Sound decisions, patience pay off for Phillies' front office

By DAVID MURPHY
Philadelphia Daily News

dmurphy@phillynews.com

MILWAUKEE - They stood on the outskirts of the clubhouse like junior high students at a homecoming dance, backs to the protective plastic that covered each individual locker stall. They did not spray each other with champagne, or tussle each other's hair, or kiss each other on the cheek. But they were there, and they were happy, and if the final score on the scoreboard did not provide enough evidence, the contented looks on their faces closed the case.

Pat Gillick. Ruben Amaro Jr. Mike Arbuckle. Bill Giles.

The building of a baseball team is not a glorious task. There are hits and there are misses and there is an inordinate amount of publicity attached to both. But when it all pays off, and an organization takes a step that is 15 years in the making, there is plenty of satisfaction.

"I'm happy for the fans, for the ownership, for everyone in the city of Philadelphia that we can get this far," said Gillick, who took the reins from Ed Wade as general manager 3 years ago. "We're part of the way there and we have to keep on going."

Publicity and vindication are two things that Gillick has not sought during the past year, and the Phillies' four-game victory over the Brewers in the National League Division Series has not seemed to change that.

The baseball lifer has endured some controversial times during his brief stint with the organization, none more so than his dismantling of the core of players he inherited in 2006.

When the Phillies shipped Bobby Abreu and Corey Lidle to the Yankees in late July, 2 days after dealing David Bell to the Brewers, Gillick famously stated that he did not think the team would be able to contend until 2008 at the earliest.

On Sunday, he reflected on that statement.

"I said when we moved a few guys, I thought we had to kind of change the thinking of the club," Gillick said. "We had to get some other people some opportunity, and I said at that time I didn't think we'd be competitive in '07 and we'd have to look to '08. Then some of our guys stepped up . . . You never know when you give young people an opportunity what is going to happen. Sometimes they disappoint you, sometimes they really flourish."

Of the Phillies' 2006 Opening Day starters, all but four are gone. That includes Bell, who played 88 games at third base. Of the six pitchers who started at least 10 games that season, only Brett Myers and Cole Hamels remain. Of the 12 relievers who made at least 10 appearances, only Ryan Madson and Clay Condrey remain (righthander Tom Gordon played a big role during the first half of the season but has spent the entire second half on the disabled list).

The key to the fast-tracked timetable has been twofold. First and foremost has been the maturation of home-grown stars like Myers, Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Madson, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino (a Rule 5 selection who spent a year in the Phillies' minor league system).

"You see it in the minor leagues that these kids are coming," said Arbuckle, who has worked in the Phillies' scouting department since 1992. "I saw Jimmy Rollins in rookie leagues and said this guy has a chance to be pretty good. And you see [Pat] Burrell and you see Cole Hamels - so if you are working within, you see these guys at every level and you know what their ceilings are. Now, there is always a question, will they reach those ceilings? But the ingredients you know are there. And if things fit together, you can have a very good big-league club for a long while."

Next came the addition of players like Brad Lidge, Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton.

"All the guys we've picked up, they've all pitched in," Gillick said.

Of the Phillies' home-grown players, Rollins and Burrell have been with the team the longest. Along the way, they have seen crucial pieces added. First Myers, then Utley, then Howard and Hamels.

"The organization has put some good players out there on the field, guys stepping up big," Myers said. "A lot of guys have a lot of heart on this team, and that's hats off to the organization for picking up guys with heart."

Perhaps the biggest moment, at least from Rollins' perspective, was the opening of Citizens Bank Park in 2004, when the Phillies shed the last remnant of the old days and found the perfect stage for their fresh start.

Standing in the clubhouse on Sunday, as executives like Gillick and Amaro and Arbuckle looked on, Rollins recounted a conversation he once had with former manager and city icon Larry Bowa.

"Phase 1 was getting out of the Vet, getting to somewhere where you can kind of erase the history of all the wrongdoings that happened there, and only them winning one World Series and the 1980 squad, that being their home," Rollins said. "No matter who you were, you were always playing where the 1980 squad won the World Series. So it didn't matter how good you were. I told Larry Bowa, this is the house that he had built, but across the street is going to be the house that we build."

Now, everyone waits for the next phase of construction. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.

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