Prove It

There is a rather significant positive that can be taken from the Jason Michaels-Arthur Rhodes deal finally being made. Ryan Madson is finally freed from the bullpen and will in all likelihood begin 2006 in the Phillies starting rotation. This is the silver lining that so many Phillies fans are quick to point to in defense of the trade. It is a good thing, there is little denying it; in fact, depending on how optimistic one is about Madson’s abilities, this could be a very, very good thing. One problem – there was no rule that disallowed the Phillies from both keeping Jason Michaels and moving Madson to the rotation. These things were not mutually exclusive to anybody but the people running the Philadelphia Phillies. The need for a veteran back of the bullpen arm is what finally gave the Phillies piece of mind enough to move Madson from the pen to the rotation. This shouldn’t have been the case, but it was. The Phillies do not deserve the benefit of doubt in this situation; they made a good move internally (promoting Madson) that could have been made without hurting the team externally (giving up Michaels to get Rhodes).

The strange fascination with old, past their prime relievers never ceases to amaze – it is really part of the much larger school of thought permeated within the Phillies organization (to be fair, this line of thinking isn’t exclusive to the Phils) that wants us all to believe that older, experienced, “proven” players are inherently superior than a guy who has yet to get a chance at the big league level. We all know, at least with some small degree of certainty, what kind of players Abraham Nunez, Sal Fasano, and Arthur Rhodes are by now. They have established track records (for better or worse…) at the big league level – they also come with the price tags (for example, Nunez will make roughly five times more than Danny Sandoval this season) typically associated with “proven” players.

Would some combination of Matt Kata/Danny Sandoval, Carlos Ruiz, and Chris Booker/Yoel Hernandez/Travis Minix/Ryan Cameron/Brian Sanches be any better than Nunez, Fasano, and Rhodes? Maybe, maybe not. The point is that being a “proven” player doesn’t make you a good player – heck it doesn’t even make you an average player (Nunez: career OPS+ 67, Fasano: career OPS+ 81). The fact that Abe Nunez has over 2100 career plate appearances does not make him any more valuable than a guy who has just 2 plate appearances (Sandoval); those 2100 times at bat have resulted in a rather significant disadvantage for teams Nunez has been on in his career (Pittsburgh and St. Louis). I’m not going out of my way just to pick on Nunez, but the sentiment that having a “proven” guy is just a weak security blanket for a GM to cling to. Bringing Nunez in appeases the average fan; giving an unknown like Sandoval a shot would raise questions and open up the general manager for criticism if the unproven guy falls on his face. I was hoping Pat Gillick would be secure enough given the Phillies commitment to him and his impressive big league track record of success to think outside the box in Philly.