I am so depressed about Carlos Ruiz getting the hook for violating the MLB PED policy. 2012 was a tough season all around for Philies fans. Somewhere in that darkness Carlos Ruiz emerged as a rock while the 2012 campaign was crumbling. Now the good feelings of Ruiz's breakout season have turned into a rotten apple that induces one to want to vomit.
2012 Phungo #20 Carlos Ruiz
I am going thru the process of putting together 2013 Phungo Cards right now. Each year Ruiz is one of the first cards I make. There are several reasons for this. He was always sort of an under the radar player. He's a catcher so he is in tons of shots. He is a little guy - love rooting for the Davids in sports. And near as I can tell prior to today, I always thought of him as a pretty decent guy.
The Pix on this Phungo card was taken during a Phils 9-3 victory over the Giants in August of 2010. #Chooch had a double 2 RBIs and a pair of run scored. He caught one of the first games pitched by Roy Oswalt as a Phillies Pitcher. Two months later the same Phillies team would lose to the same Giants team in the NLCS. For more info on the game on 8/17/2010 click here.
Rant
First and foremost Carlos Ruiz is the one responsible for his misuse of whatever he was taking, but I want to blame everyone else.
Charlie Manuel - To be honest Charlie's record speaks for itself - He is a good manager with a World Series and NLCS crown under his belt. My #1 Beef w/ Charlie is a lot different then other folks. I firmly believe that Manuel sticks with his vets way too much. Carlos Ruiz is not a big man and he is playing the most grueling position on the diamond. He has had increasing games every season from 2009-2011. This would have continued in 2012. Manuel rarely takes the opportunity to use his stars in the DH role whenever the opportunity is presented in interleague play. I realize there are issues with DHing a Catcher but it can be done. Ruiz needs more days off. Manuel need to honor this.
Ruben Amaro Jr - Amaro is responsible for putting together the roster. I honestly don't really believe in blowing a lot of money on your 2 catcher, but Brian Schneider hit so poorly that it put Manuel in the position where he had to start Carlos Ruiz everyday.
Chase Utley - At the beginning of 2012 the Phils were really short on offense with both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard being out of the lineup. I am not sure where the communication broke down but Utley seemed to think he would be ready for the 2012 season - he was not.
Carlos Ruiz was stuck with carrying the offense early in the 2012 season and did a remarkable job. Now we find out that he was taking Aderall.
Post Mortem 2012
I have likely that bottled up since it became clear the Phillies season was going south way back June, feels good to put pen to paper. cmon spring training.
No comments:
Post a Comment