Inside the Phillies: Braves jettison GM, but Phillies stay course with Amaro
MIAMI - There will be no "Mission Accomplished" banners hanging from Citizens Bank Park if the Phillies surpass last season's win total with more than two victories in their final six games. Outsiders will see that feat as further proof that a culture of mediocrity has enveloped the franchise. But some team officials, no doubt, will maintain that competitiveness is close.
MIAMI - There will be no "Mission Accomplished" banners hanging from Citizens Bank Park if the Phillies surpass last season's win total with more than two victories in their final six games. Outsiders will see that feat as further proof that a culture of mediocrity has enveloped the franchise. But some team officials, no doubt, will maintain that competitiveness is close.
That, after all, is how the Phillies thought after last season's 73 wins. They doubled down on a strategy of augmenting an older core with even older players through free agency. They sank a franchise-record amount of salary into the 2014 roster. It failed.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, a team fired its general manager on Monday. The Braves averaged 91 wins over the last five years, but a 76-79 season that started with high expectations prompted change. The two National League East franchises have adopted radically different approaches to their problems.
It is dangerous to compare front offices - several reports have cited ousted Frank Wren's disagreement with Braves legend Bobby Cox about the fate of current manager Fredi Gonzalez as reason for the switch - but the overarching point is most salient. The Braves did not believe Wren, whose downfall was signing B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla to regrettable deals, was capable of correcting the team's sudden wayward direction. So they acted.
Atlanta appointed John Hart, a successful outsider who became a team adviser last November, as interim general manager. He, along with well-respected team president John Schuerholz and Cox, will select the next GM.
The Phillies have the opportunity for a similar process now that Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick is interim team president. Instead, Gillick has preached status quo since his appointment. The franchise is sometimes criticized for its insular nature; perhaps no organization is more insular than Atlanta, though, which had not fired a GM in 24 years.
For now, Gillick is Ruben Amaro Jr.'s boss. The two men often agree on decisions, Gillick said, so he did not envision sweeping changes. Baseball decisions must be approved by Gillick, but Amaro appears to have as much power as before. When asked last week if there will be any changes to the baseball operations department, Gillick said, "You'd have to ask Ruben about that."
Gillick spent a week with the Phillies in California as a part of his evaluation process. He returned to his Seattle home this week but will come to Philadelphia for the season's final weekend and spend an indeterminate time living in a Center City hotel room. It is unclear when David Montgomery, who is on a medical leave, could reprise his role as CEO. Until then, Gillick is in charge.
The 77-year-old Gillick does not believe it is bad business for his general manager to operate on a one-year deal. Amaro is under contract through 2015, and he will attain "lame-duck" status when the season ends Sunday.
Gillick noted that in his 18 years with Toronto, from 1976 through 1994, he worked on a one-year contract every season.
"It kind of keeps you on your toes," Gillick said.
But that practice is avoided in the current game. The Mets, for example, removed doubt about general manager Sandy Alderson's status Monday by reportedly agreeing to a three-year extension. Alderson had an option for 2015.
Is a one-year contract a good motivator for Amaro?
"I don't know," Gillick said. "Frankly, looking back, I never had a thought of being fired. Not that it was my ego or I was cocky - it wasn't that. I just had confidence in the people I was working with and the team.
"It doesn't bother me. I don't think it detracts. The general manager has to do what he thinks is in the best interests of the organization all the time, no matter if you're on a five-year deal or a one-year one."
Wren's teams never won a postseason series. The Braves' late-season collapse is their second in four seasons. He signed B.J. Upton, who has a .197 batting average and .587 OPS in two seasons, to a five-year, $75.25 million deal. The Braves will pay Dan Uggla $13 million next season to not play for them; his five-year, $62 million contract was an albatross.
Has Amaro made worse mistakes? The Phillies spent $335.9 million from 2012-13 for 154 wins; Atlanta amassed 190 wins with $192.6 million. The Braves opted for a new voice, a choice the Phillies have shunned.
@mattgelb