Jonathan Papelbon and Ruben Amaro are locked in a war of words, and it's hard to tell who's the bigger idiot.
There's an old saying that goes "Never argue with an idiot -- onlookers won't be able to tell the difference." That's an adage that Ruben Amaro, who is still GM of the Phillies, doesn't seem to be familiar with. He's decided to argue with official team idiot Jonathan Papelbon by publicly responding to Pap's latest trade plea.
Let's go back a few days to Monday. Papelbon said this, which was well covered by John Stolnis:
Papelbon at All Star press conference says it's time for Phillies "to (blank) or get off the pot." Re: trade
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) July 13, 2015
It could have ended there. Ruben Amaro could have looked at that Papelbon quote and said "I wish Papelbon would stop shooting off his anus mouth" and gone about his day. But that's not who Ruben Amaro is. So when he stopped by WIP yesterday morning, he said this (from Corey Seidman's piece on CSNPhilly.com):
"As Pap is a very good pitcher, he doesn't know anything about the front office," Amaro said.
OOH SICK BURN. I bet Papelbon, who considers himself a scholar of baseball front offices, feels really bad now. OH WAIT. Honestly, "shit or get off the pot" is very easily translated to "trade me or don't, because I'm not getting any younger." I don't think at any point Papelbon was trying to say anything about how a front office really works. He was employing hyperbole and distilling his very complicated situation down to the barest and most essential details. And yet Ruben Amaro felt so personally challenged that he responded like a defensive fool who obviously doesn't want another job in baseball after the Phillies unceremoniously dump him on Broad Street the moment the 2015 season is over.
Corey's piece also included quotes from Amaro about trading Papelbon ("I don't necessarily believe in 'probably'...") and front office decision making ("Really, Pat is the one who ultimately will make the ultimate decisions.") that did nothing but muddy the waters around the Phillies' front office dealings. He is every PR person's nightmare. (Though having dealt with the Phillies' communications office, he may be the GM they deserve.) You can read the full quotes on CSNPhilly.com.
But it didn't end there. Since last night was the All-Star Game, Jonathan Papelbon had the opportunity to respond to Amaro, since apparently trading barbs via Phillies beat writers is how Amaro prefers to communicate with his players. Via Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com:
Papelbon shrugged when he heard what Amaro said. “That’s just my opinion,” he said. “Everyone is entitled to it.”
That's a good point, Pap. I wonder what opinion everyone will have of you when they read that you were "snoozing" in the bullpen during the All-Star Game, as Jim Salisbury mentions in his piece. And whatever opinions those are, they will be entitled to them.
As with nearly everything even remotely related to the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies, no one involved in this looks good and nothing good can come of this. Papelbon is just a dick, and that's not new. But continuing to publicly demand he be traded from this going nowhere team isn't going to endear him to any other GM. Baseball decisions aren't always made for strictly baseball decisions, after all. And Amaro responding makes him look like a petty, childish egomaniac who has nothing better to do than throw shade at one of his own employees in the press.
The 2016 Phillies could be free of these two utter maroons, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But since the 2016 season is so far away, let's try and predict who Amaro will start a press-war with next.
Poll
Who will Ruben Amaro get into a press war with next?
Cole Hamels
Chase Utley
Ryan Howard
The entire bullpen
36 votes | Results