The Phillies, the NCAA, and self-destructive spite

Ruben Amaro Jr., the general manager of the Philadelphia
Phillies, presides over an organization that decided to
retaliate against two draftees who choose not to sign.

The NCAA is a jackass.

So, too, the Philadelphia Phillies.

The NCAA's silly rules prohibit college baseball players from having "agents" represent them when drafted by professional baseball teams. They do permit "advisers." The idea, somehow, is that amateur purity is maintained when the player himself talks to a scout about a potential contract but is forever sullied if an agent does.

This arrangement is widely ignored and paid no more than lip service. Drafted players have agents, and they talk directly with teams, and everybody except the NCAA knows it's for the better.

So ... this week Baseball America reported that the Phillies reported to the NCAA that two collegians they drafted and failed to sign, Ben Wetzler of Oregon State (fifth round) and Jason Monda of Washington State (sixth round) violated the agent/adviser rules. Monda has been cleared to play; Wetzler on Friday was suspended for 20 percent of OSU's schedule.

The agent ban is silly, hypocritical and probably illegal, but that's par for the course for the NCAA. It lost a court case over this a few years ago and then settled the case in order to keep its rule intact; there's a line of thought that holds that the NCAA came down on Wetzler because it figured he can't afford the attorneys to thump it in court. (Since he will be eligible again early next month, the case will be moot before it gets to court.)

The real puzzle is what the devil the Phillies were trying to accomplish. Presumably they were unhappy that they drafted these players and couldn't sign them. It happens. Trying to sabotage their collegiate eligibility in retaliation is just a spiteful, bullying move.

It helps nobody. It hurts everybody, and especially the Phillies.

The Phillies may well, as a result of this, find their access to players limited by coaches and agent/advisors. Agent/advisors are likely to recommend to their clients/advisees that the Phillies be shut out of the permission, routinely granted, to see medical information. (I'd seen that suggested, but Jim Callis of MLB.com tweeted Saturday that this is all or nothing.) Once you get a reputation for bad faith, it sticks; and this is the epitome of bad faith.

As Keith Law of ESPN said in a Thursday chat:

Reporting players to the NCAA is not in the best business interests of the Philadelphia Phillies. ... The Phillies gain nothing from this -- no savings, no leverage -- and potentially damaged relationships with players, agents and schools as a result. The move could prove extremely damaging. And Amaro (general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.) referring questions to Wolever (scouting director Marti Wolever) isn't much better. You're the GM, and the buck stops with you.

Actually, nobody from the Phillies has been willing to defend the decision to report Wetzler. They've been mute even as the baseball media uses the Phillies as a punching bag. It gives the impression that Amaro and Co. are surprised by the criticism. Maybe it was a scout gone rogue and the bosses didn't know what he was doing. Maybe the bosses made the call and didn't think anybody would care. Neither possibility speaks well of the organization.

Amaro seems, in many ways, to be in over his head. This may not be as high-profile a misstep as, say, the Ryan Howard contract, but it does speak to an organization in need of thoughtful leadership and a sense of responsibility as opposed to impulsive action and incompetence.

The Sunday Funnies

The Philadelphia Phillies were, in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the dregs of the National League. They played for much of that period in a dump known as "Baker Bowl", which was not merely cramped and uncomfortable but downright dangerous (seating sections twice collapsed during games, in 1903 and 1927).

The combination of bad baseball and lousy accommodations did little to encourage attendance.

The story goes that during one boring midsummer game the writers in the dilapidated press box at Baker Bowl started throwing water at each other. The water fell through the cracks in the wood floor into the seating area below.

The Phillies owner burst into the press box to castigate the scribes. "Knock it off!" he ordered. "Don't you know there are paying customers sitting down there?"

One of the writers lunged for his typewriter. "My god!" he bellowed. "What a story!"

The Phillies and flawed ex-Twins outfielders.

Clete Thomas struck
out 92 times in
322 trips to the plate.

The Phillies seem to have a fascination with flawed outfielders with Twins backgrounds.

Last offseason they traded for Ben Revere and signed free agent Delmon Young.

Young did what he does: Swing at first pitches and play immobile defense. This went so well the Phillies released him in midseason.

Revere did what he does: He hit singles and ran around a lot. The weak throwing arm, the lack of power, the sometimes odd routes ... they're all still problems. He played in just 88 games before breaking his foot.

And now they's signed Clete Thomas, who spent much of the second half of the season in the Twins lineup, to a minor league deal

If one could somehow fuse the respective strengths of Revere and Thomas, the result would be a very good center fielder indeed. Thomas has some power but struggles to make contact; Revere is the opposite. Revere is much faster than Thomas; Thomas makes fewer false starts in the field and has a stronger throwing arm.

But they are who they are.

Cole Hamels, Bryce Harper and "bully teams"

Bryce Harper gets hit by the pitch...

If you were watching ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball last night. you saw Philadelphia's Cole Hamels drill superrookie Bryce Harper in the back in the first inning. You also saw Harper take third base on a single to left (two outs and Juan Pierre throwing, but still rare) and then steal home on a Hamels pick-off throw to first base (video here).

Which is better retribution for an intentional plunking than charging the mound. The 19-year-old hotshot embarrassed the veteran pitcher.

... and then steals home.

Hamels admitted after the game that he hit Harper on purpose, calling it a "welcome to the majors" old school moment. (And Washington pitcher Jordan Zimmermann later hit Hamels in the leg in obvious retribution.)

Hamels wasn't be the first guy to greet a heralded rookie with a HBP, and he won't be the last. But I think there was something more to the incident.

The Phillies have won five straight divisional titles. The Nationals had taken the first two games of their weekend series and are now in first place.

When a young, unheralded team suddenly becomes a threat to a veteran dynasty, the veteran team often tries physical intimidation. As I recall, the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 had separate bench-clearing incidents with both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, both of them begun with buzzballs from the accustomed contenders. I think of this as "bully ball" — something teams resort to when they realize the upstarts might actually be better.

Usually that realization comes later in the summer. That Philly turned to it in early May is illuminating. The Nationals may not win the division this year (Jayson Werth broke his wrist Sunday, which probably matters a lot more than the outcome of this particular game), but I think the Phillies' domination of the NL East is over.

A phine Phillies team and other notes

That was a rather efficient dismantling of the Dodgers in the NLCS, wasn't it? Philadelphia took the Dodgers' strong suit — the bullpen — and whupped up on it.

The American League, I have said repeatedly for years, is far the superior league. But the Phillies are capable of beating the Yankees — and yes, the ALCS isn't over yet, but Anaheim isn't winning this thing — just as they beat Tampa Bay last October.

I'll write at some length about the World Series matchup another time, but my gut tells me that this guy might be the decisive player. He was the biggest reason the Phillies won the postseason tournament in 2008, but he hasn't dominated at all in 2009, and his 6.75 through three postseason starts isn't getting it done this year.

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The Twins' signing of much-hyped Dominican shortstop prospect Miguel Angel Sano became official this week. They're still not sure the kid's really just 16, and it's quite likely that he won't remain a shortstop, but it's one of a series of signings and draft picks this year that indicates the Twins are pushing harder for top-shelf amateur talent.

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Out in Detroit, Carlos Guillen popped off about Jim Leyland and playing left field, then he and Leyland had a phone chat, and supposedly everything's OK now.

Supposedly. The fact remains that Guillen is 34. He has a bad knee and a bad shoulder, a $10 million salary for 2010 and steadily declining numbers. That's the very image of a player in decline.

Leyland can say now that Guillen will be his nine-inning left fielder in 2010, but that doesn't make it so, or make it wise.

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A somewhat bewildering field of managerial finalists in Cleveland — Bobby Valentine, who would figure to be a win-now selection; Manny Acta, who was fired in midseason in Washington; and Torey L0vullo, who has been managing in the Indians farm system.

It seems to be me that Lovullo would be the logical choice. Given the trades GM Mark Shapiro has made the last two seasons, the Indians appear to be in rebuilding mode — trades of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Casey Blake, Mark DeRosa and Victor Martinez had pumped an enviable amount of young talent into the organization. But it's hardly certain that Shapiro has the long leash to write off 2010.

Valentine makes no sense from any perspective for Cleveland.

(Corrected: Replaced Travis Fryman with Lovullo.)