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Phil Sheridan | No dazzling deals in Dallas for the Phillies

By Phil Sheridan

Inquirer Columnist

Some problems are easier to solve than others.

There were too many home runs being hit at Citizens Bank Park. So the Phillies hired some contractors, tore a few rows of seats out of the left-field bleachers and plan to build a slightly higher fence out there.

Simple solution.

There weren't enough wins in the standings. So the Phillies hired Pat Gillick to remake their roster.

Not so simple.

Gillick will return from the winter meetings in Dallas with little to show for his trip. That's disappointing to fans who were eager to see what would come next after the departures of Jim Thome and Billy Wagner.

Those moves - Thome by commission and Wagner by omission - made sense only if they were clearing the decks for something else. Yes, the trade of Thome to the Chicago White Sox created a spot for Ryan Howard, but it also gave Gillick some payroll flexibility. The Phillies are still paying a big chunk of Thome's salary, but the trade saved them millions.

And a reasonable observer can understand the decision not to guarantee Wagner over $40 million for four years. But no one can reasonably say the Phillies are better with Tom Gordon stepping into Wagner's job - unless the money saved is spent to improve the team elsewhere.

So it's easy to see why fans might be disappointed by the Phillies' lack of movement in Dallas. There were plenty of transactions around baseball and no shortage of beguiling rumors.

The Mets have been on a spree. The Toronto Blue Jays threw all kinds of brightly colored Canadian currency at free-agent pitchers A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan. The Red Sox were active, as always.

In a few weeks, Florida has traded away Josh Beckett, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Luis Castillo and Juan Pierre. You'd think commissioner Bud Selig would step in to prevent such blatant self-destruction of a franchise, but baseball can't argue that the Marlins need public funds for a new ballpark while telling the club it has to pay all those players.

Worst of all, Florida traded Delgado and Lo Duca to the Mets, a team in the same division. It's still worse because the Phillies are in the same division, and they weren't in position to take advantage of it.

Here's where things get thick for Gillick. Unlike the contractors who were able to tear out those troublesome seats and flower boxes in left field, he is hampered by long, guaranteed contracts and no-trade clauses. You can't bulldoze Mike Lieberthal or David Bell.

And so the Marlins conducted a fire sale and the Phillies came away with nothing but smoke.

Bobby Abreu for Barry Zito? Abreu for Derek Lowe? Bell as a throw-in?

It's clear that many fans are eager to get rid of players from a team that has frustrated them no end. But Gillick can't look at it that way. If anything, the fact that he didn't trade Abreu this week is a very encouraging sign.

Why? Because the new GM was clearly willing to do so in the right deal. And because he was shrewd enough to hold firm when that deal didn't materialize. Too often, the decision to move a player creates momentum that turns to desperation which leads to bad deals.

Phillies fans are sharply divided on Abreu. There are those who appreciate his constant, high-level production and those who see him as stat-happy and somehow lacking in the intensity department. There's a little truth in both opinions, but the bottom line is that Abreu's value is very real and should not be taken for granted.

It is telling that other teams were very interested in Abreu and not remotely interested in trading for Pat Burrell. There is a message there that Gillick is smart to heed.

The market doesn't close down when everyone checks out of the hotel in Dallas. Once free agency plays out, teams like the Dodgers and Cubs will know exactly what their needs are. If they can't fill their need for productive outfielders, then Abreu's value will increase.

The worst thing that can happen, from the fans' viewpoint, is that the current roster is what shows up in Clearwater in February. It will not be easy to get excited about a team that subtracted Thome and Wagner and added Gordon, Aaron Rowand and Abraham Nuņez.

Then there is the fact that Abreu, Bell and Burrell would report knowing that they were all trade bait that was left hanging on the hook. Unwanted. Of course, that might not be the worst message for them to receive.

The suspicion here is that Gillick will be busy before it comes to that. He took on a difficult job, one that can't be solved merely by swinging a wrecking ball.

Unfortunately.
They certainly haven't really improved this offseason.