A) Brandon has taken a lot of heat for his altercation with C Trent. He lost his temper and what he did was wrong. That being said, Trent's analysis of Phillips being moved in the order was unfair, and not for SABR vs. traditional reasons. Phillips was in a role where he was being ASKED to drive in runs by management, and he did what he was told. In fact, he has always complied with what has been asked of him for the team. This is an admirable trait, whether you agree with the baseball philosophy or not. Trent seemed to be implying that Phillips had a limited ability to bat at the top of the order, when the truth was he was being asked to fulfill a role in a certain way, making those stats not tell the whole story. Trent's analysis SHOULD have been challenged, though not in that way.
B) Doc seemed to imply in his column that BP thinks the beats are trying to get him traded. I can see this being true. They saw one of their own get attacked and they want BP out. The beats are a pretty cowardly bunch. They know their job depends on access and they're not going to write anything hugely critical, because they know the club could limit their access. Know I'm not talking about Doc, who is not a beat, but a sports journalist. He doesn't cover the games themselves. But the beats just want access, so they loved Dusty who gave them that. But players like Phillips, who will occasionally withhold access, they don't like. Much of what beats write has nothing to do with baseball; rather, opinions are often crafted to reward or punish people relative to how easy they make the beats' job.
C) Other players don't like what Phillips does with fans. It sets the bar too high. The LAST thing some of the players want to do with their free time is go to a kid's little league game, like BP has done. Or reply to emails and tweets. Or sign autographs EVERY game. Phillips gives back, and some of the other players do not want to have to do that. That's what it means when they say he's "self promoting" or "showing them up." Many players don't want the boat rocked with their "us vs. them" attitude about the fans, and Phillips is inclusive of the fans, a no no in their book.
D) It has been said Phillips only cares about his own stats and not the team winning or losing. If this were true, it would be contrary to everything he has ever said, and everything he has ever done (e.g., moving around in the batting order.) I have a very hard time believing it, and frankly think it's a bunch of subjective nonsense by someone with a bone to pick.
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Originally Posted by Wheelhouse
