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Seven weeks ago, when Pat Gillick was named the successor to Ed Wade as the Phillies' general manager, thousands of Hosannas were directed toward Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia. Finally - fans believed - the team had a general manager who would make the moves necessary to lift the Phils from mediocrity. Finally, there was a man in place who knew what it took to win, as evidenced by his previous stints in Toronto, Baltimore and Seattle. Yet seven weeks later, not much has changed.
On November 25, the man nicknamed "Stand Pat" unloaded first baseman Jim Thome and a truckload of cash to the Chicago White Sox for CF Aaron Rowand and a pair of minor leaguers. Phillies fans were excited by the move since the trade opened up a spot at first base for 26-year-old Ryan Howard, an emerging slugger whose path to the majors was blocked by the 35-year-old Thome. And in Rowand, the Phils now have an everday centerfielder and a consistent top-of-the-lineup threat to pair with leadoff man Jimmy Rollins. But is the team markedly better? In the best case scenario, Howard will be able to produce numbers similar to Thome's in his last completely healthy season as a Phil (2004 - .274/42/105), but Howard doesn't have enough at-bats at this level (351 at season's end) to unequivocally state that he is ready for prime time. Rowand is a definite improvement in center, but not so much as to immediately anoint the Phillies as the favorite to win the NL East in 2006.
Days after the Thome trade, closer Billy Wagner spurned the Phils and signed a four-year, $43 million contract with the New York Mets. Gillick's final offer to Wagner was in the $10 millon/year range, so one would assume that the team would take that money and find a similarly reliable option in the 'pen. And unless you are of the rare opinion that Tom Gordon, a man who hasn't closed in years, is "similarly reliable" to Wagner, then the Phillies have failed on that as well. The team was already down a reliever due to Ugueth Urbina's legal issues, so it's not a stretch to say that the bullpen is actually worse than it was at year's end.
From a fan's perspective, the winter meetings in early December were full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Reports of possible deals for Barry Zito and Mark Prior made their way back to the City of Brotherly Love, but nothing ever materialized. For this, Gillick can't be outright criticized - according to the rumors, the Phils would have had to unload Bobby Abreu in order to come home from the winter meetings with a #1 starter. Knock Abreu for his defensive lapses and high strikeout totals all you want, but he has been the team's most consistent offensive threat ever since he was traded to Philadelphia prior to the 1998 season. Even still, the Phils desperately need a front-line starter, especially after trading Vincente Padilla to the Texas Rangers for future considerations. Moving Ryan Madson - your best bullpen arm not named Billy Wagner - to the starting rotation isn't going to cut it.
So the pitching staff is worse, the outfield is slightly better and first base (assuming a healthy Jim Thome) is pretty much a wash. Meanwhile, the Mets are stockpiling talent (Wagner, Delago, LoDuca) like there's no tomorrow, and the Braves always seem to come out on top at the end of the season, despite the fact that they lose some of their core players every year. And the most notable signing of the offseason other than Tom Gordon is Abraham Nunez, who is a utility infielder at best. If Ed Wade were still the GM of the Phils, he would have been blasted in the media several times over. Gillick is currently enjoying the honeymoon that comes with the fact that he is merely the man who replaced Wade. It may not last too much longer, however.
In all fairness to Pat Gillick, it's only December 18, and champions aren't made in the days and weeks before Christmas. The Yankees have won the winter free agent sweepstakes for the past couple of years, and they haven't won the World Series since 2000. But the fact remains in Philly that the GM may have changed, but the men controlling the purse strings have remained the same.
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"Stand Pat" Has Done Just That
Sunday, December 18, 2005, 08:54 AM EST
[Philadelphia Phillies]
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