FAQs: In hot seat, Phillies GM Amaro offers candid answers

Q: Let's start with Roy Halladay: Do you believe a bad 2013 will sink this team's chances?

A: Obviously not having him be the Doc that he was in '10 and '11 . . . We'd rather have that one than the one in 2012. But in a lot of ways I think we're better armed this year that if he's not that guy we still have an opportunity to make our mark. Even though the division is every bit more tough and difficult as it has been in the past, I still think we have a good club. I think we have a little bit more of a complete team than in 2012 just by virtue of these guys being on the field, meaning Chase [Utley], [Ryan] Howard, etc. . . . If we can keep the guys on the field, then even if Doc is a 15-, or 13-, or 12-game winner, I still think we have a very good chance of being a playoff contender.

Who knows? Typically we would think if Cliff Lee stays healthy and Cole [Hamels] stays healthy we should average 15 wins between those two guys. If we can average between 13 and 15 wins for those three guys I think it gives us a fighter's chance to be a contender again.

Q: You added some well-known players with some age on them this offseason. Do you draw on a historical precedent that makes you less wary of that than media and some fans might be?

A: No, age is a factor. We don't look away from it. But I think what you will see, particularly if we have the team that we have right now with Ben Revere in center and Domonic Brown in probably one of the corners,

we're going to get younger automatically in those two positions. We have some younger guys coming. I've said this before and Brian Cashman has said this before: I don't worry so much about age as I do about production. I want the players to be good. If they can perform. Now there's always a risk as they get older that they can break down. But what happened with Ryan Howard was kind of a freak accident. He blew out his Achilles'. That happens to young guys as well as old guys. Chase has a knee issue but right now he's looking like he's 27 years old. There's no reason to believe after what he's gone through at the end of last year and what he's done this spring to think - it may affect him, and we need to be cognizant of that - but at the same time I haven't even had him on an injury report this spring. So that's big for us.

Q: Some of these guys you acquired are recovering from some unnerving injuries, too. Mike Adams, for example.

A: It concerns me. Except that for me it's more about track record. And I think we're also going to have a pretty good mix of guys. Because we have some big arms who are young. In a perfect world, I like to have young starters and veteran relievers because they can handle the ups and downs mentally of what it takes. [Phillippe] Aumont or [Michael] Stutes may not be as equipped to handle having a rough game, or even to having a short-term memory that maybe a [Chad] Durbin, Adams or [Jonathan] Papelbon has. That's why for me, I like to have some guys who have gone through it. Who have had some ups and downs, who have had tough games and had to rebound. So, after having talked to Pat Gillick a lot about this, veteran relievers and young starters are probably the most ideal situation. As long as the veteran relievers are effective. And if they stay healthy, they will be effective.

Q: Whose health then is more critical to this team's success, Mike Adams or Roy Halladay?

A: (Laughs) C, all of the above. The eighth inning hurt us last year. And I think having one more year of professional experience for [Antonio] Bastardo and another year for Aumont will pay off. Hopefully those guys, if we do have injury issues, maybe they can help put us over the hump. You know 2 years ago we did have young guys pitching the eighth. We had Bastardo and Stutes. They did well. We had Stutes go down, and [David] Herndon go down, and [Jose] Contreras - four or five guys - and even Madson went down. A whole bunch of guys went down. You're talking about guys we were counting on, guys helping us again after having one full season being in those roles. Was it the right decision? I guess it wasn't. Once Stutes got hurt and Bastardo didn't get off the snide, we didn't have enough. And it hurt us.

Q: A new GM calls you for advice. Wants you to give him that one thing to use. What is it?

A: Hire the right people.

Q: How do you do that?

A: I think you hire people who don't have agendas and who are dedicated to giving you their best opinion. I think that helps a lot. We can't do these jobs by ourselves. It's impossible. And I'm blessed with people who are dedicated to making the Philadelphia Phillies the best they can be. Pat Gillick didn't have to stay on in this organization and there are other guys when Pat retired who didn't have to stay around. I've asked Pat this question: "What's more important, player development or amateur scouting?" And he's said, "They're both very important but probably the acquisition of talent." So the amateur scouting side and the international scouting. The ways to acquire talent. Even pro scouting, when you're making trades. It's probably more important than the development. You need to develop that talent, and we have good people training them. But the bottom line is it's about talent and character and bringing them into your system. And I agree. And I've learned that. There are great scouts everywhere. And it's competitive.

Q: How are you different now than the first day you were GM?

A: You know when I first started I ran everything past Pat. And I still do a lot. I don't utilize Pat nearly as much as a crutch though. I use him because I have such great respect with what he's been able to do.

Q: That makes you smart.

A: (Laughing) Well you know what? There have been guys who have had the opportunity to do the same thing and have not really utilized Pat. That's an injustice. To me, why not use that resource? I have an ego just like any ex-athlete/front-office person. But at the same time I clearly do not know everything about the game. I also know that there are a lot of other people who are smarter than I am about the game. So why not utilize those assets? You have to utilize all your assets. More than anything else I rely more on people around me to do their jobs and allow them to do their jobs rather than micromanage them. Rely on the people you hired.

Q: What do you think about the relationship between Ryne Sandberg and Charlie Manuel? And was there any trepidation that it would not work well?

A: You know everybody thinks just because Ryne is here and part of the organization that the natural order of progression is that Ryne is going to be the next manager of the Phillies. To me, here's the parallel: If I had a chance to hire somebody who I thought was going to take my job, then I better hire that person. Because that's going to make everybody better. And in this situation, hiring Ryne Sandberg to be part of our club - even if he's never our manager, that's not the reason he's here. He's here because he's a good baseball man. And he can help our club. That's the way I view it.

Q: And Charlie?

A: I've got a long-term relationship with Charlie. Going back to when he recommended that I be traded to the Cleveland Indians for Heathcliff Slocumb. And then him being my hitting coach. And part of the reason he came over to us as an adviser. I've been friends with him, and a colleague, and I've known him for a long time and he's a great baseball man. But I think Charlie respects Ryne a great deal not only for what he's done in the game as a player but also for some of the work he's done in the minors. Charlie realizes, I think, that these are the kind of great baseball people you should surround yourself with.

Can it get people uncomfortable? It could. If Charlie was really worried about it. I don't think Charlie's all that worried about it. He's won more games than anyone else in our franchise history. He's had more success than any other manager, with all due respect to Dallas Green and Danny Ozark and Gene Mauch. I don't think he's much worried about it. Whatever happens with Charlie happens. I don't think it's an issue.

Q: Then why doesn't he have a contract extension?

A: Honestly, it's about Charlie and I sitting down at the end of the season and seeing what's right for Charlie. What's right for Charlie and what's right for the Phillies. And until that, there's no real rush one way or another.

Q: In that vein, if you see Utley and he still looks like he's 27, would that compel you to lock him up for additional years?

A: It could. A lot of it depends. Again, you think about it. The business sense in me says let's be intelligent here. Let's hold off until the end of the season, let's see how he comes through this year, let's see how many games he plays, let's see how productive he can be. I think that's the best way to approach it. The scary part of it is as he gets closer and closer to free agency, then the possibility that it becomes 30 teams going after him becomes a reality. But I guess that's why I wear the hat. I view Chase Utley as a longtime, full-time, forever-time Philadelphia Phillie. Whether we make that happen after this year who knows? But that's how I view him.

Q: You've been deemed the village idiot and you've been deemed emperor over your tenure so far. How about you? Do you feel any job vulnerability these days?

A: Listen. I will never make all the right decisions. I will never - hopefully - make all the wrong decisions. I have a pretty acute understanding of what our fans want and what is necessary. Listen, nobody wants to win baseball games more than me, and David Montgomery and our ownership group and the rest of this organization. We don't rest a lot. We don't sleep a lot. And the reason why is because we're dedicated to putting the best product on the field that we can. At the same time we may not be able to do that every year. That's the goal.

When I took over I told myself that this franchise, this ownership group, with what they've given me the resources to do. This organization. This fan base most importantly, deserves to have a contender every year. I've talked to David a lot about this. If we keep our payroll north of what the average is, then I should be intelligent enough, our group should be intelligent enough, to put a contending team on the field every year. Whether we're retooling in 2014, transitioning, whatever you want to call it - we should be good enough to put a contending team on the field every single year. And that's my job and that continues to be my job. So that's the pressure I have, internally. And that's the expectation I have every year. We're going to be a contender every single year. Are we going to win the division and be in the playoffs every year? I don't know that. But that's absolutely the goal every single season.

Q: How about Delmon Young. If he can't get healthy or be productive, are you in a position to make a big move?

A: I don't know if we can make a big move. Because part of it, to make a big move, it might require a lot of talent that I am not sure I want to deal. Or it requires resources that would be debilitating in the long run. But I think there are things we can do. And I am hopeful about the internal possibilities. If we find out that the platoon situation we start the season with, or the Delmon Young experiment doesn't work, perhaps Darin Ruf is learning to play leftfield better. And you put Domonic back in rightfield.

Sometimes you've got to get lucky. I know Ruf's got ability to do some things. I know Charlie likes him. But at the same time defense is an issue. We have to have adequate defense out there in the outfield, otherwise it's going to hurt us.

Q: Does this team need a hot start to contend and to keep the heat off of your manager?

A: One of the beauties of our team and if you look at our track record - if you look at our club over the last 6 or 7 years from June 1 on. I don't know if there has been a better team in all of baseball. We are a very, very good late-season team. We always seem to from June 1 on to May 15 to July 1 on we play good baseball. And part of that is a product of Charlie. He has an uncanny poker face. The guy is so steady. The sky could be falling. And he's very, very steady. That doesn't mean he's not pissed off. That doesn't mean he's not emotional. But how he presents himself to the people that work for him I think that steadiness really serves us well. So if we get off to a slow start I don't think it will affect Charlie. I think it will be steady as she goes. And I think the team can expect that.

Q: Can you assure fans a slow start will not affect his status?

A: Listen, all I know is the way Charlie has handled slow starts. What we have to do is finish fast and finish as a contender. And I trust that having Charlie with us is the best way to do that.

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