Nov 4

Written by: PaulySore
11/4/2008 5:21 PM

Well, the Phillies went with the safe pick on their next GM.  I can't say I'm surprised with their pick of Amaro.  He is afterall "one of them".  Having served in multiple capacities since his days as a batboy.  It is this familiarity that has me most concerned.  Will he step up and push for something when the ownership pushes back?  Does he have the ability to convince them something is the right thing to do?  When Gillick came to town, it was a breath of fresh air in that someone from the outside finally can come in here and get rid of some of the inbreed ways of thinking.  In doing so, Gillick changed the organization in ways we may never know but got them to see that this team can be winners if the right money is spent in the right areas.

I'm concerned that arguably one of the best talent evaluators is leaving town.  Mike Arbuckle in my opinion should have gotten the job.  His eye for talent is nothing short of genius, albeit with a few hiccups along the way.  Hell, even Einstein made some mistakes but in this day and age of high-cost free agents, the ability to grow players from within certainly starts with being able to identify those players in the first place (read: Braves).  I think that's a harder skill to learn then the daily ins-outs of contract negotiations that Amaro has been so adept at doing.  Just about any assitant GM worth their salt can do that task.  I wish you the best Mike and please don't fleece us when you finally land a GM job.

Upcoming questions for Amaro:

1. What to do with Pat the Bat?  Frankly, I say good riddance.  I know folks will bash me for this but I wasn't real fond of Pat.  Yeah, sure he hit some homeruns and knocked in a few RBIs but nowhere near worth 15 million a year.  His defense is average at best, his arm average as well and lets not even talk about his speed.  His OBP is low as is his batting average.  Perhaps if Pat hit near .300 and struck out less, I'd lessen my stance but the reality is, he really isn't that good.  I grant you some nit-wit GM will sign him in the 12+ million range, I just hope it isn't our GM.
2. Arbitration Eligible Players - Break open the bank folks because it's going to be a big pay-day for some of these guys and rightfully so.  Without Werth, Victorino, Howard and the rest, we'd be sitting at home in early October.  The question is, does this owners group have the balls to step up to the plate (pun intended) to keep the core group of guys need to attempt a Braves-like run at the NL East.  After seeing all the folks go to the ballpark this year, I hope this greedy bunch that owns my beloved team opens up the wallet.
3. Bullpen - where would we be without the likes of Madson, Romero and Eyre?  It is Eyre that is my main focus.  We need him back!  This Cubs cast-off came in with reasonable numbers and shut-down the opposing team in an effort far greater than his incoming numbers would indicate.  In this day-age of left handed role players, we need to keep this guy.  To let him walk would be a travesty and something that would certainly weaken our bullpen.  He'd be first on my list after the abitration guys.
4. Jamie Moyer - let me tell you.  If this guy wasn't such a class act and a local boy, I'd say let him go.  It's hard to ignore his 16 wins this season and his sheer ability to pitch.  It is the intangibles about Jamie that make him another must sign.  Where else can you find an inpromtu pitching coach to provide another voice to our young guys when they get tired of talking to Dubee?  Where else can you find a lefthander who simply knows how to pitch?  I grant you his age is up there but this guy can pitch effectively against a lot of the free swinging teams in the NL and certainly deserves the opportunity to come back for a few more years.

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