What is the “director of player development?” Its a position previously filled by Chuck LaMar, who suddenly took off in the night a few months ago for reasons that Ruben Amaro assumed we would eventually stop asking about. Which we did.
Speaking of LaMar, did you know there is an entire book written about him and how he almost killed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? I didn’t read it yet but the subtitle is “How One Man Nearly Sunk a Franchise,” so it is becoming alarming that he was every employed within the Phillies organization.
But Chuck and whatever horrible cataclysms he’s brought about have been replaced by Joe Jordan, formally of the Orioles.
After seven season of “amateur scouting development,” Joe appears ready to mature and blossom into a full-fledged scout for the Phillies. Which is perfect timing, because at any given moment, somewhere between 5-7 Phillies are undergoing serious surgery.
Joe brought Zach Britton to Baltimore, and some other people, but I saw a lot of Zach this summer and got so jazzed about his raw talent that I bought a shirsey with his name on it after it was marked down because he got sent back to the minors for a little bit. It was pretty serious.
So, like anybody joining the Phillies at the moment, Joe will be asked to produce immediately, and without any flaws. His first task is figuring out how to make people forget about Mark Parent abandoning the Reading Phillies for the White Sox by hiring some awesome, fan-favorite Phillies person to take over our Double-A squad.
Don’t screw this up, Joe. Bloggers’ opinions of you hangs in the balance.
Bloggers.