Phillies Tired of Stringing Cut Players Along

“Sarcastic laughter” is hard to disseminate via internet, but I’m pretty sure Justin De Fratus isn’t cackling with glee over getting optioned to the minors.  David Hale, actual journalist, has compiled the complete list of those no longer with us.I’ve probably mentioned already my bizarre infatuation with 1B Matt Rizzotti.  Keeping a slugging first baseman around would be like the Phillies going out and acquiring some sort of huge amount of superfluous talent at a single position.

And yet… the Phillies clutch Rizzotti close to their chest in the organization like a wolf mother and her cub; not wanting to see his bat fall into the hands of another.  But they also cast him away, forever blocked by Ryan Howard and his hilarious contract, refusing to let him take up a roster spot on the bench, like some sort of uncaring wolf mother whose sick of raising these cubs by herself.

Often, I forget about baseball entirely, and just think the familial units of wolves.

A game-winning walkoff single couldn’t buy catcher Joel Naughton a “stickin’ around ticket.”  LHP Ryan Feierabend has a name that would be so simple to turn into a sweet nickname involving “fire” or “firebrand.”  RHP Eddie Bonine is a knuckleballer, the very breed of hurler that successfully erased in the past season.  Justin De Fratus was touted as “the closer of the future” and “…a fork.”  He even tried to go toe-to-toe with Doc over who was kicking the clubhouse doors in first.  Cesar Hernandez.  Harold Garcia.  Brian Bass.

All of them, gone.

The Phillies got a little smaller, but in the same way, began showing signs of their future.  Freddy Galvis is still here, looking to usurp J-Roll’s position, and possibly his family and friends.  Scott Mathieson wasn’t kicked to the curb just yet.  And who could forget Carlos Rivero?  Wait, no.  He was cut.