On Friday at 1 pm, the Phillies held what many of us thought was going to be a disaster of a press conference. It was to announce the firing of Gabe Kapler. We were not disappointed. They decided to have a joint press conference with Matt Klentak, John Middleton and Andy MacPhail. It was unwatchable!
Prior to today’s shenanigans, and that literally is the best way to describe this debacle, the Phillies fired manager Gabe Kapler on Thursday. Phillies Owner, John Middleton stated that GM Matt Klentak will lead the search for Kapler’s successor. Middleton also said he has confidence that Klentak will find the right guy.
The most uncomfortable Press Conference ever:
The Phillies just can’t seem to do anything right nowadays. Middleton had to know what was about to happen. Rob Ellis from WIP said this was a disaster waiting to happen and it was. The second question of the presser came from Howard Eskin. The “King” didn’t waste time:
Middleton responded by asking what part of the organization was worse than it was four years prior. Eskin wasted no time and responded the Farm system. Eskin is right about the farm system.
Klentak did take over for arguably the worst GM in Phillies’ history in Reuben Amaro Jr. At that point 4 years ago, the Phillies were looking to build around Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera.
A while later, Middleton was asked a question about his involvement in three major decisions where he seemed to bypass Klentak. His response was unwatchable. It was a ten-minute essay style response. The twitter responses were fantastic. Here is my favorite:
The lone bright spot:
The positive in this, in my opinion, was Andy MacPhail. I feel his answers were to the point and truthful. He gave answers to the question asked. MacPhail did not go off on a tangent with every question, unlike the other two at the table. MacPhail led off the press conference and described why the process took so long.
Two days ago I posted an article stating that I thought MacPhail’s comments “if we don’t, we don’t” was a mistake. I explained that I thought MacPhail didn’t quite explain what he meant. Now MacPhail was asked the question and he handled it with humor and was able to explain exactly what he meant.
Other Observations
Just a few observations from the press conference from hell. Matt Klentak looked uncomfortable. He looked as though he knows he is getting fired. Klentak and Middleton answered questions like it was a political debate. And in case you didn’t know, John Middleton is the CEO!
The final result, just go on twitter to see, is that fan confidence in this management group is at an all-time low. Middleton needs to get rid of Klentak. He then has to sign some high priced talent and go over the luxury tax to build a winner.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
