I think we already know Steve Phillips' has extremely poor judgement but the words which came out of his mouth yesterday were so befuddling that I can't even contemplate how he ever was in a baseball front office nevermind General Manager of an MLB team. Steve Phillips yesterday said that if he was the GM of the Astros and the Nats called about Roy Oswalt he would ask for Stephen Strasberg and potentially more. Quite obviously if Ed Wade started off trade conversations with Mike Rizzo with this line of demands he would be laughed at and hung up on quickly. While this would be a dumb way to start up negotiations with a GM, it isn't completely and utterly ridiculous. What was completely and utterly ridiculous was this:
...if I think that I want Roy Oswalt to help me win this year, you know what? I'm one of the guys, I make that deal...
Now this could be in any context and make sense. Like... Would he give up Josh Willingham and Destin Hood for Roy Oswalt? Or slightly less like, would you give Jordan Zimmermann and Jeff Kobernus for Roy Oswalt? But when the context is Stephen Strasburg for Roy Oswalt straight up, you are criminally psychotic. Steve Phillips would potential give up the best pitching prospect in history, a pitcher who is probably the better pitcher RIGHT NOW for an overpriced post prime 32 year old.
This man was once the GM for a team that made the World Series. How is this possible? How could a main with his judgement and decision making move up the ladder that much? I think this is one of life's great mysteries. Steve Phillips, somehow still employed and still talking baseball and only God knows why.
H/T DC Sports Bog
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