Two problems with the Phillies

Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Don McKee writes two items about the Philadelphia Phillies today. In both cases, he makes a good (if fairly obvious) point, and then completely fails to draw any meaningful conclusion from those observations.

First, McKee speculates that Larry Bowa, the Phillies manager, will likely keep his job for the remainder of the season and be fired in the off-season, in spite of the recent homestand where the Phils went 1-10 and the fact that it would take a miracle the likes of which the Philadelphia sports world has never seen* for the Phillies to make the playoffs. Here's McKee's take:

The betting here is that Bowa will finish the season. The Phillies were dead in the water in late July, after the Marlins swept them in four games in Florida. Bowa survived that, so there seems little reason to fire him now. Whoever is assessing this strangely lifeless collection of non-performers can do so from upstairs.

But a harsh assessment is warranted. This team carried a $93 million payroll into opening day, it plays in a state-of-the-art ballpark packed with eager fans, and it relaxes in the most lavish quarters in major-league baseball.

The result has been no spirit, no hustle, no grit and no show.

It's absolutely true that the 2004 Phillies haven't shown much heart. They've had some big comeback victories, but those never seem to fire up the team to start a big winning streak.

Might it be the case, however, that the lack of grit that the Phillies display is partially the manager's fault? All season long there have been rumblings in the clubhouse that some players don't like playing for Larry Bowa.

How do you determine whether or not Bowa's to blame? Well, one idea is to fire Bowa now and see how the players perform under a different manager for the rest of the season. But no, McKee sees "little reason to fire him now." Larry Bowa has, on paper, one of the best teams in the league. Yet he's managed that team to a 61-62 record. Blame injuries if you must, but Bowa's poor tactical decisions and clubhouse demeanor just isn't getting it done.

(Incidentally, for an overview of what the Phillies should do with the rest of the season, check out this post on Phillies Fan. Drastic? Yes? Useful? Absolutely.)

McKee's then deals with Bowa's boss, Phillies general manager Ed Wade. The conventional wisdom in these parts is that Wade is gun-shy when it comes to trading away prospects for impact players. As McKee points out, this isn't entirely accurate:

However, far from being a guy who won't trade prospects, Wade might actually have traded too many minor leaguers.

Since the end of 2002, the Phillies have traded Johnny Estrada, Taylor Buchholz, Ezequiel Astacio, Nick Punto, Bobby Korecki, Elizardo Ramirez, Alfredo Simon, Javon Moran, Joe Wilson and Anderson Machado for Kevin Millwood, Billy Wagner, Eric Milton, Todd Jones, Felix Rodriguez and Cory Lidle.

A whole boatload of prospects for Kevin Millwood, Billy Wagner, Eric Milton, Todd Jones, Felix Rodriguez, and Cory Lidle. All of these guys are pitchers - three starters and three relievers. You'd think, then, that the Phils' pitching staff would be one of the best in the league. After all, the point of trading prospects is to get impact players, right? Well, you'd be wrong. The Phillies currently rank 13th in the National League in team ERA.** And it's not as if these pitchers have been doing well and the Phillies homegrown talent has floundered. With the exception of Billy Wagner (who's been hurt a lot this season) and Felix Rodriguez (who's only been with the Phils for about a month), Ed Wade's big trade acquisitions have been mediocre.***

The problem is not that Ed Wade doesn't make enough trades. The problem is that Ed Wade makes crappy trades, sending away legitimate prospects for mediocre major leaguers.

If the Phillies are going to win any championships any time soon, they're going to need some serious changes in their management, starting with Larry Bowa and Ed Wade.

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*Okay, okay. I suppose Rocky Balboa defeating Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago were also pretty big miracles. But those don't count. For obvious reasons.

**Some of this can be attributed to the Phillies' home, Citizens Bank Park, being a hitter's park. But not that much, really.

***Yes, Eric Milton is sporting a 13-2 record. But pitchers' win-loss records don't tell you much about how they pitch.