I was in the car driving to work this morning and Dilotte? was on stating that Wade was in town for a second interview, the only one to get a second interview and extreme chances were that he was going to be the next GM of the Astros. Don't have anything written in stone, but they were saying sources said the "Astros wanted someone who's done it before." Also, Wade is familiar with the Astros having worked for them before. Don't know what to think. This could be great or we could have another Yes Man for Drayton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wade If this is the case I won't be surprised. He was responsible for Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and other good prospects. However, he also signed Mike Lieberthal and David Bell to huge contracts well after their productive years.
I'm not sure I'm too excited about Ed Wade. I'm feeling awful JimyWilliams-ish about him. Jimy was the *last* skipper I wanted the Astros to hire back on 2002. Nice pedigree and all, but no *winning*.
I am a Phillies fan, and I didn't like this guy much. He signed too many bad contracts (Abreu, Burrell, Lieberthal, David Bell, et al) and had a win-now philosophy without actually delivering wins. We were happy when he was kicked out of town.
honestly, that sounds like every guy with GM experience. some good..some bad. i have absolutely no feelings on this one way or the other. they weren't going to excite me by the name they hired for the GM spot. i am happy, however, that we have someone in place well ahead of october. and i'm happy it's not purpura, honestly.
No, he was terrible in Philly. Got run out of town on a rail. I was frankly shocked that he was even interviewed; I'm sick to my stomach at this hire...
I've always been a huge fan of the Phillies organization and the depth of their farm system -- they're definitely one of the clubs I would've targeted to emulate. That said, the David Bell and Lieberthal contracts concern me a lot -- seem the kind of Preston Wilson, stopgap signings that serve no real purpose to the long-term health of the team.
We've made the playoffs once in the past 20+ years. Why would you want to emulate us? We've produced some fine hitters in our system (Rollins, Howard, Utley, Victorino, etc.) but now our pitching is craptacular and I don't think there's anybody there that will change things in the short term.
I think we were all spoiled by Hunsicker. There aren't many of those guys out there. One in Oakland, maybe one in Minnesota. That's about it.
This is exactly what I think (I didn't think of it with Jimy - but do of Wade; and looking back, Jimy fits the mold). Why go for known mediocrity? It's the same thing with hiring recycled coaches in all sports. If a guy has failed at every stop he's been before, why on earth do you expect him to magically be successful with you? In Wade's case, there's nothing out there (that I know of) to suggest "this guy has the potential to be great". Given that, why not take chance on someone who has potential upside? Yes, it might fail spectacularly (Tim Purpura), but at least you create a chance to be great.
It's not as if the Phillies haven't looked for pitching, though. Getting an ace is as much about luck as it is anything else. Give them one Roy Oswalt-type and a they're probably the best team in the league, year after year. In the areas completely within their control -- depth of the lineup, depth of the system -- they've been a model club and one I wouldn't mind following. They've just been unfortunate victims of never stumbling upon a true ace and having to go against some dominant Braves and Mets teams (not to mention some final week collapses).
If true, this is a TERRIBLE hire. Wade was the butt of every joke in Philly...quite possibly one of their most hated figures ever, even more so than Billy King. I hope you all enjoy last place baseball and/or bad contracts. Pat Burrell is still reaping the rewards of Ed Wade's genius.
