Amaro Clarifies Comments On 94WIP: Some, Not All, 'Don't Understand'

By Andrew Porter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- On the morning after a long, hopefully stress-free Memorial Day Weekend, Phillies fans woke up outraged thanks to comments from Ruben Amaro Jr. The Phillies general manager told CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury fans, "don't understand the process" and they "bitch and complain."

Amaro clarified his comments on the 94WIP Morning Show with Howard Eskin (filling in for Angelo Cataldi) on Tuesday.

"I didn't say they don't understand," Amaro explained. "Some fans don't understand it's not all Philadelphia fans. That was not the purpose of it. It is some fans who think that bringing [Zach] Efflin and [Aaron] Nola, for instance, to the Major Leagues at this time is the right thing for the organization. It's those fans that really quite, don't know---or bringing young minor league players to the Major Leagues before it's time for them to really be ready to reap the benefits of being in the Major League. It's those fans that really don't understand.

Listen: Ruben Amaro Jr. on the 94WIP Morning Show

"When I said that, it's more about the fan that really doesn't understand the process---and it's not all fans," Amaro continued. "There are just some who feel like, 'Let's just bring this guy because he's a young player and it's OK, we just wanna see him.' That's not how the process works. And you know, when I said the fan, that's not all the fans. I know that there's a lot of knowledgeable fans. There are those loud, minority of fans that believe that we should be doing x, y, or z and we have to do our work based on what's important and what we feel is right for the organization as a whole."

Amaro asked fans to trust the moves that the Phillies' front-office is making, or not making, for that matter.

"I think it's important for the fans to understand that what we're doing is ultimately for the fan," Amaro said. "When we develop those guys properly, we should be in position to be able to entertain the fans the way we want to on a perennial basis. We can't make decisions based on what the fan wants from us. It's ultimately about putting our organization is position to get us to the point, where we can entertain the fans in the best way we can.