Middleton, Phillies still owe Harper a superstar colleague
For 330 million and one reasons, Bryce Harper agreed to be play for the Phillies. The first 330 million, John Middleton is good for. That would be the total dollars to be direct-deposited into Harper’s checking account.
But what about that last remaining reason?
What about the one Harper implied he was told to expect when he signed the then-record contract?
Where is that second superstar, anyway? And the third?
Not that it could have been promised, but Harper did wink-wink that he was convinced the Phillies would make a run at Mike Trout, who occasionally tailgated at Citizens Bank Park in his youth. With cause, the Angels wrapped Trout up before he could hit the market. That’s business. Besides, Trout has turned a little brittle in his baseball middle-age. So maybe that development did twist in the Phillies’ favor.
But it wasn’t that Harper was promised Mike Trout in particular. It’s just that he wasn’t expecting Travis Jankowski, either.
Days after providing a season as impressive as any in modern Phillies history, and one good for selection Thursday as the National League’s Most Outstanding performer by the players, Harper barked this one out: “We need some dogs.”
The Houston Astros have dogs. The Dodgers have dogs. The Red Sox. The Braves.
The Phillies have Harper and J.T. Realmuto, a star but not a superstar. And he was already on the payroll when Harper signed, as was Rhys Hoskins, who has canine-like power. Zack Wheeler is dogged, but he works every fifth day. After that? Not much bite.
The Phillies weren’t great in 2021, but they did enter the final week of the season with a chance to blow past Atlanta and into command of the NL East. Since then, the Braves have reached the World Series. So, being spenders would be anything but irresponsible.
The Harper commitment was a blast of baseball and business brilliance. But Middleton still owes Harper more. Kris Bryant will be available. Nick Castellanos is unlikely to return to the Reds. The Braves are not going to let franchise legend Freddie Freeman wiggle free. Are they? Trevor Story would solidify the infield, offensively and defensively.
So there are options, and they will be costly. Middleton has the cash. He has the obligation. And he has a superstar begging not just for more, but what he seemed to have been promised.
Prepare Middleton’s nifty Phillies-themed recruiting jet for takeoff.
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Go ahead and try paying me via Venmo. I dare you.
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He’s doing it, isn’t he? Jeffrey Lurie, that old son of a gun, is trusting the process.
He’s offloading franchise legends for assets. He is allowing a quarterback without much of an arm to play an entire season at whatever potential vandalism to the Eagles’ record. He ran off a Super Bowl-winning coach and hired an underqualified 39-year-old. He employs a passive defensive coordinator.
And for all of that, he has the Eagles in position to dominate the top of the next draft.
Football players endure too much physical trauma to ever be accused of tanking. The Eagles are not guilty of that. But manipulating the system at the cost of a few more victories that would provide some enjoyment for the fans? The forensics point that way. • That Nick Sirianni would liken the development of the Eagles to a flower about to bloom is a reasonable description. Beats saying he has to do a better job of putting his players in position to make plays.
The question, though, turns to his judgment. Specifically, how did he think such a winded horticulture lecture would play among the ever-cantankerous, unforgiving and mean-spirited sports fans of Philadelphia, who have done nothing but make fun of the guy for nearly a week?
There wasn’t a thing wrong with Sirianni’s outline. It’s just that a good football leader should be able to predict when he is about to be blitzed.
Kindly assure me there is no such thing as a bobblehead museum.
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The Sixers outlasted a confused Pistons team the other night in large measure because their point guard was willing to shoot both in the lane and from behind the arc. Key word: Both.
Tyrese Maxey is unlikely to ever receive an invite to the long-distance-shooting contest at All-Star Weekend. But he took two three-pointers against Detroit, making both. His four turnovers weren’t helpful, but he’s young. That should improve.
Ben Simmons is out while he deals with an issue described as mental. That story will end with him being traded and Maxey taking his former job on a permanent basis. Every early indication is that with a point guard willing to play the way Maxey does, the Sixers will be better for that exchange.
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Adding outfield umpires for postseason games was dumb long before instant replay sent the profession on the way to extinction.