By Patrick Gordon, Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com
PBR - Sometimes the right decisions are unpopular ones, but no one needs to
tell that to Ruben Amaro Jr.
The Phillies' general manager had the opportunity to enter the 2010 season
with arguably the best starting rotation in baseball anchored by Cole Hamels
and a pair of Cy Young Award winners in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, but
opted instead to deal Lee for a trio of prospects to restock the farm system
after he traded away three reputable prospects to acquire Halladay.
It wasn't that Amaro didn't appreciate the idea of such a tantalizing rotation,
but rather the risk of investing too much in the present and not enough in the
future that forced him to move Lee.
"I was talking to some people the other day," Amaro told reporters during the
annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association banquet last week,"and I said,
'I'm not a dummy. I know what Cliff Lee means to our rotation in addition to
Halladay and Hamels. It's a no-brainer. However, our goal is to be a
contender every year -- not just to be a competitor, but to be a contender every year. That's really my job. As an executive
of the club, it's my job to do what I can to try to maintain that level of talent on the club and that hope from the fans."
The club will enter this season with a record payroll near $140 million and already has $130 million committed to 15 players
for 2011. The goal, Amaro noted, is to remain competitive for as long as the Phillies can. To him, that meant trading Lee.
"It's going to be difficult to look fans in the face and say two years from now, 'You know, why we don't have any players to
supplant some of the guys we have now is because I went for it with Cliff Lee and now we have no players to fall back
on,' " Amaro said. "That's not the goal. The goal is to be a contender as long as we possibly can.
"We cannot be the New York Yankees. We have to have people that we can bring to the big leagues from our system. The
guys who are our core players are guys from our system."
Manager Charlie Manuel agreed and referenced the Atlanta Braves and their run of 14 consecutive National League East
titles. The Braves were occasionally in the position where they had to move a superstar to ensure future success.
"You have to do what we did this winter," Manuel said. "You have to turn some guys over every year."
"Yes, I'd like to have a championship, but not at the cost of having our organization not be good for 10 years," Amaro
added. "Absolutely not. That's not the goal. The goal is to be a contender every year. And once you get to the World
Series or get to the playoffs, it's really a matter of who's playing the best baseball, who's hottest, who has the karma."
Amaro solidified the bench this offseason with signing veterans Ross Gload, Brian Schneider and Juan Castro. He
completed long-term deals with Joe Blanton, Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz, replaced third baseman Pedro Feliz with
Placido Polanco and added depth to a bullpen that desperately needed it.
(The Philadelphia Baseball Review offers news, stories and features that pertain to the past, present and future of
baseball in the Philadelphia region. Patrick Gordon is an award winning baseball writer and has covered baseball
in Philadelphia for the last decade.)
February 7, 2010
Amaro content with Lee trade
Trading Lee was tough, but had to be done according to GM