No match: Gillick stands pat at winter meetings

Speculating on the intentions of new GM Pat Gillick and the Phillies has been as intriguing as the hot stove itself.

The annual winter meetings have wrapped up without the Phillies making a significant deal. Around the league, a boatload of rapid-fire small trades and signings have occurred, including small pike Jose Mesa heading for the Rocky Mountains, and trophy bass Alfonso Soriano coming to Washington for a handful of chum.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have been all talk, no action, making the rounds and spreading word that no player is off the table. Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr., interviewed this morning on WIP radio, said he hasn’t slept for days, working non-stop on deals to improve the club.

Amaro Jr. believes a significant trade could still happen in the next week or two, and says a number of clubs have been trying to match up on two, three or four-way deals. He addressed the Bobby Abreu situation, saying they’ve been in contact with his agents. Abreu is considered the Phillies best chance to net a top pitcher in a trade.

It’s no secret the Phillies need pitching, and though Amaro Jr. didn’t address this situation specifically, it’s clear the Phils brass and others have realized free agency is never a good option this or any season.

Besides the deep-pocketed Mets, there isn’t a team that improved their chances all that much this way, including the Blue Jays, who have committed about $100 million to two free agent pitchers. For all that spending, there’s no guarantee Toronto is going anywhere but third in their division.

So far, the Phillies have backed off from spending ridiculous money on free agents. The X-factor of course is free agents must be willing to play in Philadelphia. This is rarely the case. It’s mostly the opposite.

One senses Gillick would rather put an end the Phils' dependency on free agency once and for all, a wise decision for the long haul. All it’s done for the Phillies is lead them down a dark tunnel to nowhere. They came in much lower than the Mets on Billy Wagner, and didn't make offers to any of their other free agents.

In addition, reports in both the Daily News and Inquirer yesterday said the Phils may settle for moving Ryan Madson to the starting rotation, where he hasn’t seen regular time since the minor leagues. The Phils believe he will benefit from having regular work instead of frequent work out of the pen, where he was overused and was consequently burnt by September.

Beerleaguer take
Whether or not Madson works out in this new capacity, the benefit is the team is solving a problem internally. As a fan, I am willing to roll with the punches if this is Gillick’s strategy. Gillick is trying to fix a dirty mess created long before his tenure, and the idea of giving players like Shane Vicorino or Carlos Ruiz a shot is somewhat appealing.

Today, the Phillies are no closer to the playoffs than they were last season; maybe they’re even further from it. However, this is still the same NL East that was a toss-up for much of the 2005 season. Albeit Wagner and Urbina-less, this is the same club that finished two Tim Worrell blown saves from the NL Wild Card.

Yes, the question marks are many, but no more than a middle-of-the-pack White Sox team faced last winter.

Comments

[MPN]

JW: I didn't like Clement and Nixon for Abreu... but I might not be so opposed to Abreu and, say, Tomas for Clement, Andy Marte, and a prospect or two. An infield of Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Marte would be a pretty sweet base to build on. If the Sox would throw in Shoppach I might even offer more that Bobby and Tomas. Just a thought.

[gr]

My main, let's say, hidden concern for next year is jimmy rollins; there's a good chance he's could come back worse than he was before, MORE aggressive and LESS effective, as a result of his hitting streak.

[gr]

also, i'm not into taking credit for things, but hopefully the idea of small pike and trophy pike came at least in part from reading caught looking's stylistic prose. or onechair's anyway.

[Tom Goodman]

gr: One player I am NOT going to worry about at this stage is Jimmy. They have enough problems without fretting about him. Boy, you are worse than the guy who writes Swing and A Miss.

[J. Weitzel]

I close my eyes and think "What part of this team is a potential disaster" and it's bullpen. They will figure something out in the rotation that will, at the very least, not embarrass them.

[el123chico]

i still think they should bring back ugie. but this time really turn him loose. like if someone hits a dinger off of him, he is allowed to castrate said player, cover him with gasoline, and threaten to light him on fire. and he should have a machete next to him on the mound.

seriously, how can this guy not be the most imposing player ever?

[Tom G]

I think you are right Jason. The bullpen could be scary. I don't doubt that the starting pitching will be at least average [not that that is good enough], but the pen is scary.

[Tom G]

Too funny el123chico, too funny.

[ALLEN.P]

WHAT PART OF THIS JOKE ARE WE NOT GETTING.THE PHILLIES WILL NOT SALE THE TICKETS WITH WHAT THERE DOING.PAT THE HORSE TRADER AND R.A. JR WADE.TO MUCH SMOKE.WERE GOING AFTER EVERYONE.BUT YOUR BATTING 200. MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS WHAT ABOUT NOW.PAT SPEND THE MONEY YOU WON'T GET PITCHING TRYING TO SET THE MAFKET PRICE LOW. A NUMBER 1 OR 2 YOU WON'T PAY A 5 MAN. HOW MUCH IS YOUR 3 YEAR DEAL FOR A 68 YEAR OLD MAN. AT YOU MARKET PRICE IT MUST BE LOW. SORRY LOVE THE PHILLIES

[gr]

allen p, you are some kind of genius.

[Billy Mac]

Gordon, Cormier, Geary, Tejeda, Fultz, and Santana. You are right ; that is scary.
I don't see how you can move Madsen out of the pen. He's needed.

[Cliff]

Someone please teach this boy some English. Gosh damn! I can't understand what he just said. Learn some grammar and spelling, until then, please block his IP address or something. Geeze...

[K-Man the Phrustrated Phillies Fan]

The Thome deal impressed me-- it was done early, and the Phils saved money, solved a problem, improved their defense, and picked up two young lefthanded pitchers. The Nunez deal made sense-- it will be difficult to dump David Bell, so Nunez can platoon. It makes them a better team. The Fasano signing frustrated me-- if they can't land a solid catcher via trade or free agency, I'd rather see a kid get some experience. The Tom Gordon deal, of course, had me sick. It still does. I was praying he'd either fail the physical or be used as a set-up man for a young closer from a trade (Astos have been pondering offers for Lidge) or from the current staff (Robinson Tejeda).

[MPN]

Perhaps we were too quick to jump on poor Gavin. Brian from Philling Station posted a link of his current stats. http://www.hitboricua.com/LBPPR/Teams/teamsdic09.htm

He has improved DRAMATICALLY if his ERA is down to a 2.03 and opp batting average is down to .211. Hopefully his mechanics, and confidence, are being straightened out. A good sign if he can keep this up.

just give up this year no closer wagner left for the division champs and gordon is going to blow it

[Fan of a real team]

just give up this year no closer wagner left for the division champs and gordon is going to blow it

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