November 30, 2001

Yes boys and girls even the Mickey Mouse club was canceled, in fact it was given the axe before it's sixth season (reincarnation from 1989-1993, isn't the internet handy?). Everyone in the media has now alerted us to what Ed Wade has told them: Scottie's time as a Phillie is over; there will be no sixth season for Scottie in Philly. You have to wonder what if anything goes through the mind of Ed Wade. You would think that after watching Curt Schilling almost win the "Cy Young Award" and raise his arms in victory after game seven of the World Series that Wade would refuse to be the man who traded both Schilling and Rolen.

Well, the job market for General Managers is kind of dry at the moment.

Poor Ed, no one will trade any player of note at any level for a rental player that has to be paid $8mil-$10mil. That's why neither A-Rod nor Giambi went anywhere. Of course those players were in much different organizations and they made moves to get better and go for the trophy. That is not what we are going to see here.

The Phillies decided to get rid of Rolen back in spring training but he was too popular to trade. They sent that signal by not talking about Rolen at all in the spring and instead discussed Pat Burrell as the team's future centerpiece or "franchise" player. Wade even referred to the Phillies as "Pat's Team".

As Scottie has said certain people in the organization do not like him, nor do they like Lieberthal (how much have they gnashed their teeth this year while eating $7mil as Lieby limped around on crutches?). Terry Francona who was close to both said as his parting shot that the Phils would have trouble with both because "they want to win". There is no bigger sin than that now is there?

People don't give the Phils credit where it is due. They were very crafty as they waited through Rolen's early season slump before attacking him latter on when he had pulled out of it and then started to excel, while at the same time never saying a cross word in regard to Bobby Abreu. Wade refused to fine Abreu during the 2000 season as Francona wanted to do last year. Someone in a Phillies forum mentioned that Abreu's English is better than his Spanish. Perhaps the Phillies figure they can sign him to a $10mil/yr contract extension to be their "big bat". He certainly doesn't look like he has the winning team aspirations that Rolen and Lieberthal have.

Burrell is another big lie as the Phillies know he would like to be gone with Rolen. The Phillies could get Hank Blalock from the Rangers if they included Burrell with Rolen and took Rusty Greer off the Rangers payroll but the Phillies aren't trying to build a winner, and they need someone to sell tickets to the 11,000 dildos who continue to fork it over for season tickets to watch the AAAA squad stink it up. The Phillies will be last in runs scored again in 2002 as they were in the horrific 2000 season and the phone callers during rain delays will moan about the pitching. This is who the Phillies make their moves for. They gave up on the rest of the Phan base long ago. They have always intended to go into the new park with a payroll under $60mil and now with Rolen and Lieberthal out of the way they can shoot for under $40mil. Minnesota may be contracted but the spirit of Carl Pohlad lives on in Philadelphia and unlike Mr. Pohlad the Phillies owners won't receive any criticism from the national media. In the fourth largest market in the country and with only one baseball team occupying it no one raises any question as to why the Phillies payroll is at the bottom of the game rather than at the top where it truly belongs.

Sometime back in the offseason last year the Phillies looked at pictures of Rolen and Burrell and they decided that Pat was more handsome, prettier than Scottie and they decided to "build their team around Pat". No doubt they even thought about a sign for Pat to replace the "Scottie is a Hottie" signs.

"Hmmm, how about 'Pat's all That!'"

"Brilliant Edward! Go ahead and get rid of Rolen."

As they do this all the Phillies hear will be the boos for the visiting Drew, Rolen and Lieberthal along with the rah, rah, rah cheers from the Philly Knight Ridder owned fish wrappers known to most as the Daily News and Inquirer, while the national media compliantly ignore the existence of the Phillies and everything that goes on here. Hell, the Commissioner will even bestow some more honorary titles on Bill Giles and let him hand out more awards without a comment from anyone as to what a disgrace to the game he really is.

Think about it, you read more about the Montreal Expos in the national media then you do the huge market Phillies.

The Phillies shouldn't be too full of joy at their devious accomplishment though because Pat Burrell is not a happy camper. No, Pat arrived in the big leagues just in time to watch the midseason dumping of Curt Schilling and Andy Ashby. He heard from the others in the clubhouse all about the Phillies refusal to pay J.D. Drew and the gossip about how things are done in other organizations vs. the Phillies. He has even been made aware that if the Phillies had paid Drew the year before he would not be a Phillie now.

Pat sure has that "star look" about him as he goes through the ballparks in both leagues marking his presence with a homerun like a lion pisses on a tree to mark his having been there. The problem for the Phillies is that Pat doesn't think Curt Schilling, Scott Rolen or Mike Lieberthal are wrong. On the contrary, he hates everything about the Phillies. Pat is a big name signing for an amateur player and a big time presence on the field or wherever he goes. Pat Burrell wants nothing to do with the smalltime aspirations of the Phillies or their petty, vindictive way of doing business.

So as the Phillies prepare to move yet another top talent from their AAAA farm team to another World Series contender the player they will be promoting as their future is already planning his exit.

Very sad for Phillies Phans and not good for baseball to have this situation continue in such a large market, but oh how just for a corrupt, virulently criminal element in the Phillies owners box, their paid for allies in the Philly media, and the politicians who schemed together to give the Phillies over $200mil in taxpayer dollars to build a new stadium which will be mostly unoccupied by the rightly feed up and disgusted Phans.

The question is, will the national media ever point their cameras at the empty seats and ask hard questions of the Phillies owners and the media/political establishment in Philadelphia who supported and conspired with the Phillies to bring about such a failed enterprise in exchange for great profit?