The Phillies have their hands full with the New York Mets.
They did not need their general manager to throw a little gas on the fire.
But hours before his team blew a late lead and lost for the 19th time in their last 24 tries vs. the Gothams, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was in serious damage control.
He was backpedaling furiously from some comments he had made about Philly fans in an interview with CSN.com's Jim Salisbury.
Basically, Amaro buried the fans, saying they didn't really understand the process and the plan the Phils are using when it comes to developing some of their younger talent. Fans want some of the Phils' young talent promoted from the minors. Amaro doesn't want to rush them.
I think I understand what Amaro was trying to say. That didn't make it sound any better when he said the fans "don't understand the game" and that they "bitch and complain that we don't have a plan."
How do you really feel, Ruben?
It became pretty clear very quickly how the fans felt.
Naturally, they were outraged.
After being pilloried on sports talk radio and social media most of the day, Amaro came forward before last night's game to apologize.
"I'd like to apologize to the fan because I'm a fan myself and I understand," Amaro said. "I understand the passion and the knowledge that our fans have for our game and the other major sports - all the sports in Philly. So, I don't think the comments were meant to disparage our fans by any stretch of the imagination. I probably used my words incorrectly or poorly. So I want to apologize for that."
Ya think?
All of this blurs what is really happening with the Phils. After putting together a fairly impressive six-game winning streak, they have hit the skids again. And this is with Ryan Howard wielding a hot bat.
The Phils are what they are - a mediocre at best major league ballclub.
But fans probably can't be blamed when they see the dramatic turnaround pulled off by the Houston Astros. Last year they were one of the worst teams in baseball. One year later, they have the best record in the league at a sizzling 30-17.
Phillies' fans can only dream about that kind of turnaround. And you can bet they will be vocal about their belief that Ruben Amaro Jr. is not the man to guide a similar turnaround here in Philly.
There's no doubt they 'understand' that.
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