Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. on Thursday "was ousted from his position after nearly seven years," and Assistant GM Scott Proefrock "will serve as the team's interim GM" until incoming President Andy MacPhail finds Amaro's replacement, according to a front-page piece by Jake Kaplan of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The Phillies were "late to move on from their aging core" and "plagued by a slew of terrible drafts" under Amaro's watch. MacPhail, who will succeed Pat Gillick at a yet-to-be determined date after the season, said that he "intends to explore 'a wide spectrum of candidates' in his search" to replace Amaro. He said it would be "ambitious but ideal" to make a hire before the Phillies' organizational meetings in late October. MacPhail "notified Amaro of his decision in a 15-to-20-minute conversation on Thursday morning." He said that the timing "was right for Amaro so he could pursue an opportunity with another organization if he desires." Kaplan writes it "does not sound as if Amaro's removal will have a domino effect on the rest of the front office" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/11).
TOUGH DECISIONS: MacPhail said that he "made up his mind to remove Amaro two or three days ago." Phillies investor John Middleton said that the conversation about Amaro's fate "began in December or January, when ownership interviewed MacPhail for the job." He said, "You look at any business, the decisions made are made not exclusively by one person in isolation, but from everybody else in the organization" (MLB.com, 9/10). CSNPHILLY.com's Jim Salisbury noted Middleton at Thursday's press conference "used the word 'change' several times and stressed the importance of it in any organization." Amaro "was not offered another job in the organization," but is "young enough, smart enough and respected enough in the industry that he will have a job as soon as he wants one." Amaro, like former GM Ed Wade years ago, had "become a lightning rod for fan discontent." Middleton: "All of us in this room exist because of fans. Fans buy tickets, watch games. It’s important to us." Middleton added that he "was not happy when Amaro made disparaging comments about the fans in May and he let Amaro know that" (CSNPHILLY.com, 9/10).
SEAT OF POWER: MLB.com's Paul Hagen noted MacPhail "took pains" to refute the perception that "he'll retain most of the power and that whomever he hires will be little more than a glorified assistant." He said, "I can understand why that is. Ownership has made it clear ... that they certainly want me involved in baseball operations. And, let's face it, I'm not here because of any marketing acumen. But at the same time, I've been in this role before. I've had GMs under me before. If you talk to them, I think they feel like they had a fair amount of autonomy" (MLB.com, 9/10). Hagen noted the Phillies "aren't expected to interview internal candidates." Middleton said that MacPhail knows Proefrock "well enough from their days together in Baltimore that a formal interview probably wouldn't be necessary" (MLB.com, 9/10).
TURN THE PAGE: In Philadelphia, Bob Brookover writes by "opting out of being part of the announcement," Gillick "submitted his symbolic resignation." The two men "up front to explain the decision" were MacPhail and Middleton, the "suddenly very visible and vocal leader of the Phillies' ownership group." They are the men "responsible for trying to reverse the second great fall in franchise history." Amaro has "collected a paycheck from the Phillies for 22 of the last 24 years," which "should account for some good feelings about his work, and they did from Middleton." He said, "Ruben has a long history with the Phillies. He started as a bat boy in 1980, continued as a player. He was here for our glory years" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/11).
AN EMERGING VOICE: In Philadelphia, Mike Sielski writes the "most obvious takeaway" from Thursday's news conference was that Middleton "wanted Ruben Amaro Jr. out." The "ever-louder voice of the team's ownership group, Middleton paid lip service to Amaro's successes." But he "could hardly hide how the failures and unforced errors ate at him." From a baseball and a PR standpoint, this decision "was a no-brainer." MacPhail "was impressive on Thursday, showing his smarts by declining to commit to any single course of action." Middleton said, "There's always balancing of short-term and long-term interests. And I honestly think the way you get at that is to have a lot of smart people around the table looking at an issue and debating it. Collectively, you hope there's wisdom in that group" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/11).
THINGS FALL APART: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick wrote under the header, "Far Too Many Missteps The Reason For Ruben Amaro's Ouster In Philadelphia." If people "needed a reminder of how much work the Phillies have to do, it was evident in the meager crowds at Citizens Bank Park and the soporific atmosphere on display" for a series with the Braves this week. But it is "hard to ignore the human element at play here." Even fans who "rightfully criticized" Amaro's player moves, "ill-advised public comments or seeming obliviousness to the sabermetric revolution could never question his passion or commitment to the organization." For all their missteps, the Phillies are "still in a position to make some major strides in a relatively short time." They have a "monster TV contract about to kick in, a farm system with some promising names and a fan base that's just waiting to be energized" (ESPN.com, 9/10). ESPN's Jayson Stark said, "It was the cumulative effect of all these contracts, all the backloading, all the option clauses. It really made it difficult for them to unload these guys, and it made it difficult for them to have enough flexibility -- when guys started to break down -- to have the depth to compete." Stark said of the team's future, "Nobody knows what Andy MacPhail is thinking because he hasn't let on." MacPhail is "willing to embrace data, always has been. But Andy at heart is a baseball guy from a baseball family" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN2, 9/11). In Philadelphia, David Murphy writes in order to "have an honest conversation" about Amaro, fans "must accept three things." The Phillies "never had to become this bad." Amaro "might not be entirely to blame for them becoming this bad." Finally, the fact that he "might not be entirely to blame is why he had to go." This was "about the mosaic, about the role of each tile as it was laid." The problem with the Phillies "was not the general manager, at least not on a transactional level." More than anything, "it was about the failure to gauge all of these moves from a macroscopic view of baseball's changing economic landscape" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/11).
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: In Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes writes under the header, "Ruben Amaro Isn't Only One To Blame For Phillies' Woes." It is "easy to kick a guy on his way out," but it is "much harder to be fair; to be sympathetic." A new GM "might not sell tickets, but the retention of Amaro past this season might have been disastrous at the box office." The "most costly development occurred when Amaro was abandoned" by former Assistant GM Mike Arbuckle, who "built the Golden Era Phillies." Arbuckle was "passed over in favor of Amaro when Gillick retired" in '08. Arbuckle, "wounded by the favoritism shown Amaro, bristled at working under an executive he helped train." Arbuckle went to the Royals and "has helped create a monster in the Midwest" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/11). NBCSPORTS.com's Craig Calcaterra wrote, "For all of the scorn we’ve heaped on Amaro over the years, let’s give him some credit too. He likely knew he was on the outs sooner rather than later." But he "put his head down and did his job this summer, making a series of trades in a selloff" of P Jonathan Papelbon, 2B Chase Utley and others which "all seemed to bring real value back to the Phillies when a lot of people didn’t think he could do it" (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/10). ESPN's Keith Law said the Phillies "did a great job on some of the dump trades where they were trying to move some of the bigger contracts" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN2, 9/11).
