As August unfolds, the Phillies themselves at 49-63, dead last place in NL East.  This however, is the 
least of the problems. Twenty years ago, we screamed that there was no business plan that defined 
this organization.  Finally we saw this as Pat Gillick came to Philadelphia.  Gillick brought with him a 
keen baseball intellect, and a sound business plan.   Now six years removed from the Gillick revival, 
the Phillies are once again, an organization with no real business plan.  

We can point to the rash of injuries that have besieged the Phillies this season, or we can blame to 
underachievers like Ryan Howard, and Dominic Brown.  We can say that things haven't gone the Phillies
way, but the real story is that without a solid business plan, one that defines this organization, there is 
no place to go when the wheels start falling off.  The scouting program is nothing like it was when Mike
Arbuckle worked his magic.  The Player Development System, decimated by poor drafts, and bad trades, 
hasn't produced as it should in the last few years, and has little depth in several key positions.

Pat Gillick finally brought a sound business plan to an organization sorely in need of baseball intellect.  
Gillick used the products of Arbuckle's keen scouting skills, mixed them with superior upper level baseball 
savvy, and never compromised the minor league affiliates.  The Phillies had the fixes when they were 
needed, and were a force to be reckoned with strategically.  

All of baseball knew that Gillick was a master at his craft.  Few other General Managers could match wits
with him, and they knew that.  Most importantly, Gillick consistently nourished each and every part of his 
expertly crafted business plan.  He was quite turfy about that.  While building at the upper level, he only 
grudgingly compromised at the lower ones.  If he did, he didn't forget about it, and wisely replenished what 
he "borrowed" from.  

It all culminated in 2008, and we had a parade in Philadelphia to celebrate.  This, unfortunately, was Gillick's 
swan song.  Sir Patrick departed that winter, and Ruben Amaro, and the Phillies benefited for the next two 
years.  The wheels were already loosening though, and the magic man was gone.  So was Gillick's sound 
business plan.

Since Pat Gillick's departure, we have seen our share of poor decisions, bad trades, and a decaying player 
development system.  With patience unlike our nature, we have waited for the wheels to be reattached to 
this organization.  That unfortunately, has not happened, and sadly, it looks like no one in the current regime 
has the baseball intellect to get it started.  Once again, the rose organizational colored glasses are on, and 
once again, we are fans in waiting.  This time though, we have seen what a master can do.  We understand 
what a sound business plan can do, and we know that without one, there is no where to go but down.


Ruben Amaro, Philly's native son... what a story it would have been.  From bat-boy to world series GM, but it 
didn't happen, and it probably won't.  It can't because that keen baseball intellect, that Gillick-like savvy, and 
that all-encompassing business plan that came with him, are horribly absent here.  If today's brain-thrust had
the ability to infuse life into this organization, they would have by now.  Instead the organization lies frayed,
undernourished, and in need of a massive overhaul.  It's screaming for that Gillick-like business plan.


So what are you going to do Ruben?  Can you be that strong baseball intellect?  Can you devise, implement, 
and stick to that business plan like Sir Patrick did?  If you can, just maybe there's a chance for baseball in 
Philadelphia to return to glory.  If not Ruben, please just leave, and let someone else do this, because if what 
have seen thus far is all you have to give us, then we won't have much to give back.