Welcome, Andy MacPhail!

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John Middleton, plurality ownership partner of the Philiadelphia Phillies, announced this afternoon the hiring of Andy MacPhail to succeed Pat Gillick as club President.

MacPhail will serve as Special Assistant to Gillick until the end of the 2015 season.  He will use the time to observe the organization.  Middleton said during the press conference that MacPhail’s primary focus will be on baseball operations.

MacPhail served as the general manager of the Minnesota Twins when they won the 1987 and 1991 World Series. He was president of the Chicago Cubs from 1994-2006, helping them reach the postseason twice. He was president of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles from 2007-2011 when he made some of the trades that helped return the team to the postseason.

MacPhail noted that this was the first time the Phillies have gone outside the organization to fill an executive position in … oh, forever?

39 thoughts on “Welcome, Andy MacPhail!”

  2. McPhail said he will read…watch…and listen.

    John Middleton made his first public appearance at the presser. He handled himself extremely well. Said that they will spend whatever it takes to make this team successful. Will use all tools. Also a lot of talk about using Sabermetrics. Building their own data base.

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  6. It is going to take a few years but you can really see a clear path. Franco and JP are great building blocks. Nola looks like a stud. We have a run of money rolling off the books in 2017. A very strong farm now and will have the #1 pick this year. Let alone any return from Hamels and Pap.

    I am very encouraged

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  7. None of us know yet whether this hiring will ultimately be good or bad, but at least there is now someone running things. The scout I spoke with last week previously worked for MacPhail and had a few observations/opinions:

    1 He is VERY humble – will admit weaknesses and address them, no ego.

    2 There is no doubt who’s in charge – he’s quiet, sincere, and simple – but when things need to be done, he has no fear.

    3 He is NOT an analytics guy, but saw him adapt on the fly as it made sense.

    4 Believes new GM will be a first time, young GM. And believes new manager will be Black or Gardenhire or Parent. BUT thinks Mackanin will stay thru end of year.

    5

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    1. 5 Thinks it’s important for Phils to “rid themselves of past personalities” and named in particular Amaro, D Green, Manuel, and Bowa. Said the following about each – Amaro – “like a short 11 year old trying to play basketball in the 12-14 age group”, D Green – big personality and influence….in the 80s and 90s, Manuel – great guy and great hitting guy, but not in today’s game – move on, and Bowa- has evolved but again too much “old school philosophy here”.

      6 This one in particular kills me because I’ve been a HUGE critic, but believes Ed Wade should be named assistant GM to new GM to tie out on the scouting side with a new analytical GM. Scout said MacPhail has history of heavy lifting with glory following after his departure, not much different from GREAT work done by Wade in Philly then Houston. Believes Phils never win title without Wade, and Astros will win one because of him.

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      1. That’s an easy statement to make. Wade built the team that bad the success in the 2000’s or at least MOST of the pieces . . Without Wade we don’t win the WS. He was hamstrung by money (not having any) in Philly (until the end of his tenure) and in Houston. It would really be interesting to see what he could do with money at his disposal. He’s a good baseball guy, should def be here in the future most likely influencing the farm system

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        1. I think Wade knows how to build a team with prospects but can’t make a good free agent signing.

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        2. Ed Wade knows how to keep getting picks in the top 5 of the draft. Eventually the team will become good almost by default

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      2. You lost me at Ed Wade – not as bad as Amaro because nobody is that bad, but he was pretty awful In his own right. If you want more Andy Ashby and Curt Schilling trades then he’s your man. If he’s rehired as GM I will stop rooting for the team. Was totally overmatched as the GM.

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        1. Fortunately it will never happen. On the whole this is very good news and I like the new step forward by ownership – it’s not a charade.

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  8. Excited about the change. So many trade options with Papalbon, Hamels, Harang, Howard, Franceour, and Revere. Payroll flexibility coming soon as well. Real chance to turn this around quickly. Utley needs to sit with Hernandez hitting close to .280 now. Altherr continues to hit well in AAA. Dugan making a push in AA for AAA. McPhail will certainly bring a GM from the outside. Middleton making the proclamation of endless resources. Seriously, this is all positive news.

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  10. Hernadez may be good enough to start at 2b now and in the short future while Kingery gets going up through the system. IMO, Kingery is the long-term 2nd baseman for the team. Scott K. is a very good fielder, is fast on the bases, has necessary patience at bat is capable of hitting .300 with a high OBA…with many doubles and triples plus stolen bases with a high contact rate, but only maybe 10-15 HRs/year. Hitting him at #2 in the lineup is the correct place where contact is very important behind a leadoff hitter.

    All of the above from viewing his college records and scouts evaluations. Just 20/21. Righty hitter.

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    1. You just basically described Dustin Pedroia so if he approaches those levels we will have ourselves one heck of a player.

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  11. Can see now Franco , Crawford , Kingleys , Hopkins, Lino, Pujols, Quinn, Duggan. Nola, Kilmore, Eflin, Lively, Leibrandt.

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    1. I would love to see it, but given that the success rate of even top 100 prospects is only 30%, this is entirely unlikely. I’d only give Nola, Crawford, and Franco even a 50% chance of success (maybe Eflin has a 50% chance to be a backend starter). Ironically, if this did work out these are all RAJ guys.

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  12. Quick question re: Middleton’s portion of the P/C. Any chance this means a more serious approach to the July 2nd international free agents? Not saying we’ll compete with the Dodgers but maybe go out and get 2+ top 10-15 players per summer? At least until an International Draft is instituted.

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    1. Not if we blow this years budget on a single top 20 prospect with one tool who is overweight and can’t hit a curveball.

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        1. Tocci is too skinny, Ortiz is too fat. Tough crowd…

          Hey if the kid can play, he can play. Just don’t want to exceed the limit and have a penalty for 2016.

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  13. Hopefully MacPhail’s first move is cancelling the deal with ortiz. Kid is free falling in the rankings giving him 4.2 million will be a joke.

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      1. Maybe we’ll wait and see but I don’t think a 16 year old with weight problems and position problems is worth missing out on our 5.5 million pool next year and probably another 5 the year after.

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  14. We all know this isn’t mac phail call. This would be Ruben and gillicks call. Why would they give this kid 4 million and take themselves out of next year is so stupid. I thought maybe in any trade deal they will pick up international money. Then I could see it. If they want this kid so bad they better get all they can this year. before the penalty.

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    1. rocco….weighing in on the analyticals for Jhailyn Ortiz…..and it appears to be gaining some weight! 🙂

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    2. Fangraphs said it wouldn’t they have enough to sign the 2 players. I was reading what Daniels said.

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  17. Tim that article was from may. since then he has drop down in the rankings. I believe he is around 18th now. there are concerns about weight and hitting a curve ball.

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    1. True it is two months old, and a little outdated…MLB still has him at 6th in their ranking, but that also may be a month old at this point.
      The issue seems to be his conditioning and future positional value…..probably either 1st base or LF…that’s it.

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    2. I know but every where u turn said his power is 70 and that shows in games. Everyone of the 16 yr olds will have some kind of flaw. I trust Sal A he has done well with less money. A lot of the Cubans came in to lower the rank of the The rest or the LA kids.

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      1. BA via MattWinks PMTs:
        “……….In BP, Ortiz has a sound swing and keeps his hands inside the ball, but it’s another story when he faces live pitching. He has trouble especially recognizing breaking pitches, so in games his timing gets thrown off and he loses his balance, waving through too many pitches. As one scout who liked Ortiz put it, “I’ve never seen him worse than at the MLB showcase. I was shocked. That wasn’t the guy we knew.” Many others felt the empty swings were consistent with what they had always seen from him. The optimistic outlook is that he is still young and just hasn’t been seeing much live pitching, so if he learns to recognize a breaking ball, the power will take over.”

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  18. Omg this scouting report is just like greenes, He was great in workouts and batting practice, but didn’t take it to high level hs competition, now I don’t want this kid at all.

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