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Amaro feeling heat but still has team's backing

Ruben Amaro Jr. became the dean of Philadelphia general managers when Paul Holmgren switched positions with the Flyers in May. Long before that, however, the Phillies' chief personnel man had become the most unpopular GM in the city, tagged with copious unflattering nicknames, including Ruin Tomorrow Jr.

Phillies president David Montgomery and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)
Phillies president David Montgomery and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)Read more(Yong Kim/Staff file photo)

Ruben Amaro Jr. became the dean of Philadelphia general managers when Paul Holmgren switched positions with the Flyers in May. Long before that, however, the Phillies' chief personnel man had become the most unpopular GM in the city, tagged with copious unflattering nicknames, including Ruin Tomorrow Jr.

He was handed the keys to a Rolls-Royce in 2008 and given enough cash to pimp his already luxurious ride. Had he won another World Series title, you wonder if his existence during the team's current free fall would be more palatable. Instead, a lot of fans believe his last name is Amustgo.

Amaro, as only a dwindling few seem to remember, made a lot of right moves in those early years. He came oh so close to a second straight title in 2009 by acquiring Cliff Lee in a deal with Cleveland that was an absolute steal. He came close again in 2010 with the help of a midseason trade for Roy Oswalt that still qualifies as a winner for the Phillies. He brought back Lee and created the Four Aces in 2011, a year in which the Phillies won a franchise-record 102 games.

Almost everything he has done since has been a disaster, although it could be argued that the addition of Marlon Byrd this season was an outstanding one. It's fair to point out that Amaro's tenure could only go in one direction and that was not up. His hubris, however, has made the monumental fall more difficult for everyone involved, especially himself.

Despite the team's tumble to the bottom of the standings, Amaro received a vote of confidence from team president David Montgomery three weeks ago. In defending his GM, Montgomery erroneously told The Inquirer that "it's not like we're not benefiting from the thinking of the same people we had before. That's why you have to look at the whole body of work. Have we been served well? My answer to that is yes."

Montgomery's main point was that Pat Gillick, the Hall of Fame personnel man who preceded Amaro, remains actively involved in organizational decisions. That's true, and in theory, that's great. Who wouldn't want to have Gillick as a sounding board before making a big organizational decision? But that also means Gillick's fingerprints are on the mess that the Phillies have become, and at the age of 76, he's probably not the man you want to charge with rebuilding the team.

Montgomery conveniently neglected to mention the departures of Mike Arbuckle and Jim Fregosi Jr. during his Inquirer interview. Those two savvy baseball men have helped turn Kansas City into a respectable organization again with a lot fewer financial resources than Amaro has with the Phillies.

Just as it would be fascinating to know how Amaro would be perceived right now had he led the Phillies to one more World Series title, it would be equally captivating to view the state of the organization if Arbuckle had been named the general manager instead of Amaro.

The two men had differing opinions and backgrounds. Amaro was a player who spent most of his professional life with the Phillies. He had little apprehension about mortgaging the future to try to win another World Series, but he has also had little to no success in restocking the farm system during the last two trade deadlines.

Given his background as a scout and farm director, Arbuckle probably would have been more cautious about trading prospects. The theory that the Phillies would have drafted better is flawed. Marti Wolever, who ascended to assistant general manager in charge of amateur scouting in 2012, is an Arbuckle man. They had nearly identical beliefs about how the draft should be conducted.

Could it be argued that the Phillies were better at developing players when Arbuckle was in charge of the farm system? Absolutely. Is that more of a reflection on the talent than the teachers? Impossible to know.

None of that matters now. The Phillies need fixing and it's up to Montgomery to decide who should be in charge of the assignment. If the team president believes Amaro and his cast of advisers are the right men for the job, that's fine.

If he's wrong, however, the GM and the team president both need to be held accountable and removed from their positions. If, for example, the Phillies are not moving in the right direction by 2016, then Amaro should be fired and Montgomery should step aside in the same fashion Bill Giles did when the Phillies tumbled to the bottom of the standings in 1997.

It was a painstaking decision for Giles at the time. He was 62 and he loved running the Phillies, but with some nudging from the anonymous ownership partners, he felt handing the reins to Montgomery was the best thing to do for the organization. Montgomery is 68 and his passion for the Phillies is equal to Giles' even though he has a far more buttoned-down way of doing things. If Montgomery is honest with himself, he'll realize that he is in the same position Giles was nearly two decades ago.

If he still trusts in Amaro, then he should be willing to put his own job on the line, too. That's when a vote of confidence becomes a powerful statement.

@brookob