It may come across as whiny, but Phillips was candid about his contract situation.

With the exception of Max, we've all been critical of how Pujols handled his contract situation. Personally, I'd have respected him more if he had simply come out and said, "I was hurt when they paid Holliday more than they were paying me and then didn't offer me an extension. At that point, I realized this was a business, and I was going to make a decision that made the most business sense to me. In the end, I thought the Angels offer was the best business decision."

Honestly, Phillips bothers me less and less these days. He's brash, and he loves to be the center of attention, but at least he's a good ball player. I can tolerate Phillips a lot more than someone like Nyjer Morgan who isn't very good acting the same way. Besides, it will be hard for TTTIB to win when it gives big money to guys who are clearly "me first" players.