On this morning's WIP morning show, all five of the people in studio were in agreement that the Phillies absolutely MUST do something at the trade deadline- not necessarily because they need another player, but because it's important that they send a message to their fanbase that they care and that they're trying to win. Because that's what the Yankees do. And every year in the postseason, players who were obtained in midseason trades come up huge.
What nonsense. No general manager should ever make a trade with the primary purpose of "making a splash" or "sending a message to the fanbase," and any GM who does should be fired. That's not his job- his job is to make the moves necessary to make his team better. And yes, sometimes players obtained in midseason trades come up big in the playoffs. But some don't. And a whole of World Series heroes are people who've been on the team all along.
Should the Phillies go out and get a righthanded bat? Probably. But I don't necessary believe that the difference between Josh Willingham and John Mayberry is the difference between winning the World Series and not winning it.
Angelo Cataldi also ripped previous GM Ed Wade for never doing anything at the trade deadline. A fair point, perhaps- but a lot of those years, "doing something" might have entailed trading a minor-leaguer named Ryan Howard or Chase Utley or Cole Hamels for a stopgap relief pitcher.
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 18, 2011 04:51 PM