Philadelphia Phillies - why is everyone so upset?

I've been a huge Phillies fan ever since I could remember. I go to 10-15 games a season and watch them on TV every chance I get. I've enjoyed this season immensely so far, and am happy that they are still in the hunt for the wildcard/division. Now do I think they'll make the playoffs? No. Never once this season did I believe they could win the division or the wildcard. Nor did I think they could at any point in the off-season. I don't really understand why so many Phillies fans are upset about this up and down season the team is having. Come on guys, how many years in a row does this have to happen until you finally realize that with the team's current ownership group/management they will never make it to the next level. Remember, the Phillies owners care about one thing and one thing only: profit! Do they (the Buck brothers, Claire Betts, etc) need more money? No. But why should they cut into additional income just to raise the payroll? I mean, who wants to win a championship? They won't invest anymore money into the payroll (despite Philadelphia being the 5th largest market in the country), they won't invest money into better management/coaching, they won't invest money into the farm system, and very rarely will they invest money into draft picks and foreign players. They only spend the bare minimum to keep fans coming to games. It is total crap. Pat Gillick and Charlie Manuel both need to be fired in the off-season. Yeah, I know Pat came to the team with a great reputation and his in-season moves have been pretty good (Iguchi, Lohse, Branyan, etc) but his off-season moves (outside of Helms and Dobbs) have been complete garbage. Adam Eaton sucked at San Diego, so he gave him an 8 million dollar a year contract when they already had a 5th starter on the bench in Leiber. That 8 million could have gone into solidifying the bullpen. Speaking of bullpen, he didn't sign Joe Borowski because of arms problems, but traded away one of the team's top pitching prospects (Gio Gonzalez) for dead-arm Freddy Garcia. You know the team knew Freddy's arm wasn't in great shape, but most likely due to their relationship in Seattle Pat signed him anyway. I love it when I hear people asking if Charlie Manual should be considered for manager of the year. I always ask them if they either are retarded or just don't know sh*t about baseball. The guy has lost this team at least 5 games this year with his terrible in-game decision making ability. He should be a hitting coach and nothing more. Uncle Charlie has gone from a funny somewhat senile good 'ol boy, to that creepy senile old man who gives the finger to little kids in my book. Now on to the team: Starting lineup, outside of 3rd base, is great in my book. With Pat the Bat back, and the way Wes Helms is hitting, this team may have the most potent offense in all of baseball. It just sucks that no matter how many runs they put up, they can't out slug other teams because of the atrocious bullpen and piss-poor rotation. Granted, Kendrick has been a great great surprise, but outside of him and Hamels these guys shouldn't even be pitching in the minors. Moyer? Washed up. Lohse? Not bad, but a 5 pitcher. Eaton? Talented, but doesn't know how to use it. Injuries did hurt the pitching staff, but it wasn't that good to begin with. Garcia has never been a #1. Myers and Hamels were both #2s at the start of the season. Moyer was a 4-5 coming in, same with Eaton. And Leiber was shot. The bullpen with Gordan, Alfonseca (big FA signing), Matt Smith, Madson, and fill-ins would have been just as bad. The Phillies are not that far from being one of the best teams in the league. They need to get another 3rd basemen (Eric Chavez - who would give them one of the best defensive infields in the game?), resign Rowand (which should be priority number 1), trade Burrell and Bourn for a top notch closer and a solid #3 pitcher, shore up pitching staff by plugging 20 million into it, and hire Joe Girardi as the new manager. Garcia, Leiber, and Thome's contracts come completely off the books so they should have some wiggle room. Will any of this happen? Most likely no. So I guess it's just a pipe dream. To close, I just want to say that if this team doesn't resign Aaron Rowand, a player who is a Philly guy through and through, a player who not only does it all on the field but leads in the locker, then I will not attend another game until the team is sold. The guy deserves 12 million a year. Suck it up.