Steve Phillips says....

[nymr83]

]Steve Phillips: I would just recommend avoiding Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno and Kevin Appier.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3864280

in context, he's responding to a question by Neyer about budgetting his roster in a mock draft they are doing with Olney and Stark.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I got no ill will toward Steve Phillips. He has come out of professional ruin to be one of the more interesting talking heads on ESPN, for what little that's worth. He made some awful decisions as Met GM, and they didn't fire him soon enough, but he also worked half the time without enough help.

Altogether not bad for a washed up minor league infielder.

[metirish]

Yeah I remember when Phillips started doing just guest spots on ESPN radio , got to give him credit for dragging himself back up . Probably has a better gig now.

Anyway I think Only has the better team so far and certainly with the money spent.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I don't dislike him either. Brought the team to a World Series, which Omar can't claim - yet.

I interviewed him for a story, and ran into him in Detroit while he was GM and was gracious both times.

Which is not to say I agreed with everything he did, or everything he says now.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And he didn't sign Mo Vaughn. He traded Appier for him. Mock the Appier signing, but the Mets got more from Mo than the Angels ever got from Kev, who was released with a swimming pool full of money still owed him.

[Centerfield]

And when he couldn't give us anything, the insurance company gave us plenty.

Appier and Cedeno were far worse moves.

[metirish]

Good bullpens is one thing I remember from Steve Phillips Mets teams.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, the Cedeno move was his worst. I mean, it was plain to see that was a dumb idea from the start.

He could be swashbuckling and bold though; and he wasn't afraid to try some crazy shit.

[Frayed Knot]

Appier was the perfect example of reacting to losing the big guy (Hampton in this case) by deciding you HAVE TO HAVE the next best thing. It's a condition that leads to over-paying and it helps prove the adage about it being easier to recover from the guy you don't sign then it is to recover from the one you sign at the wrong price.
The Vince Coleman/Strawberry example works here too.

In this case both Hampton & Appier were signed at the wrong price and, by the time each contract was done, numerous teams (Mets, Angels, Rockies, Marlins, Braves) got burned along the way.

[smg58]

="Edgy DC":3h0ztpyp]And he didn't sign Mo Vaughn. He traded Appier for him. Mock the Appier signing, but the Mets got more from Mo than the Angels ever got from Kev, who was released with a swimming pool full of money still owed him.[/quote:3h0ztpyp] That's absolutely true. I said when they got Mo Vaughn that I'd be thrilled with 30 HR and a .270 BA, and they got 26 HR and .259 from him. He played to realistic expectations. Compared to the other moves from that offseason, that one actually went right.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 04 2009 10:17 AM

Hey, two post-season appearances (and back to back!) after an eleven-year drought. He made some mistakes, but it's hard to say he was a failure.

Centerfield Feb 04 2009 12:02 PM

2002 is a funny year. Mo Vaughn gets a lot of that blame but he was ok that year. Fonzie and Piazza were good too. Burnitz, Alomar and Cedeno were probably the worst offenders. It was also a year where there were no players that exceeded expectations.

Edgy DC Feb 04 2009 12:16 PM

Trachsel, maybe. Checking back, Timo did better than I recall. Astacio gave them an awesome first half, but I forgot how completely the wheels came off (even though I lost the second Parody Classic by recounting it). Check out his season's ERA progression. April/March 2.50 May 2.90 June 3.55 July 3.60 August 7.27 Sept/Oct 10.30 It was a mystery down the stretch how they seemed to be deliberately sending him out there when he was clearly injured, seemingly wanting to trigger his vesting option.

Centerfield Feb 04 2009 12:29 PM

Especially when they were out of the race. The only thing dumber would have been to trade your best pitching prospect for a mediocre starter to try to get back into it.

seawolf17 Feb 04 2009 01:05 PM

="Centerfield":2z6sb1lz]Especially when they were out of the race. The only thing dumber would have been to trade your best pitching prospect for a mediocre starter to try to get back into it.[/quote:2z6sb1lz] At least they didn't trade anyone of importance that year for worthless roster filler like Jason Middlebrook and John Thomson. Oh, wait. Ashie62 Feb 05 2009 10:37 AM Did Phillips hire Bobby V..if so Phillips is in my Personals Mets HOF..kinda like Dave Mlicki.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Hey, two post-season appearances (and back to back!) after an eleven-year drought.

He made some mistakes, but it's hard to say he was a failure.

[Centerfield]

2002 is a funny year. Mo Vaughn gets a lot of that blame but he was ok that year. Fonzie and Piazza were good too.

Burnitz, Alomar and Cedeno were probably the worst offenders. It was also a year where there were no players that exceeded expectations.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Trachsel, maybe. Checking back, Timo did better than I recall.

Astacio gave them an awesome first half, but I forgot how completely the wheels came off (even though I lost the second Parody Classic by recounting it). Check out his season's ERA progression.

April/March 2.50
May 2.90
June 3.55
July 3.60
August 7.27
Sept/Oct 10.30

It was a mystery down the stretch how they seemed to be deliberately sending him out there when he was clearly injured, seemingly wanting to trigger his vesting option.

[Centerfield]

Especially when they were out of the race.

The only thing dumber would have been to trade your best pitching prospect for a mediocre starter to try to get back into it.

[seawolf17]

="Centerfield":2z6sb1lz]Especially when they were out of the race. The only thing dumber would have been to trade your best pitching prospect for a mediocre starter to try to get back into it.[/quote:2z6sb1lz] At least they didn't trade anyone of importance that year for worthless roster filler like Jason Middlebrook and John Thomson. Oh, wait.

Ashie62 Feb 05 2009 10:37 AM

Did Phillips hire Bobby V..if so Phillips is in my Personals Mets HOF..kinda like Dave Mlicki.

[ashie62]

Did Phillips hire Bobby V..if so Phillips is in my Personals Mets HOF..kinda like Dave Mlicki.