No Tomas; What Next for Phillies?

Cuban Yasmany Tomas signed with Arizona Diamondbacks

The Philadelphia Phillies, considered the front-runners in many media circles for months, did not lose out in the bidding process for the services of young Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas.

The player’s agent, Jay Alou, said that the Phillies never even made a formal offer to his client. “The player wanted to sign” according to Alou, who believed that GM Ruben Amaro’s “hands were tied” by a necessity to clear salary space, as reported by Philly.com reporter Matt Gelb.

With home attendance down and a publicly stated rebuilding program begun, the likelihood is that 2015 will bring even further declines to the Phillies revenues. A new deal with Comcast cable is in place, but does not begin infusing extra cash into the team coffers until 2016.

In a publicly released video yesterday, Assistant GM Scott Proefrock briefly discussed the club’s strategy when shopping for free agents.

Yasmany Tomas and Phillies: a Perfect Match

Cuban defector Yasmani Tomas looks perfect for Phillies

Ever since it was announced that Cuban phenom Yasmany Tomas had left the island nation and would be seeking a job in Major League Baseball this past summer, speculation has run rampant as to which organization was his most likely landing spot.

In recent weeks, that speculation has focused squarely on the Philadelphia Phillies, with the Fightins now considered the odds-on favorites to land the power-hitting corner outfielder.

Tomas played for 5 years in Cuba’s top league, Serie Nacional, and Baseball America rated him as the #6 prospect performing at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He is graded as having a ’70’ in raw power on the standard 20-80 scouting scale.

There is little doubt that Tomas would not need much developmental time in the minor leagues, if any at all. He would project to plug immediately into the Phillies starting lineup in either right or left field, and would likely become the #3 hitter in the batting order, with Chase Utley moving up into the 2-hole.

Shameful Che Shirts

Do you own, or have you owned and worn, or know someone who owns and has worn one of those allegedly 'cool' Che Guevara t-shirts? Do you know the reason that the shirt was being worn? Does the image on the shirt actually stand for something? Do you even know who Che Guevara really was?

The 'Che Guevara' t-shirt and image has become a symbol of sorts for all that is 'counter-cultural'. It is often meant as a protest symbol for those who feel that the 'little man' is being intentionally repressed in some way by government and/or business.

Wanting to help those who are less fortunate than we are is a noble sentiment. So is wanting to effect positive changes on a government or on a society that has become repressive or abusive to it's citizens. So what exactly does that have to do with America, the most free country in the history of the world? And why on earth would this man be an appropriate symbol for such protests anyway?

Ernesto 'Che' Gevara was born in 1928 in the South American country of Argentina to parents of mixed Spanish and Irish heritage. He was brought up in a very political and intellectual environment, and became a reader of the works and teachings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin at an early age.

In 1951 he took a year off before entering medical school in order to travel around South America on a motorcycle. During this trip he experienced first-hand the poverty in much of the land, and as a result ultimately wrote 'The Motorcycle Diaries' in regards to the trip. The book was subsequently made into a major release film in 2004.

As Guevara matured into manhood his views became more and more radical, and he eventually established the stated viewpoint that Marxism achieved through armed struggle and defended by an armed populace was the only way to rectify what he believed had become 'American imperialism' in Latin America.