the Phillies not making a move is yet another example of the local team not taking the next step. If the pieces fall right the Eagles and Phillies are at best playoff caliber teams. They are NOT championship caliber. Even the biggest die-hard fan cannot honestly argue this fact.

The Eagles and Phillies are fooling no one when the say that their teams, constructed as is, are championship caliber.

The Phillies are fooling no one when they pin their hopes on Joe Blanton and Brett Myers being the answer to their pitching struggles. The Eagles are fooling no one when they say they are happy with Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown as the teams’ top receiving threats.

And don’t give us fans the statement that you made your best effort in the trade market. The Phillies should have made an offer that the Blue Jays, A’s, or Indians could not refuse for Halladay, Harden, or Sabathia. A trade should have been made weeks ago for one of these players. Today’s trading deadline should have been irrelevant for the Phillies. If you aren’t going to get one of these top pitchers, don’t try and appease us by trading for a bottom of the rotation guy like Blanton.

By not making the push for that missing piece, the Phillies are wasting one of the greatest nucleuses in their team history. The Phillies everyday line-up boasts a former MVP, the current MVP, and a possible third MVP in Chase Utely. Why not go all in? If it doesn’t work out at least there are no what-ifs. And if it blows-up and we are set back a few years so what. It’s not like the city isn’t used to the Phillies losing. The Phillies have lost over 10,000 games!
Continue Reading