So I got to wondering, just how much credit can be given to Ed Wade for the Phillies' recent string of success? After all, Wade was at the helm of the Phillies from March 1998 - October 2005. Can he get any love?
Let's look at the roster from the 2008 Phillies, and see how they got there...
C - Carlos Ruiz
Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent, December 1998
1B - Ryan Howard
5th round draft pick, 2001
2B - Chase Utley
1st round draft pick, 2000
3B - Pedro Feliz
Signed as free agent, 2008
SS - Jimmy Rollins
2nd round draft pick, 1996
LF - Pat Burrell
1st round draft pick, 1998
CF - Shane Victorino
Rule 5 draft pick, 2004
RF - Jayson Werth
Signed as free agent, 2006
Okay. Let's stop there for a second. Of the everyday position players, Wade was in charge of the team when six of them were brought on to the Phillies - Feliz and Werth joining after Wade had been fired.
SP - Cole Hamels
1st round draft pick, 2002
SP - Jamie Moyer
Traded by Seattle, August 2006
SP - Brett Myers
1st round draft pick, 1999
SP - Kyle Kendrick
7th round draft pick, 2003
SP - Adam Eaton
Signed as free agent, November 2006
SP - Joe Blanton
Traded by Oakland, July 2008
RP - Brad Lidge
Traded by Houston, November 2007
RP - Chad Durbin
Signed as free agent, December 2007
RP - Ryan Madson
9th round draft pick, 1998
RP - Clay Condrey
Sent to Phillies by Padres as part of a conditional deal, 2004
RP - J.C. Romero
Signed as free agent, June 2007
RP - Rudy Seanez
Signed as free agent, March 2008
RP - Tom Gordon
Signed as free agent, December 2005
Alright. So among the pitching staff, only five pitchers came to the Phillies under Wade's tenure (and you can make the hilarious argument that Wade brought Lidge to Philadelphia. So. Kind of, six.) But those five pitchers were Hamels, Myers, Kendrick, and Eaton. And they combined to go 7-1 in the 2008 postseason.
How does this make you feel?
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
