Phillies’ Dollars and Sense
By Tal Venada
If you read the posts of fans at different sites, you’ll notice the blame-related parallels for the pitching coach. They should fire him, what are they waiting for? He’s ruined the starters; their injuries are all his fault. Fire him!
No, the coach isn’t currently on the hometown nine, and it happened in 2005 during the first of his 11 years with the Atlanta Braves. The problem was Atlanta enjoyed success from 1991 through 2004, and they took a healthy five-man staff for granted. Translation: Winning never ends!
As for Phillies sites, many locals have voiced the no-brainer moves expected. For instance, if he doesn’t swap Joseph – one fan posted – I’ll be angry (not his word). And – another pointed out – Joseph won’t be on the club when they are competitive again (the supporter either felt 20 months older than Rhys Hoskins is a major drawback or made an assumption).
The problem is that in April Hoskins hit .338 with six home runs and 12 RBI to Joseph’s .179 average with one long ball and seven RBI. But since the opening month ended, no fan has openly changed their mind. In other words, when you consider the reaction and expectations of paying customers – gate or cable – you can understand the reluctance of any franchise to a lengthy rebuild. Translation: The losing never ends!