Philly.com · Sep 11, 2015
Middleton decided that Amaro's time was up
John Middleton wanted Ruben Amaro Jr. out. Start there.
It is the most obvious takeaway from the news conference that the Phillies called Thursday afternoon to announce Amaro's firing as their general manager. The ever-louder voice of the team's ownership group, Middleton paid lip service to Amaro's successes - the three consecutive NL East titles at the beginning of Amaro's tenure, the 2009 World Series appearance, the creation of the 2011 Four Aces pitching rotation - but he could hardly hide how the failures and unforced errors ate at him.