It's (Not) Always Sunny in Philadelphia

In sports, teams are divided into three categories. Some teams are in an intense challenge to try and win their next (or first) championship. Some teams, unfortunately, do not have enough guys to get them there, so they are in a rebuilding mode to try and get players to compete in the future.  Finally, there are some in the middle of both thresholds and never really do anything. But in the MLB, right now there is a team that I have no idea what they are doing, and that’s the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies are in a very tough spot in the team. They have lots of veterans and have been not that bad enough to get a top 5 draft pick. Plus their farm system is weak, and they don’t spend a whole lot on free agents.

Their biggest problem? Veterans. Jimmy Rollins just passed Mike Schmidt for most hits in team history, and good for him. Hall of Famer? No, but one of the best Philly shortstops the club will ever see. Ryan Howard might have his first full season since getting injured in the playoffs in 2011 (which is still one of the most unfortunate injuries we’ve seen over the past ten years), and hey, he might hit 25 home runs this year. No 58 like he had in 2006, but we’ll never see that from him again.

But wait, there’s more! Howard’s partner on the right side has always been Chase Utley, who actually is in the lead in all-star votes for second baseman in the NL, as he’s batting over .300. Though they lost Roy Halladay to retirement this offseason, Cliff Lee still, as always, leads the NL in K/BB ratio with 6.78, and has been doing quite well since re-joining the team in 2011.

Total amount of years these players have played for Philadelphia: 43 years (Utley, Rollins, and Howard have played their entire careers with Philly). Number of World Series’ won with the team with them: one, plus plenty of playoff appearances. How many fans have one of these jerseys? An absurd amount. How big are these players to the city of Philadelphia and the rest of the Philly fan base? So much.

But as time goes on, things must come to an end.

Average age of these four players: 35.

Total contract salaries: $78 million.

2014 Record: 29-38 (ranked last in ESPN’s recent Power Rankings).

Chances of making the World Series in the next five years: As of now, highly unlikely.

This era needs to come to an end. Yes, it is so hard to try and trade away lifetime players, but something has to happen to clear salary space and plan for the future. The only two big moves the Phillies made in the offseason was grabbing Marlon Byrd, Roberto Hernandez (originally Fausto Carmona), and AJ Burnett. Both are well over 30, and both cost lots of money (Burnett is getting $15 million!).

Now if you can’t trade them because of how expensive they are, then that’s just too bad. But they cannot resign these guys. Rollins’ contract expires this year, Lee and Utley after 2015, and Howard in 2016. Burnett’s contract is just this season.

Besides Howard, who is struggling so far this season, they all could be trade bait, if Philadelphia decides to trade them. Because of high salaries they might have to trade and still hold some of their salary, but hey it’s better than leaving with nothing. At this rate, this might have to be the year where everyone gets traded because we don’t know how well they can keep playing given their age.

This year, they have a team 4.04 ERA (22^nd in the MLB), plus have all offensive numbers in the lower third tier (20^th or above). They are not going anywhere this year.

But for Philly, life is not all over once these guys are gone. There can still be a new dynasty. Ben Revere and Domonic Brown are both guys at age 26 that can lead a team. Cole Hamels is still a good pitcher, but he is 30 years old and they might want to win now or move him as well.

From what they have in the farm system, it’s not a whole lot. What they do have right now, however, are their top prospects that are projected to come up to the MLB this year. Could that start the team’s new dynasty?

Here’s my solution: tank. It’s something no organization wants to have, but here me out. Remember that Rollins, Howard, and Utley are all guys that came up through their organization, so why not start that again? They also have lots of money, so once they dish out some of their older players, they have money to spend if they do choose to spend it.

Many teams want to trade for a starter or a solid hitter right now, and those teams have stuff in their farm system to give up in order to get it. An example: trade Cliff Lee to Toronto, maybe someone else too. They might be able to get a young pitcher out of it, which Toronto has plenty of to deal away (and they have done that over the past five years).

How about this for a trade? Trade Jimmy Rollins to the Red Sox for either Allen Webster, a top righty who can come up this year, or Blake Swihart, one of the best catchers in the minor leagues. The possibilities are endless, and they can really get something good out of it if they choose to trade.

It’s time to turn over a new leaf, which isn’t a bad thing to do. They have two options: one is the one I just explained, and the other is waiting for these guys to retire (which might take up to four years) and THEN tank. Either way, you’re going to keep losing, so why not do it now?

Philadelphia is a great team and has great fans, but right now there needs to be a break. It happens to teams. Look at the Astros, Cubs, and Twins now: They are not doing well right now, but they are going to be really good soon, possibly sooner than people think. Philly is in that group of teams struggling right now, but they don’t have a bright future.

It’s going to happen anyways, Philly, and the time has come now. It happens to many teams, but with the amount of money that they have and how well they have been able to bring up players from their farm system, they can be a huge contender. Where they are going right now is just a bad idea.

If Philly wants any championship of any sort in the near future, something has got to change.