For the most part, when teams make decisions about the final roster composition of their team, the managers and general managers would do wise to remember the classic Godfather quote, "it's not personal, it's strictly business."
Yesterday, the Phillies excersised that axiom by officially inserting Ryan Madson and Gavin Floyd into the rotation over Ryan Franklin, who will take over the role of middle-to-late relief. It would have been easy to keep Franklin in the rotation, after all, he signed with Philadelphia thinking he was going to be a starter. Plus, he has the veteran or tenure status that Madson and Floyd have not yet acheived.
But, in the eyes of most, it was the right decision to make. While Franklin has not pitched poorly in Clearwater, Madson and Floyd pitched better. Suddenly, there is now an optimism about the Phillies' rotation that has not been seen for some time.
The final roster decision to be made is for the lone remaining bench spot. It is thought to be between Chris Coste, Tomas Perez, and Chris Roberson. If the Phillies choose Coste, it will be for both personal and business reasons. He provides further depth at third base and catcher [making pinch-hitting for Sal Fasano or Mike Lieberthal more likely], he has been one of the better hitters in Clearwater, and, it would make for a great story.
Coste is 33 years old and has never made it to the big leagues. Not even for one cup of coffee, not a single inning or at-bat anywhere in the big leagues. Should Coste make the team, get into a game, and hit a game-winning homerun, one would have to think that would feel like the equivalent of a Grande triple espresso in the bigs to Coste.
Mr. Manuel, Mr. Gillick, take Chris Coste to Philadelphia and keep him there until he's shown he can't handle it. So far, you have no reason to think otherwise.
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Update: Let's hope that Manuel, Gillick, the pitching staff, and any would-be homeplate umpires don't realize that Coste closes his eyes when he catches [see picture].
