The 2013 Philadelphia Phillies have been a disappointment to say the least. They are currently 50-61 and have lost 13 of their past 14 games. The offense is performing horribly since the All Star break having only scored 33 runs in those 14 games. Their bullpen has been horribly all season long and Jonathan Papelbon has blown 6 of his past 15 save opportunities. The bullpen ranks in the bottom five in every statistical category.
The frustration has hit its tipping point when closer Papelbon made some harsh statements about the team. His statement goes as follows, “I definitely didn’t come here for this.” The minute he dropped those words you would have to think he wishes that he took it back because the Phillies fans have jumped all over him. In his ninth inning appearance against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night he was booed loudly by the home team fans on national television of all times. He told the press that his words were taken out of context and that he wanted to include himself in the whole mess and not just his teammates.
When it comes to the Phillies as a whole, most general managers expected the team to be split up. Michael Young was the main piece that was going to be moved but for some reason never did. The Yankees were said to have been interested in him and even called the front office an hour before the deadline saying they would give a third tier prospect for him. The Phillies said they would consider it and give them a call back. The Yankees waited until 20 minutes before the deadline and still had heard nothing from them so they called back. Upon calling them back the Phillies said the deal was off the table and they would be keeping Young. The strangest thing about all of this is that the Yankees said they would have taken over his 4.5 million dollars that would have been owed to him by the Phillies.
When looking at this ball club it seems silly and ignorant that they did not “blow up” the team. They are not going to win the NL East and have no chance at the wild card. Once Ryan Howard got hurt things went downhill and that was when most executives expected them to become sellers. Instead they stayed dormant and did absolutely nothing. With all due respect, this team is not going to be good for a long time and the fact that the front office won't move any pieces shows they are going to be bad for a longer amount of time. At least last year the Marlins knew that they were out of it and dumped ship. Believe it or not the Phillies could learn a thing or two from the Marlins.
When it is all said and done the front office in Philadelphia will have to live with this decision for next few seasons. It will be very interesting to see what this ballclub will do come the 2013/2014 off season.