When a ship starts to sink, the first thing that everyone on board starts to do is find the holes. It's common sense. If you can find the holes, plug them and bail some of the water over the sides, then you can keep the ship afloat. You can even sail back home if you do a good enough job.
Well, if the Philadelphia Phillies were the ship in this analogy, they'd be sinking fast. The time has come where everyone knows that the ship is sinking and now, it's up to the front office to find the right plugs.
But long after the ship is either sunken or fixed, the time will come when the people on board will look back and want answers. Why did the ship sink? Why was the ship even in that predicament? Could it have been prevented? Why wasn't it?
It's a pretty common question for the Phillies this season: "Why?"
This isn't a team that was built, despite all of its injuries, to play in last place. It is the job of the general manager, Ruben Amaro Jr., to ensure that his team has the best shot at the postseason.
So naturally, when the ship starts to sink, Amaro is the guy that gets the blame.
This slideshow is going to analyze the last 25 roster additions that Amaro made to the MLB roster in an effort to improve the product in some way, shape or form. The roster additions extend over the last two seasons and include a number of various transactions.
That includes free-agent signings, trades, minor league call-ups (not September call-ups), etc.