Philadelphia Phillies: Mainstream media enables foot-dragging?

Is the mainstream media enabling the Phillies feet to drag in MLB free agency?

Outstanding writers are covering the Philadelphia Phillies, like those covering most MLB teams, and they are driven at least in part by the essential need to maintain good relationships with the team they cover. If they are covering a player who is suspected of being an alcoholic, for example, that doesn’t get much more ink now than it did in Mickey Mantle’s days. (Of course, if the guy wraps his car around a tree and blows .032, he’s probably fair game.) Likewise, it’s not so wise to question team management decisions before competitive play even begins in spring training.

It is up to the relative independents to question team thinking. This is where entities like Call to the Pen come in. It’s not that the mainstream press doesn’t ever do that. Some writers do, but it often comes after some considerable deliberation.

I was reminded of this by a Jan. 20 article by Philly.com writer Matt Breen on the really-going-nowhere negotiations of the Phillies to acquire Jake Arrieta sometime before the pitcher starts getting AARP mail. Breen’s piece was thoughtful and involved carefully focused research, but most of all it seemed designed to portray Phillies management as thoughtful people who do carefully focused research.

The Phillies look sharp, then, whatever they do – sign Arrieta or not.

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What Breen did was lay out a quick history of elite pitchers who were given long-term contracts in near, recent years. The post-contract performance of the five-to-seven-year contract holders isn’t pretty, and thus, Arrieta’s expectation of such an agreement is something to look askance at – as the Phillies have done. If they happen to outwait him and his agent, Scott Boras, and then sign him to a three-year deal, the team will still look sharp. In either event, Breen has been helpful to their public image.

This is not to say that Breen or the Phillies are wrong at this juncture. Arrieta’s velocity last season dropped a shocking 1.6 mph!

However, at this point, only Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, and Arrieta are still available among unattached starters.

Bottom line: Breen is clearly doing his job. However, it’s not clear the Phillies are doing theirs unless they’re working behind the scenes on Alex Cobb and making sure that story doesn’t end up on their website until the deal is done.

Next: Cardinals hurlers bringing the heat during Spring training

They’re still operating at this point with four holes behind Aaron Nola in their rotation. To expect four of the alleged starters on the team now to step up now and have winning seasons is just plain silly.