Tyson Gillies Is Really Starting to Make Ruben Angry

As if the Cliff Lee trade the Phillies made after the 2009 season wasn’t bad enough.

Phillippe Aumont got hurt to start the year and now can’t find the strike zone. I’m not even sure if J.C. Ramirez is still a professional baseball player anymore (I could do research on this, but it’s J.C. Ramirez, so what’s the point?). And Tyson Gillies is doing everything he can to torpedo any kind of professional baseball career for himself.

Kudos once again on that deal, guys.

The Reading Phillies announced on Thursday they were suspending Gillies indefinitely for violating some kind of team rule. I says “some kind of team rule” because the team is not letting anyone know what rule it is Gillies is breaking.

It could be that Gillies forgot to put his Playstation away for, like, the thousandth time. Maybe he snapped a wet towel at the wrong guy in the shower. Perhaps he slept through batting practice because he was up really late the night before working on the latest chapter of a novel he’s writing.

Whatever the reason, Reading Phils officials made it a point to note that he was not suspended for the same kind of thing that got him suspended during the 2010 season.

That thing, of course, was cocaine possession.

In 2011, Gillies played only three games because of continued hamstring problems from the year before. Noticing a theme?

His suspension means yet another Phils position prospect is going to miss some valuable development time in the minors. Gillies was by no means heading to Major League superstardom, but he was having a solid year this year, although he missed much of the first half due to a concussion. Gillies was hitting .291/.372/.434 with 2 HR and 15 extra base hits and 7 SBs in 175 at bats.

The super-fast center fielder has incredible athleticism and can make all the plays in the outfield, which is why the Phillies organization has been patient with him. They’ve also been patient with him because no one knows Shane Victorino’s future. The thought was, perhaps, Gillies could turn into their center fielder of the future.

Their patience may have finally run out.

It’s unknown when, or if, Gillies will return, but more missed time on the field means another year of uncertainty, both for Gillies and the team.

But hey, the Phillies got Cliff Lee back in the end, so no harm no foul, right?