WANK'S WORLD: Hey Ruben Amaro Jr., I'm Coming At You

I think Ruben Amaro Jr. deserves a lot of praise for what the Phillies have done as a team over the last few years. Surely, watching Ed Wade ruin this team for years allowed Amaro a firsthand look at how not to manage an organization. And I’m also sure that Young Ruben provided useful insight to Pat Gillick that positively impacted the 2008 World Series run.

Additionally, he orchestrated the trades for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay and the surprise return of Cliff Lee last December. Mad props, yo, for making some savvy moves over the last few years.

(I don’t know if you can feel where I’m going with this, but you should probably feel the “turn” in my tone right … about… here.)

Now that we’ve gotten all of the pleasantries outta the way …

After reading a quote from RAJ on philly.com today, I have to tell you, this guy is really starting to get to me.

But to make my point about Amaro, I’m going use the oft-criticized president of the Philadelphia Eagles, Joe Banner.

So … there is a team that plays in this city directly across the street from Citizens Bank Park. They play football, wear green, and usually make the playoffs. Then, they lose in the playoffs. It’s never much fun, and it’s never good enough for the fans of that team because they want to win a championship. Usually, after flaws or deficiencies of said football team are exposed over a lengthy stretch (the first quarter of the first game of the season, for instance) fans rush to destroy both Andy Reid and/or Joe Banner.

"Here, let me explain why I'm better than you are ..."

“They can’t draft, they don’t sign the right people, they're idiots. They don’t get football. How could they have such bad (whatever position played poorly that game)? Expletive, expletive, beep,” yells Jim from Fishtown on WIP.

Sound familiar?

Another one of the go-to lines for those who like to whine and moan about the Eagles’ front office is that they are “arrogant.” And that’s fine, too. Banner has the public relation skills of Jimmy the Greek. If you don’t who I’m talking about, Google it. Then, return here and laugh at my joke.

To be fair, given that the Eagles haven’t won a championship in 50 years, much of these criticisms are understandable, maybe even warranted. It’s interesting, though, that many of these fans in question also are fans of the Phillies, but yet we usually don’t hear fans crucifying Amaro for the arrogance and/or deficiencies that are currently holding back what should be a powerhouse of a baseball team.

“OMG, but there’s been so many injuries,” you say.

Okay. The Eagles have injuries every year. They usually adapt, win a bunch of games and reach the playoffs. Then, they lose.

“But he’s built a winner,” you say.

No, actually, he hasn’t. Ed Wade drafted many of the team’s core players, and Pat Gililck was the GM when they won the World Series. So despite having the luxury of working with an outrageous payroll, Amaro hasn’t won anything. Unless, of course, you count division titles and losing in championship games (but championships are all that matter, right?).

The Eagles lose those games because the deficiencies they managed to mask all season are finally exposed at the worst possible time. Sort of sounds familiar, right? Or were the 2010 Phillies not a team that had a dysfunctional offense for most of the season, masked it, and then flat-lined at the worst possible time? How is this any different?

With last year in mind, it’s only natural that a growing sense of concern would arise about where this current team is headed. These aren’t exactly minor deficiencies we’re talking about, either. It’s not just one position player, a bench option, or a reliable seventh-inning reliever. We are talking about a completely impotent offense—one composed of a bunch of has-beens and never-will-bes mixed with a couple of dreadful, overpaid, and aging bullpen options in the forms of J.C. Romero and Danys Baez. That’s not going to get it done.

“But he’s not arrogant like Banner. Those guys at NovaCare think they know everything,” you say.

He’s not? From today’s Daily News …

Worley was optioned back to the IronPigs on Monday when Roy Oswalt was activated and started at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night. Which begs the question: Why not put Blanton back on the disabled list until his elbow issues are resolved and let Worley start in his place instead?

Seems like a fair question, especially given that Worley is 2-0 with an ERA under 1.00 and has been more effective than Blanton, J.C. Romero, Kyle Kendrick, and Danys Baez.

Amaro’s response? “Because we’d rather have Blanton pitch.”

Yeah, because that doesn’t smack of arrogance.

I’m not saying that Ruben Amaro Jr. is bad at his job. I’m just beginning to wonder when it’s acceptable to criticize him without being accused of being a spoiled, pessimistic fan who is unappreciative of Joe Banner’s, er, Ruben Amaro’s greatness.

This is a good team. It can win the World Series. It’s also a very flawed team, injuries or not. And it’s up to Amaro to figure it out. And he better figure it out.