I was re-reading a trade deadline article in which the writer says that Dombrowski has obtained permission to go beyond the lux tax cap by 'painting a picture' for ownership of how today's Phillies can be traded into the playoffs and have a shot from there. As I thought about that, I asked myself if it could really be true. If true, I think it explains a lot about Phillies ownership and the problems they've caused for the organization. One has to be a really top-notch artist of the tromp l'oeil school of painting to paint the Phillies advancing in the playoffs this season.
Then I thought back to RAJ as GM. He had a story to tell ownership that should have sold by a painting the quality of a first grader's finger painting. "If you just go $6 MM over the budget, we can win another championship, with Halladay, Lee, and Hamels, all in their prime, atop our rotation and a very good line-up in back of them. Fan excitement and increased TV ratings will pay back that investment, within two years at most and we can go back to normal budget next season."
"No!"
"What's wrong with that picture."
"It's that you're just too young, too inexperienced, Ruben. Perhaps if you dyed your hair grey and pitched us again tomorrow."
"Yes, you have to trade Lee. Don't bother shopping him around. Pat really understands the Seattle system. He'll tell exactly whom to ask for."
For some reason, our ownership hired GMs without reputations as GM: Wade, RAJ, Klentak and novice managers like Francona and Kapler -- but they don't trust them or have faith in their recommendations. Most get chucked out relatively quickly, have to take orders from a novice analytics staff or meddling senior advisors.
The ownership only listens to the grey hairs. They keep an insane number of grey-hair advisors around to advise them and the GM, seemingly as long as they are able to walk into the stadium under their own power.
MacPhail is the epitome of the long-ago leader, now pulled in from pasture, who excites ownership and gives them comfort.
Not allowing RAJ to keep both Lee and Halladay was the biggest ownership error since Giles gave up pulling the strings.
