Then Again, About Ed Wade. . .

There's this.

Sheesh.

Sounds like even the Phillies' ownership finally sensed that America is a real meritocracy, and that they had to fire their GM on merit.

Not only for his decisions, but for how well he got along with others.

It also sounds like Dave Montgomery, the Phillies' president, fully understands how important Billy Wagner is to this franchise. One of the top five closers in the entire game can cover up a lot of ills, such as an iffy starting pitching staff and a stadium built more for middle schoolers who eat too many Tastykakes than for Major Leaguers.

Read the whole thing, and you'll see why there was no way ownership could have let Ed Wade continue in his job. Not if they wanted to keep Billy Wagner.

All this said about Ed Wade, I still don't think that firing him is the entire prescription for wellness the franchise needs.

The problem is, you can't fire your home team's owners.

But the fans can vote with their feet.

As they did last season.

And, despite their best record in a while, they might do that again this season.

Read the article, and you'll wonder why Ed Wade was permitted to stay in his job for so long.

The Philadelphia media is very tough, but they were kind to Ed Wade in that they tried very hard to report the real stories and not the personality conflicts that are inevitable when an organization's activities are scrutinized publicly every day. You didn't read about this sort of stuff that often. Now that Ed Wade is gone, you're getting a picture of what he was like. It may be that the circumstances changed him, or it may be that he was always like this. Hard to know, and it's not as though the columnists are perfect, either. Remember that, too, when you read the linked article.

And then draw your own conclusions.

No matter what your perspective, it's a bad ending to a bad run.