Phillies owner John Middleton covered a variety of interesting topics in a two-part interview with Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (see here and here). Fans of the team will certainly want to give those pieces a full read, but here are a few highlights:
Middleton began by addressing the way that the organization’s recent leadership transition came about. The ownership group decided it needed to take a more public role as Ruben Amaro Jr. was moved out of the general manager’s seat. Ultimately, Andy MacPhail was brought in as president to drive a rebuild, with the organization feeling it “needed to go to the outside” to acquire executives with “a different knowledge base than an internal candidate would have.” Change, notes, Middleton, is now a clear organizational imperative.
“I think in a competitive world, the one constant is change,” he explained. “I want the Phillies to be at the forefront of change because in order to be successful in the long run, you have to be ahead of change rather than lagging behind it.”
As Middleton and MacPhail set out to put that philosophy into action, they hired Matt Klentak to run the baseball operations department. In part, that reflected a massive shift toward the use of analytics. Middleton explained how the club has ramped up its use of statistics and related tools:
“In 2013, our analytics department was zero. Zero people, zero budget. In 2014, we had one full time person, and one intern, and the budget from my memory was $100,000. Next year, we’re going to have a minimum of six full-time people, a number of interns, and a budget measured in the millions. Our competitors may add people, as well, and add to their budgets, but right now we’re projecting that we’re going to have one of the top analytics departments in baseball. We have come light-years in the last 12 months.”
There’s more to come, Middleton also mentioned. The Phils are working to develop “some proprietary analytical tools … specifically biomechanical analytics, trying to predict and prevent future injuries for pitchers by combining that analysis with our medical evaluations, human intelligence.”
Obviously, the rebuilding process isn’t always quick; he notes, in fact, that Klentak studied recent examples from competitors and found that a three-year down period is the likely minimum. Middleton stressed that he continues to exercise patience and intends to see the process through, though he noted that the organization hopes it can complete its own process on the shorter side of what others have required to return to contention. There’s progress, he says: the team as a whole, both hitters and pitchers, showed improvement in “controlling the strike zone,” which Middleton labeled “the cornerstone of [Klentak’s] vision of Phillies baseball going forward.” And the minor league ranks featured strong team and individual performances.
Whether and when the Phillies can break out — as soon as next year, but perhaps more likely in 2018 — will likely depend upon many variables, Middleton noted, including simply the developmental path of several important young players (and others who could emerge from relative obscurity). Philadelphia doesn’t seem inclined to make an early strike via free agency, with Middleton stressing that it’s not the way to build a roster. But he did acknowledge that the organization has “already started talking about issues like our current team and where we see strengths and weaknesses in the free agent market” over the next several years.
As the process continues to unfold, Middleton suggested that he won’t simply fade back into the background. If anything, it seems, he’ll take on an even more visible and important role both inside and outside the organization:
“My role has changed over the last two years and I find it interesting. I’m enjoying it a lot. I like working closely with Andy and Matt and I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I’m even thinking of getting an office in the stadium if they’ll let me do that. I see my job as making sure we have the right strategy in place to get us back to our championship form, and to make sure that we’re on track and on schedule with getting back there.”
krillin
You know, as a Braves fan, and seeing the Phils dominate the division during the time they did, I feel like I should be saying something like “I hope the rebuild takes longer than expected”. But, in reality, I hope the best for them. Rebuilding is not fun for a fan base. I hope they make it through swiftly.
eilexx
Krillin…I totally agree that it sucks being in a rebuilding phase. Baseball is more fun when each parts of a rivalry is good. Little excitement when one team runs away with things and another just sits there waiting to be abused. With the way Atlanta’s rebuild is going it looks like it’ll become a fun rivalry again.
Senioreditor
They waited way too long to start the process. Had they initiated it when most thought they should, they would be contending right about now.
DelUnser4ever
Rebuild does not always equal contention…
krillin
I have to agree. They did wait too long. I think with as big of a market team as they are, odds are that they could be competing again by now. However, I don’t blame them for waiting. It is hard to let go of a core group of players that did so much for your organization.
PhilliesFan012
Amaro had a tough time parting with the older guys, although he eventually did, he didn’t want to ship off some of these guys who people viewed as “Phillies for life”. Ruben amaro dug a hole for this team but did eventually make some good trades to right the ship. And at the end of the day I take comfort in the fact that this team is not in a situation like Arizona is.
joshroy
I agree that it was Amaro who put the Phillies in where they are right now, but as you mentioned, he did make some good trades at the end of his tenure. When you know your key guys are declining, you need to make a hard decision to part with them. Otherwise, in the long term, the organization will suffer and go through a longer rebuild period. I liked what I saw this year. It seems that the Phillies have some young players that can be key players for years to come, but it’s not like they have all the pieces right now. It may take up to 2 years before the Phillies to have the right players in each position.
PhilliesFan012
I’m very excited for the future. I know every prospect won’t pan out but the abundance that the Phillies have right now is exciting to think about. Moving forward I think they are in the right place. I also feel as if they could deal from their young arms (only a few) in the trade market that could land them a big bat. Something I feel we lack until Franco reaches his potential.
Philsmania
While Amaro and his retrograde thinking was a part of the problem, the truth is that it was bigger than just him. The Giles-Montgomery regime never took scouting and player development seriously and did not believe that it was worthy of significant financial investment. Giles spent nothing on it and stripped what had been a great system under Paul Owens and Dallas Green to the bone and while Montgomery improved things a bit, the Phillies still spent a pittance compared to what other big market teams spent in that department and were even outspent by small markets like Pittsburgh. Much of the pharm’s success came from ’95-’03 when Mike Arbuckle ran a brilliant scouting department. Perhaps not coincidentally, after he got promoted to oversee scouting AND player development and the less capable Woelever replaced him, Phillies scouting went south and from ’04-’12, the Phillies were one of the worst teams in baseball in scouting and developing talent.
Philsmania
Also, Montgomery used to wax poetically about the supposed virtue of “fan identification” and the romance of players spending their entire careers with one organization, as if Schmidt was the norm. Montgomery green lighted and, I believe, encouraged the costly, long term extensions to the core guys–Howard, Rollins, Utley, Ruiz–which later proved to be crippling.
eilexx
They were foolish even while they were winning. I have said and will always say that the downfall of the Phillies began in July 2009. They had an opportunity to go for the jugular of baseball by acquiring Halladay then, the day after they got Lee. Instead of signing Pedro in August they would have had Halladay pitching at Yankee stadium in the WS. I believe they win that series with Halladay over Pedro, and that would likely have changed the entire outcome of the next couple of offseasons…no need to trade Lee for “prospects” (i.e., save money), no need to go get oswalt, and then Pence, or they would have had the resources to get and keep a bat for RF…be it Werth or Pence.
Philsmania
The phateful time was during the offseason of ’09-’10. They got Halladay but traded away Lee for nothing when they could have extended him at a discount. (obviously since he came back here as a free agent for less than he could have gotten from the Yankees, he loved pitching here). Imagine of we had “the Rotation” in 2010? I will go to my grave believing in every fiber of my being that trading away Lee cost us a ring in 2010.. The other fateful moves that ’09-’10 offseason included not extending Werth when he was a year away from free agency (though that may have been a lost cause) and extending Howard when he was still two years away from free agency. Baseball history is replete with disastrous contract extensions which were handed out to guys two years from free agency. They possibly could have extended Werth at a discount and if they waited to resign Howard, they could have used his slowing WAR to resign him for less time and money.
Philsmania
I don’t blame them for trying to pull off a last hurrah rebound season in 2013. However, after that didn’t work out, putting off rebuilding and trying to contend in 2014 was pure folly. After 2013, the whole world knew they needed to get younger and less expensive. Instead, Amaro doubled down on his strategy of older and more expensive and brought in Byrd and Burnett. And, they probably should have sold high on Domonic Brown after 2013.
Ed Charles
Simple…SPEND some cash that you’re getting from a monster tv deal ! Could have signed a couple top flight Cuban players but passed. Didn’t sign Yasmany Tomas because they were so concerned about his conditioning but then turn around and sign a kid , Jhailyn Ortiz, from Cuba, who’s even in worse shape. Not sure they know what the heck their doing
theo2016
Tomas was 60 mil down the drain for a negative player and your mad they didn’t sign him? Man fans are dumb.
Philsmania
Seriously, the knuckleheads who think we can just buy free agents to get out of this hole are unbelievable.
Philsmania
And Ortiz is from the Dominican Republic, not Cuba.
fighterflea
Hey Ed, Ortiz is 6’3″, 215. He’s not a basketball player (or a jockey) so what’s your point?