Ruben Amaro has a habit of saying things that probably make lots of sense in his head, but sound a little whacked when spoken out loud.
The latest is a series of remarks in an at times bizarre interview with ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, in which the veteran baseball reporter hypothesized the recent season-ending injury to Cliff Lee impacts the Philadelphia Phillies’ urgency in trading pitcher Cole Hamels. Now that Lee’s trade value is effectively harpooned, after all, it might make sense to deal Hamels before his own value is similarly compromised.
Amaro doesn’t see it that way. Or maybe he does. Following his logic is pretty difficult.
“I don’t know what our ‘stance’ on Cole is,” the Phillies general manager told Stark. “Others have ‘stances,’ I guess, for us. I guess other people must think we have a ‘stance.’ Our ‘stance’ is that we’re open-minded. And that hasn’t changed one bit.”
But could the threat of an injury to Hamels — the Phillies’ lone asset of value — make it more imperative to trade Hamels, Stark asked?
“Nope,” Amaro replied.
Yet the G.M. later said, “Is there a lesson learned from Yu Darvish? All pitchers can get hurt. All players can get hurt. It can happen at any time.”
Which is, of course, exactly the point Stark was trying to make.
Whether Hamels is traded is anyone’s guess, as the move is entirely dependent on Amaro. Normally, fans and reporters would try to read into a general manager’s words, but in this case, Amaro’s words sound like they’re coming from four of five different books.
Thumbnail photo via Howard Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
