Was Miller writing this kind of stuff before Wade got canned? It doesn't seem all that gutsy to trash someone after they're out of power.

Ed Wade, chair thrower. Who knew?

A very interesting article. And people thought Bowa was nuts.

Wow, that was one of the all-time classic rip jobs. It's pretty unusual for a guy to inspire that kind of column unless he is a Grade A jackass. If this is accurate, then Wade was pretty much a prick to the media, to employees, and to players. But I'll bet he was a Grade A ass-kisser to ownership.

That was awesome. Regardless of its facticity, everyone should read this.

The writer might as well have finished the job and ritually eaten Wade's still-beating heart.

Is it a hatchet job if it’s true? He does not seem to be relying on unnamed sources but states names, dates and places. He has a recording to back up one allegation and Charlie Manuel is present at another. I would be surprised if he had written about him in this manner prior to Wades firing simply because that would have made covering the team very tough for the reporter.

Also I think you only eat the heart if you want some strength from your fallen opponent- I think this is just a corpse that you toss into the ocean.

Years earlier, Wade called a team meeting to scream at players. One pitcher said everyone buried their heads in their arms so Wade couldn't see them laughing at him.

Just awesome.

I only read the Inquirer, but the seemingly official perception of Wade is that he was a completely bland, milquetoast guy. If any of this was going on behind the scenes the media kept it completely quiet - not even any wink and nod inneundo.

Very strange.

Sounds like this columnists' angst should require that the article be renamed "Schmoe Curses Wade."

Don't everybody all groan at once.

Best Regards

John

I'm not a Phillies fan, but if half of the stuff in this article is true, I'm glad he got canned.

Years earlier, Wade called a team meeting to scream at players. One pitcher said everyone buried their heads in their arms so Wade couldn't see them laughing at him.

Wow. Just... wow.

This is ridiculous. In 8 years I never heard a single word of criticism about Wade as a person. Sure, he was slow to take action, he looked exactly like George Will, his lust for middle relievers could ne'er be sated, but nothing personal at all. Where were all these writers when this was going on? It's not like the Phillies are owned by the same corporation as the Philadelphia newspapers.

I don't remember even a minor hatchet job about Wade being published at any time before his firing. Obviously this writer knew all this stuff years ago, and it was just as relevant then as it is now. This is the kind of thing that makes people doubt whatever they see in the press because there's obviously an untold story and personal agenda involved in the paper's decisions about what to publish.

More examples of how this article basically undermines the whole idea of sportswriting:

Ask Philadelphia Daily News baseball writer Marcus Hayes, who remained calm as his character was assassinated and he was being called an "officious [bleep]."

Sure, we can ask him about it today. If we had asked him about it two days ago, he wouldn't say anything, but now he has to.

This isn't about kicking a man when he's down. It's about shedding some truth about the Wade era.

I don't know, Randy; he is down, and after eight years of not kicking him, you are now kicking him. At least it shows that there is zero chance that you'll kick a guy when he's not down.

In short, the legions of fans who despised Wade not just because of his GM ability were on to something. Trust me, some Phillies employees and many media members grew sick of his antics long ago.

Maybe they should have spread the word earlier, so we wouldn't have spent eight years with a GM who was the universal target of sniggering disdain.

One of the worst-kept secrets in baseball was the work habits of a longtime Phillies major-league scout who had a reputation for leaving games in the seventh and eighth inning.

Which scout is this? That would be an interesting expose, Randy. Perhaps, since it's obvious that you know who this person is, you might tell the rest of us, and maybe the Phillies could replace him with a professional scout.

if i were a reader of a philadelphia paper, i would have liked to have read some of this stuff when it happened, instead of years after the fact when wade has been fired.

This is sucks. I hate every stupid. No me like, bad medicine.

An ownership group that A) was trying to make a profit, or B) was trying to win games, would be preferable to the Skull-and-Bones style consequence-free political plaything that the Phillies owners see their team as being.

Bad moon rising.

wonder if this writer has Wade mixed up with Larry Bowa or something

if you have listened to Philly sports talk radio or read the local rags in the past 8 years, you would have found Wade criticized for stupidity, colorlessness, not caring about winning, just the bottom line, etc. etc

but NOTHING like what is contained in this column

best-kept secret in Philly since Leonard Tose was caught wearing women's clothing

(what, you didn't hear about that?)

Crispix,
According to the article, the scout has already been fired. Given that--and the fact none of us would know who the scout was, anyway--I don't blame him for not mentioning the name. I don't know how much news value there is in the name of a fired employee whom no one has heard of.

Apparently, we got the calm end of the stick when Larry Bowa started hanging out here. Ed Wade would have been a much more fiery presence.

After reading post #10, I'm now imagining George Will hurling obscenities at people, really ripping into them like a Merchant Marine on opium, but with his usual well-mannered delivery.

It is freakin' hilarious.

10/4Announced the contracts of Jimmy Stewart, major league scout, Steve Swisher, Reading manager, and Marcos Mejia and Leandro Fajardo, minor league coaches, will not be renewed.

Ed Wade (Judy): If I let you change me, will that do it? If I do what you tell me, will you love me?
Jimmy Stewart (Scottie): Yes. Yes.
Ed Wade (Judy): All right. All right then, I'll do it. I don't care anymore about me. You're fired.

I read this article in print this morning at home and just blurted out in laughter.

Okay, wait a cotton-picking minute here! Crispix is comparing Wade to George Will, while H. Vaughn is creating allusions to Kim Novak. Let's get on the same page, people!

:-)

wonder if this writer has Wade mixed up with Larry Bowa or something

Well, the (BTF) Larry Bowa certainly doesn't think too highly of Ed Wade and has expressed his opinion on numerous occassions over the past year. Now that the "cat's outta the bag" maybe he'll enrich us with greater insight.

Larry, the floor is yours. Do your damnedest! ;) ...

--------
trevise

I almost thought this was an Onion article at first--WADE DISPLAYS EMOTION! I guess the old BTF persona Larry Bowa can now become Ed Wade?

I understand why Miller (or Hayes), as a beat writer couldn't get away with this while he was covering the team, but how did this not get leaked to columnists? Conlin certainly never had a problem with harsh criticism and I would have loved to see how he phrased it-- When I'm king of the world...Chairs in the managers office will be made of Nerf.

I understand why Miller (or Hayes), as a beat writer couldn't get away with this while he was covering the team

I don't. You shouldn't withhold important information from your readers simply in exchange for access. Otherwise, what's the point of the access?

I don't. You shouldn't withhold important information from your readers simply in exchange for access. Otherwise, what's the point of the access?

There are two edges to that sword. How do you inform your readers of that information if you and/or your publication do not have access to the manager, the teams's players or it's front office personell...? Most of the "print media" may not be very smart, but (for the most part) they're not about to cut off their nose despite their face. (Or is that: to spite their face?) Sometimes you have to make strange compromises when your livelyhood depends upon it.

--------
trevise

Again, though, what exactly is the point of maintaining access if you're just going to report what the team wants you to report?

If this stuff had been reported years ago, it probably would have been Wade who was gone, not the reporters.

Again, though, what exactly is the point of maintaining access if you're just going to report what the team wants you to report?

That's not the only consideration. Most beat writers and journalists don't always have free reign to write about issues concerning the teams they cover. Unless I miss my guess, many of them may be constrained by the publication they work for in writing about anything moderately controversial. IIRC, I've seem some writers on this site advocate that editors should have 'general assignment writers' do such reporting. I believe the reason you don't see this on a frequent basis is mainly political. Most publications are conservative by nature and sports editors don't want to be throwing any bones to the news department. So it's the 3 monkeys and the old fast wipe...

--------
trevise

BTW: (BTF) Larry Bowa has been hinting for the past year that Wade wasn't all that he was cracked up to be. WHAT did he know and WHEN did he know it...? Inquiring minds want to know. ;) ...


T

Trevise, I don't disagree with you that that is often how things work. But I don't think it should be that way. The fact that the reporters may have been constrained by the editors still means someone is to blame for things not being reported which should have been.

Reporting that the guy is a jacka** isn't really a sportswriter's job though, is it? Personally, I don't care if he's the biggest jerk in the world (well, okay, I do care just a little) -- his job was to build a winning ballclub, and to that end, he didn't do that great of a job.

Rumors of Wade's anger were always there under the surface. Tales of his screaming at the writers near the batting cage over digs they took at him in the papers or on TV were well known, just nothing to this extent was previously published. In any event, I agree with trevise that few writers would dare blast a GM or ballplayer with such a personal attack while that person was still active with the team; it's tough to write a daily article when the best quotes available to a writer are those heard from the other side of a closed door.

Dave,

I don't disagree with you either. And I like it no better than you do but until these media outlets have reason to not self censor on controversial issues or subjects, they will continue to do so. Change comes slow. The internet has sped up the change a bit but it's still happening at a glacial pace. Now if 10,000 fans wrote to PhillyBurbs to ask why Miller didn't write this story a year or two ago, that might move them up to a "snails pace." Then again, it might not. Institutional perogatives are a tricky thing.

--------
trevise

Well, nobody cares about PhillyBurbs. Indeed, I think PhillyBurbs might be helped by breaking a story that bigger media outlets are afraid to touch. (never mind that they didn't do it)

I might actually write to One Chair Conlin and ask why he never reveals actually surprising information in his columns. If there's anyone in Philly sports media who is, and would consider himself, bigger than the GM, it's him. And not just in girth or grizzle, either.

I might actually write to One Chair Conlin and ask why he never reveals actually surprising information in his columns. If there's anyone in Philly sports media who is, and would consider himself, bigger than the GM, it's him. And not just in girth or grizzle, either.

Crispix,

Isn't he the Philadelphia dinosaur that doesn't realise he's dead yet...? ;) ...

--------
trevise

And I like it no better than you do but until these media outlets have reason to not self censor on controversial issues or subjects, they will continue to do so.

Controversial subjects? It's a baseball GM who likes to yell at people.

Reporting that the guy is a jacka** isn't really a sportswriter's job though, is it? Personally, I don't care if he's the biggest jerk in the world (well, okay, I do care just a little) -- his job was to build a winning ballclub, and to that end, he didn't do that great of a job.

I basically agree with you, but then it does begs the question why this is a story now if it wasn't 8 years ago. If it's worth reporting now, then it should have been worth reporting then.

(I do think it's somewhat of a story if he is cursing out reporters in front of kids. The GM's job is to assemble a winning ballclub but he is also often the face of the team to the public and should be so in a professional manner. In a city where the team seems to really have a problem connecting with the press and fans, a GM behaving like this wouldn't help things).

Dave's right, they should report this stuff, and much of the other stuff too. Their personal lives we have no business knowing about, but what they do in professional capacity is fair game. Points about it laying more within the provinve of the news division would hold more water if the news division didn't do the same thing. It's very important for us to realize that we are told, from any given news source, only what that source wants us to know, and nothing else.

I'm still somewhat skeptical about just what a bad guy Wade was to the press. Based upon his recent coverage of the Phils (especially last season's incitement of the Burrell/clubhouse vs Bowa non-story by publishing anaonymous, inflamatory player quotes), it's difficult to believe that Miller doesn't simply have an axe to grind against Wade. I don't doubt that Wade regularly confronted reported in anger; I do wonder how often he was provoked by some smart-ass question or off-the-cuff comment (not to mention some of the things that actually appeared in print about him, which would justifiably make any one upset).

I don't doubt that there were many within the organization who had little respect for Wade as a leader and as a "baseball man". Nothing new here. Every organization has its power struggles and these stories sound like the Phillies' version. I'm certainly not defending Wade, but this article sounded like exactly what it claimed not to be - kicking the man when he's down.

This may have been posted somewhere, but this Inqy article today says:

baseball sources say he wants to hire from outside the organization.

Those sources also say New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman leads Montgomery's list. But Cashman remains under contract with the Yankees through the end of the month, and New York is trying hard to keep him.

The Yankees are not expected to give the Phillies permission to speak with Cashman while he is under contract. That means the Phillies might have to wait 15 more days to speak with him, provided he doesn't sign a contract extension.


Baseball sources have indicated that New York Mets executive Jim Duquette and former Houston Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker both seem to be high on Montgomery's list. Hunsicker is a Philadelphia native and St. Joseph's alumnus who built playoff teams in Houston.

Plenty of Work Ahead for Phils