Phillies Offseason Talk

[SunMo]

i really want to be patient and see how this plays out.  but we are all 90% how it's going to play out already and that really pisses me off.

[ice grillin you]

i may be the only one but i like arbuckle a lot...not more than cashman or hunsicker but i think he has potential....if hes left alone to run a team as he see fits...problem is that isnt going to happen with the phillies which is why they wont get a cashman or hunsicker in the first place...

all you need to know about this whole farce is what happened with duquette....he supposedly was a candidate yet he signed on to be an assistant somethin somethin with the friggin orioles rather than even wait for an interview with the phils

this whole this is a effin joke

[Rome]

Your cynicism is well founded, Mo.


The real nightmare scenario would be if Monty conducted his "exhaustive" search and decided upon hiring Wade back.

If that happened, I seriously think there'd be death threats issued.  Still, considering what little we know, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

[SunMo]

i may be the only one but i like arbuckle a lot...not more than cashman or hunsicker but i think he has potential....if hes left alone to run a team as he see fits...problem is that isnt going to happen with the phillies which is why they wont get a cashman or hunsicker in the first place...

i did like Arbuckle a couple years ago, and when he interviewed in Boston i was hoping he didn't get the job so he could succed Wade.  but the Phils farm system is one of the worst in baseball.  now, i'm not sure that's all on Arbuckle, but he is the director of the farm system so he has responsibility there.

i don't understand the Hunsicker thing, he wants to be here, the fans want him here, he's a proven GM that only left his job because of a dispute with the owners.  the fact that he hasn't even been contacted yet is absolutely absurd.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Why are you guys shocked that Arbuckle got interviewed?

Seriously. Monty said it on October 10th when he fired that little prick that Arbuckle and Amaro were going to be interviewed. But in every article since then they say that Monty KNOWS he has to go outside the organization or else feel the wrath. Monty is the next to go, folks. He has to get this right.

I wish he'd shtein or get off the pot and get Hunsicker in here as much as anyone. But I just cannot see how he'd hire either one of the assistant GMs.

And Pat Gillick's name is in the mix now. He'd be my #2 choice behind Hunsicker. I want no part of John Hart. I'm glad Duquette is in Baltimore. He farged the Mets hard. And Jim Bowden is a wheeler & dealer, but I'm not sold on him either.

[MDS]

get someone who has no affiliation with the phillies, because once you become a member of that organization, you automatically become a loser.

[BigEd76]

Bowden is getting an extension with Washington, so he's out...

The asst. GM in Boston, Josh Byrnes, will be the new GM in Arizona, so he's out...

The names continue to dwindle...

[Geowhizzer]

Bowden is getting an extension with Washington, so he's out...

The asst. GM in Boston, Josh Byrnes, will be the new GM in Arizona, so he's out...

The names continue to dwindle...

Bowden could get screwed on that one, unless he's being paid a king's ransom.  His extension is only until April.

[MDS]

hooray for sitting around and doing noting but interveiwing our two indept in house candidates

[BigEd76]

Arbuckle interviewed today, someone else may interview tomorrow, and Monty will update us tomorrow afternoon... 

[Rome]

Arbuckle interviewed today, someone else Amaro, Jr. may interview tomorrow, and Monty will update us tomorrow afternoon... 

Fixadent. 

[stillupfront]

but the Phils farm system is one of the worst in baseball. 

That's very debatable.

[WEST is GOD]

Hunsicker was in town yesterday along with Arbuckle. No link or anything, they just said it on WIP, right before I was about to head to bed too.

Lucky I caught it, but by the time you all wake up it will already be old news.

[PhillyGirl]

Story:

Posted on Fri, Oct. 28, 2005   


Phils talk to Hunsicker about GM post

By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com

ONE OF Billy Wagner's main concerns as he perused the Phillies' latest offer was: Who will succeed Ed Wade as the team's general manager? That was one big reason he has left the Phillies' latest offer on the table and filed for free agency yesterday.

Wagner stumped hard for former aggressive, creative Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker to replace Wade. He got a step closer to that wish yesterday.

Hunsicker, a Collegeville native, interviewed with team president David Montgomery. He is the first candidate from outside the organization to be given an interview. Assistant GM Mike Arbuckle had his interview Wednesday, and assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. might get his today or tomorrow.

With a fan base howling for a big name from outside of the Phillies' family to succeed Wade, Hunsicker's interview should be a welcome development.

"I thought it was a productive meeting," said Hunsicker, who had not heard from the Phillies as of early this week.

He is a top candidate to join the restructured front office in Tampa Bay in a more advisory role, a top aide to new baseball operations director Andrew Friedman, who is 28. Hunsicker and Friedman met Tuesday in Houston for a second interview.

And then, suddenly, Hunsicker was contacted by the Phillies and rushed to town to meet Montgomery, who maintained his 2 weeks of media silence.

As he exited his flight from Philadelphia back to Houston last night, Hunsicker offered no further comment than to confirm that he and Montgomery met and that he hadn't been contacted "very long ago."

Hunsicker appears to be the first out-of-towner the Phillies have interviewed, though league sources said the Phils hoped to get a shot at Brian Cashman before he decided to stay with the Yankees and Jim Duquette, who will remain with the Nationals through the offseason.

However, the Phils remain interested in Seattle adviser Pat Gillick, who was the GM there, in Baltimore and, of course, in Toronto, where his Blue Jays won consecutive World Series - the second over the Phillies in 1993. The Phils also might be interested in former Rangers and Indians GM John Hart, assuming Hart wants to remain in a front-line role.

With Cashman staying in New York, Hunsicker appears to be the front-runner among the remaining candidates - with good reason. With a budget about $20 million shy of the $95 million level at which the Phillies seem destined to stay, Hunsicker built the Astros teams that took from the Phillies the last two NL wild-card berths. He stepped down after last season because of clashes with ownership.

The Astros have reached the playoffs six times in the 10 years since Hunsicker joined them, in part because of aggressive deals he brokered to obtain Randy Johnson in 1998 and Carlos Beltran last season.

For now, simply re-signing Wagner would be enough of an accomplishment for Hunsicker to endear himself to the local fan base.

Wagner yesterday joined 61 other players and filed for free agency on the first day he was able to do so. Eligible players may file for the next 14 days, but, at 34 and coming off perhaps the best of his nine seasons, Wagner might be the cream of the free-agency crop.

The Mets and Red Sox are expected to be his most aggressive suitors. Clubs are allowed to contact Wagner and other free agents who have filed and express their interest, but clubs cannot begin negotiations with free agents for 2 more weeks.

The Phillies knew this was coming, of course. Wagner told the Daily News last week that he was going to file, right when the Phillies made their best offer to date - thought to be 3 years and $24 million, about $6 million shy of his latest demands. Which include a full no-trade clause. They got their own confirmation shortly thereafter from Bean Stringfellow, Wagner's agent, neither of whom returned messages from the Daily News yesterday.

"They told us they were going to declare [yesterday], to not be alarmed by it," Amaro said.

It appears that the team's latest offer will remain on the table for the time being: "We haven't discussed it," Amaro said.

He and Arbuckle are filling the club's GM duties while Montgomery conducts his search for Wade's replacement. Arbuckle confirmed yesterday that he interviewed for the post Wednesday with Montgomery.

Until the past year or so, Arbuckle, a noted talent evaluator, seemed to be Wade's replacement-in-waiting. Now, it appears the Phillies are eager to hire from outside the organization - not that Arbuckle considered his interview anything but substantial.

"It was a very lengthy, thorough interview," said Arbuckle, who returned to his home in Missouri yesterday.

Amaro's should be, too, though he essentially has been auditioning for the job since Wade was fired Oct. 10.

"I don't think of it as an audition," said Amaro, pointing to his 7 years as assistant GM and the corresponding duties - duties he has simply continued. "The things I'm doing now [without Wade] are the things I've done in my current position. I'm just going about my business."

"We are going to continue running the show," Arbuckle said. "Any initial contact we make will have to be prefaced with the understanding of our situation."

That didn't keep them from fielding calls and making a few, too. With Wagner's status uncertain, and with the bullpen needing an arm or two, closers such as Cleveland's Bob Wickman, who declared yesterday, should be attractive amid a glut of veteran bullpen arms expected to land on the market.

"We've already had contact, reached out to a couple of players' agents," Amaro said. "Just kicking some tires."

Just in case their Ferrari winds up in someone else's garage before a new GM is hired.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Should've hired his ass on the spot. But nice to see some movement...

Inky says that they're thinking about moving the LF fence back or raising it higher.