With the Phillies in fire sale mode, do you care where your favorite Phillies end up?
This is a simple question - given that the Phillies are rebuilding and some of our all-time favorite Phillies are on the trading block (or have already been traded), do you root for these players to go to any particular team? Or, conversely, do you root for them not to be traded to particular teams?
The way I see it, there are at least five options here:
1.Happy for them to go anywhere. Those who fall into this camp simply don't care where their favorite Phillies go. The thinking here is that the Phillies need to trade these players to improve in the future, so any team that takes our players and gives us quality in return is a good place for our favorite players to land.
2.Don't want them going anywhere. This is the complete opposite. It doesn't matter if the Phillies will get better with the trade in the long run, all that matters is that your favorite Phillies are no longer going to be Phillies, so you are furious wherever they go.
3.Anywhere but the Mets/Braves/[fill in your hated franchise here]. You have your hated teams, and no matter who plays for those teams, those players are evil. If he were traded to one of those teams at the end of his career, you'd even hate Mike Schmidt. If Ruben Amaro Jr. traded Chase Utley to the Mets, your baseball fan life would end.
4.Anywhere that's a contender. This is the most magnanimous of the bunch. You love your favorite players and want what's best for them. Running out their career in the cesspool of Philadelphia baseball circa 2015 through 2017 is not going to be fun for them, so you want them playing for a contender. Jimmy Rollins will always be a champion Philadelphia Phillie, but if he gets another ring with the Dodgers, well then good for Jimmy. He deserves it more than he deserves playing for consecutive sub-70 loss teams here.
5.Anywhere that's not a contender. This is the most evil of the bunch, but one that is based in complete and utter loyalty to the team, which isn't a terrible thing. People who fall into this camp don't want to see ex-Phillies succeed because they are now traitors. It's harder to justify with a trade, since that is out of the player's control, but I can see some people still holding this position. You just don't want to see a true Phillie beating you in the future, so better to go to a lousy team.
I'm sure there are other positions to hold, but these are the main ones. Where do you stand? Let us know in the comments.
As for me, I have a mix of 3 and 4. I would be utterly horrified to see Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, or Carlos Ruiz playing for the Yankees, Mets, or Braves. It would truly ruin my baseball experience to see that.
But, beyond those three franchises, I want them to go to a contender. I have loved watching these guys play and am grateful for everything they have done for my favorite team and my baseball fan experience. For that, I want the best for them, which is playing for a contender.
As long as that contender isn't the Yankees, Mets, or Braves...