I was wrong.
The big lug suffered through a poor season, including 30 at-bats without a hit from July 17 to Sept. 8, that probably doesn't warrant another year for the 41-year-old. We were surprised that he was included on the playoff roster this year.
Although his brief Phillies career will be part of the team's lore, he probably doesn't deserve anything more than the non-roster spring training invite that Ruben Amaro will offer him, especially because the the team wants a more versatile bench:
"Ideally, you would like to have as many defensive options as you can with guys," Amaro said today. "Versatility plays. Matt Stairs was a specialty guy."
I'm pretty sure we've seen the last of Matt Stairs, a true SoxandPhil, good guy and character. The only thing that makes me think he may be back is that Charlie Manuel is big on giving guys a chance to compete for positions. If Stairs has a big spring, you know Cholly won't hesitate to bring him back to Philly.
1 comment:
Funny you mention this now. I was just having a phone conversation yesterday with my brother about the bench, and Matt Stairs. In my opinion, which is just that and means absolutely nothing, I think they bring him back. Cholly likes the power leftie off the bench late in the game. But that's just my thinking of what he's thinking.
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