Ruben Amaro claims Phillies fans “don’t understand the game”
UPDATE at 6pm: Ruben Amaro apologizes to fans, via Ryan Lawrence at Philly.com
Fans just don’t understand
In an interview with Jim Salisbury, Phillies GM, Ruben Amaro had some choice words for Phillies fans that don’t agree with the way he’s running the team.
“They don’t understand the game,” Amaro said. “They don’t understand the process. There’s a process. And then they bitch and complain because we don’t have a plan. There’s a plan in place and we’re sticking with the plan. We can’t do what’s best for the fan. We have to do what’s best for the organization so the fan can reap the benefit of it later on. That’s the truth.”
The quote was in reference to a question about the upcoming crop of Phillies prospects and why the team will be conservative with their promotions to the big leagues. Essentially, Ruben himself is bitching at people who second-guess his decision-making. And why shouldn’t fans second-guess as consumers? That is, after all, our role in this multi-billion dollar game of baseball.
If fans, as Ruben claims, don’t understand the Phillies “plan” or “process” that fault lies primarily with him. When has Ruben or the current patrons of the organization outlined a plan for the future? Unlike the Sixers, who have created something like a social contract with fans, the Phillies seem to have been shooting-from-the-hip the previous two seasons. The 2015 season begun with something of a plan in place; but I agree, it is rather opaque and hard to understand. The next two months leading up to the MLB trade deadline should give us another peek into the actual plan. Until then, though, I have to agree with Ruben – fans have no idea what he’s doing. Maybe he should enlighten us.
