BillyV's Blog

Word of advice to the Phillies: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. “ And while we’re using house analogies:  any real estate expert will tell you that to improve the value of your house you “put the money into the kitchens and bathrooms.”  What’s any of that got to do with the Phillies?  Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels are your kitchens and bathrooms, the outstanding young players that you should spend money on.  Instead, the Phillies have created potential for clubhouse dissension by angering them both.

Their legendary cheapness is creating dissatisfaction in their clubhouse.  Their decision to exercise their right to renew Cole Hamels at $500,000 after being unable to work out an agreement has angered Hamels greatly.  Right now, because of his youth and lack of service time, Hamels doesn’t have any options,  but he’s made it clear that he’ll remember this later in his career when he has more options: “That will affect down the line certain things that come up,” Hamels said.  “You can’t  just all of a sudden throw everything out at (a player) at the last second and think that’s really going to make him happy, because you still have checkmarks for what (the team) didn’t do in the years before.”

Some people think Hamels should just accept the fact that, in baseball, you just have to wait until it’s your time.  And I will say, even though Major League Baseball is behind the curve in many ways compared to other pro leagues, they are better in one area: players don’t get paid big bucks until they’ve proven themselves, unlike the NFL and NBA where guys get multi-million dollar deals as soon as they’re drafted.    But this also gives the Phillies a chance to really establish a relationship with their good young players by saying, “Hey, we don’t have to pay you this much, but we’re doing it.”  Hamels wanted $700,000, so if the Phils gave him $200,000 more, he would’ve been happy.  But the Phillies continue to be tightwads, angering Hamels just as they angered Ryan Howard a couple weeks earlier by taking him to arbitration. 

Granted,  Howard didn’t spout off like Hamels.  He said all the right things.  But there’s no way anyone, least of all a guy who’s worked as hard as Howard, is going to sit in a room and listen to the team present reasons why he shouldn’t get the money he wants--he strikes out too much, his defense isn’t great—and not have it affect him.  The fact that the arbitrator ruled in Howard’s favor means the Phillies lost twice—they angered the player and they still have to pay him anyway.

The Phillies will try to counter their cheap image by saying they’re payroll is now well over $100 million.  I would counter by pointing out that they could have made Hamels happy by paying $200,000 more, which amounts to 2/10 of one percent of their payroll.  (That’s .002%)

The Phils can save money elsewhere in their dealings with other players, like a contractor who uses cheaper materials in the living room, but spends lavishly on those kitchens and bathrooms.  Hamels might not like being referred to as a bathroom, but give him a couple hundred thousand extra dollars, and he’ll be okay with that, too.