Asking (again) “what possible motivation could ESPN have to hire Steve Phillips as an analyst?”, Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey is amongst those baffled by the former Mets GM’s status as a TV and radio fixture. (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
How is it that a man that perennially misread the market place, undervalued his farm system, and made poor judgment calls on talent and personnel in nearly every transaction he made during his tenure as a GM, is considered an expert analyst.
This is the same guy who has been patting himself on the back “ on the air, no less “ about œfinding and keeping David Wright and Jose Reyes.
Of course he failed to mention that scout Eddie Toledo and Assistant GM Omar Minaya found Reyes, and that Toronto GM J.P Ricciardi turned down a Jose Cruz Jr.-for David Wright deal that Phillips offered him a few years ago.
It’s really too bad that he didn’t get the Kansas City opening, because if there were ever a match made in heaven, it’s that ownership and that Talking Head.
While not disagreeing with Healey’s general thrust (ie. Phillips sucks), in the interests of fairness I’ll acknowledge that during a recent broadcast, Phillips reminded viewers he was the man that traded Melvin Mora for Mike Bordick. And he wasn’t bragging about it, either.