Philadelphia Phillies offseason strategy and plans about 2013 Major League regular season-MLB Part 1
It is easy to pick out an observation from the offseason moves taken by the Philadelphia Phillies so far. They appear h**l-bent to reclaim their lost glory in the Division, while failing to think beyond the 2013 season.
It seems the anger of the fans following their dismal show in 2012 has pressurised the officials of the club to such an extent that they are extremely afraid of repeating the same performance in 2013.
That fear is stopping them from taking bold measures. Those that keep balance in short and long term goals of the organisation.
Only objective the club seems to have at the moment is win a spot in the playoffs during the upcoming season by hook or by crook. The kind of players added so far by them are an ample proof of their short-sighted aims.
They know that Michael Young will be worthless after one or two years. Yet, they have brought him on their roster, hoping that he produces one of the wonders that were seen from him when he was at the peak of his career.
Young’s expedition as a major leaguer is fast coming to an end, irrespective of whether he accepts it or not.
At best, he can help the Phillies for one season and make them restore their pride in the National League East Division.
Beyond that, he will be a burden, the disadvantages of which will be experienced in the form of an overall decline in future performances of the organisation.
There were some quality free agents available in the market that the Phillies did not pursue purposefully.
Firstly, because they were more or less not guarantying immediate returns. Their fruits were to start materialising after some years. That means they could not assure the Phillies anything that suits their short-term objective, which is winning the division
title in 2013.
For example, Michael Bourn and B.J. Upton were overlooked by the Phillies.
The second reason why they stayed away from the free agent market was the lack of will of the management to spend some money in the market.
Preference of Ben Revere over Upton and Bourn from their part reflects this. Trading some pitching arms for filling a spot in the outfield was a far cheaper option for the Phillies.
General Manager of the Phillies, Rubén Amaro, Jr. is clever enough to justify his disinterest to the free agents this year on the grounds that they are not that worthwhile.
Amaro has avoided giving an impression that the lack of money led to their indifference to the free agency this year.
The fact of the matter is ageing players in their line-up such as Ryan Howard and Chase Utley fetch the bulk of their financial resources. That has left little for the management to expend and address issues with the roster.
(To be Continued in Part 2....)
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: