Phillies Offseason Talk

[PhillyPhreak54]

when did Utely talk shtein, i don't remember that.

A couple of fans brought it up on WIP one night right after a game and then I think a beat writer or two caught on to it. I believe it was Randy Miller I heard mention it again the other day. Apparently a fan was riding Bobby A all game long and after he made an out the fan was still chirping at him ala Eskin. So Utley goes over to the fan and has a few choice words with him and another player (don't recall who) had to go tell Utley to chill.

[MDS]

I'm in the stairway today, and as this kid is walking down, he says "yea, they gotta trade abreu. or burrell" I just wanted to yell "you idiot, we cant trade abreu unless its for an ace!!!!"

i are awsum

[PhillyPhreak54]

Way to lay the smack down, bro. Keep up the good work.

[SunMo]

I'm in the stairway today, and as this kid is walking down, he says "yea, they gotta trade abreu. or burrell" I just wanted to yell "you idiot, we cant trade abreu unless its for an ace!!!!"

i are awsum

yeah, you don't want to give up bad defense, .300 average and 120+ strikeouts unless it's for Sandy Koufax

[MDS]

you are the wrong

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I just wanted to yell "you idiot, we cant trade abreu unless its for an ace!!!!"

i are awsum

So, you stood there and kept your Hoyda mouth closed, right?

u are teh ghey

[PhillyGirl]

Phillies Notes Amaro will interview with O's
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

HOUSTON - Houston Astros general manager Tim Purpura said Thursday that Ruben Amaro Jr. should be a candidate for every general manager's vacancy in baseball.

Well, he's a candidate for at least two jobs so far.

Amaro is a candidate for the Phillies' job, and a baseball source said yesterday that he will interview for a senior front-office position with the Baltimore Orioles today. It's unclear exactly what the position will be, but it clearly would be a promotion for Amaro, who has been assistant GM with the Phillies since 1998.

The Orioles have had a dual-GM partnership in recent seasons with Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan. But Beattie is no longer with the organization, and Flanagan replaced Beattie as the executive vice president of baseball operations. New York Mets senior vice president Jim Duquette, also considered a potential candidate for the Phillies' job, interviewed with Flanagan on Thursday.

Amaro couldn't be reached for comment.

Bringing back Billy. Billy Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, said yesterday that, while he was encouraged with their meeting with the Phillies on Wednesday, ground still needs to be made up in a few areas, not just in the total compensation for the deal.

Wagner is believed to be seeking a three-year deal for at least $27 million and a complete no-trade clause. The Phillies have upped their offer to three years but have come up short in terms of dollars.

Stringfellow said Wagner is curious to see what the free-agent market might hold for him. Several East Coast teams could be looking for closers, including Boston, Atlanta and the New York Mets - and they are prepared to wait. But they also expect the Phillies to make another offer in the near future.

[Rome]

So not only does Monty do the stupid thing in trying to re-sign Wagner before he hires a GM, he gets turned down again?

If it wasn't so tragic it would be comical.

[MURP]

the only ass busting David Bell does is a stinky fart. 

[PhillyGirl]

Randy Miller = NOT an Ed Wade fan....lmfao 

Behind the scenes with Ed Wade

Ed Wade screamed and cursed for several minutes, then picked up a chair in Charlie Manuel's office and whipped it across the room.

BAM!

The chair smashed into a wall halfway between the ceiling and the floor. Two legs and chunks of wood littered the area.

Manuel watched the scene and kind of nodded his head as if to say, "OK, now what?"

This fit being thrown by a grown man was aimed toward to the scribe sitting across from Manuel's desk. I quietly watched in stunned amazement when the Phillies' since-ousted general manager showed off a hot temper that some team insiders suggest is legendary.

His reason for such behavior following a 6-3 Phillies victory over Atlanta on July 2?

Wade blamed it on hearing that I had told assistant GM Mike Arbuckle that pitching prospect Cole Hamels would be coming up from Class-A Clearwater to replace injured starter Randy Wolf in the rotation.

Not true, I told Wade.

That morning, Manuel did mention Hamels was an option. I phoned Arbuckle about something else, mentioned Manuel's comments and Arbuckle later called Wade to say: "If Charlie is thinking about Hamels coming up, we need to remind him that he's still in A-ball."

In a recurring theme from an eight-year tenure that had a forced ending last Monday, Wade somehow got the facts all wrong.

Manuel acknowledged talking about Hamels, Arbuckle was called, but Wade couldn't admit a mistake ... because what he really was mad about was a story that ran in the Courier Times two months earlier, one that mentioned Wade's job security not being so good and highly respected former Houston GM Gerry Hunsicker being on the Phillies' radar.

I never said another word to Wade since that unprofessional blowup, which was no one-time tantrum.

Late this summer, Wade repeatedly chewed out closer Billy Wagner - sometimes in person, sometimes over the phone - for comments he read in the newspaper and during contract negotiations. Wagner took this verbal abuse for a while, then got fed up and began hanging up on Wade.

Years earlier, Wade called a team meeting to scream at players. One pitcher said everyone buried their heads in their arms so Wade couldn't see them laughing at him.

Two springs ago, Wade was furious at Phillies beat writers, called a morning meeting and cursed for about 20 minutes. I still have the tape from that one. You should hear it. It's something else, right out of the Lee Elia school of bleeps. He got personal. Ask Philadelphia Daily News baseball writer Marcus Hayes, who remained calm as his character was assassinated and he was being called an officious [bleep]."

On a Sunday in July 2004, the day Eric Milton flirted with a no-hitter, Wade lost it in front of the Phillies dugout when Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Sam Carchidi asked him if "there were any trade developments." Carchidi, who does not cover the team regularly, was told with anger: "If you were here everyday, you would know." Wade ended the shouting match by saying, "Kiss my [bleeping bleep], Sam."

Dozens of early arriving children watched the entire incident from behind the Phillies dugout.

When announcing the firing, team president David Montgomery called Wade a man of character. Talk to others in the organization with the tape reporters off and notebooks away and you'll hear more stories of Wade's hot temper and how he often big-leagued team employees.

Wade couldn't even go out in style. While speaking to the media following his dismissal, he constantly vented. Without naming names, he blasted Daily News columnist Bill Conlin and other media members who didn't deserve his respect.

Right back at you, Ed.

This isn't about kicking a man when he's down. It's about shedding some truth about the Wade era.

No one doubts that Wade was a workaholic. He put in his time and was prepared.

But people inside and outside the organization talked about his smug personality, which is surprising considering he began his baseball career in public relations.

In short, the legions of fans who despised Wade not just because of his GM ability were on to something. Trust me, some Phillies employees and many media members grew sick of his antics long ago.

That's why when Wade made enough baseball mistakes to warrant a firing, the local media went after him.

But, Wade deserved his firing. For all his hard work, he was accused of not knowing his own team, let alone the 29 others in baseball.

One time when Wade made a judgment on a young Phillies player, a uniformed employee called writers over and said, "Did you hear, Eddie thinks he's a baseball guy now?" Everyone laughed.

When third baseman Scott Rolen was telling teammates, opposing players and Phillies beat writers there was no way he'd sign a contract extension with the team, Wade was out of the loop. A good GM finds out the real deal.

Wade also misread Curt Schilling, Placido Polanco, Larry Bowa ... the list goes on and on.

One of the worst-kept secrets in baseball was the work habits of a longtime Phillies major-league scout who had a reputation for leaving games in the seventh and eighth inning. Advance scouts are the eyes and ears of general managers. They feed info when trade talks start up. If Wade knew about the in-house problem, he didn't address it - not until making a change after the 2005 season, when his own job wasn't safe.

Wade is gone, and Phillies fans are right on when saying, "Good riddance."

[Rome]

[MDS]

  Awsome article. Screw you Wade!!

[SD_Eagle5]

Holy shtein, I knew he was a freak but I didn't realize the extent of it 

[Sgt PSN]

Holy shtein, I knew he was a freak but I didn't realize the extent of it

Tell me about it.  I always thought he was a smug and arrogant s.o.b but after reading that article I'm convinced that I've grossly underestimated him. 

[BigEd76]

Harry K and Randy Miller were on Angelo's TV show tonight and both said Hunsicker will probably be the new GM.  Randarino says "the fans will like him"...