Regardless of when the "formal transfer of power occurs, the Andy MacPhail era of Phillies baseball, for all intents and purposes, began Thursday ... when the team announced via a news release that it would not renew the contract of oft-maligned" GM Ruben Amaro Jr., according to Jake Kaplan of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The decision "set the stage for an intriguing six weeks during which" the incoming president's GM search "will be the biggest story line surrounding this rebuilding team." The name fans "will hear most in the coming weeks" is Angels Assistant GM Matt Klentak, who was MacPhail's protege with the Orioles. Klentak, who "reportedly interviewed for the Angels' GM opening, is an up-and-comer whom MacPhail could groom as his top lieutenant." Phillies investor John Middleton on Thursday said that he "wanted MacPhail to 'hire himself.'" Kaplan: "Who better fits that description than MacPhail's former apprentice?" This early in the process, no one aside from MacPhail -- and perhaps ownership -- "truly knows which candidates MacPhail is considering" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/13). MacPhail said that it is a "mistake to limit" the GM search to candidates "with only one kind of toolbox." But in Philadelphia, Bob Ford wrote it "would still be a shock if the hire is not young and very interested in basing decisions on an analytical approach that lessens the influence of spit-in-the-dirt gut instincts." That is "clearly Middleton's preference, and it is easy to imagine the organization's vision of a new-age general manager working in concert with the more experienced MacPhail to make decisions" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/13). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner wrote the Phillies job "will be attractive because ownership has shown it will spend money and the team’s farm system is improving." The Phillies "would have gotten an earlier start on their rebuilding had they acquired useful pieces the other times they traded veterans," but the team now is "nearly free of bloated contracts" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/13).
NOW HIRING: In N.Y., Joel Sherman ranked the Phillies' GM position as the second-most desirable available option, of which "there already are five." The "parting gift" from Amaro "was a strong July trading season that deepened the farm system." Also, just about every long-term contract "was cleared off the books," so there is "money to spend." Furthermore, there "is a new ownership dynamic in place, and so far there is belief that it will let the baseball people make the baseball decisions." Sherman: "But this is a wild card." MacPhail recently "was hired to run baseball operations, so the new GM might not have full baseball authority." However, MacPhail’s reputation "is to be congenial and let the people he hires do their jobs." The Red Sox top the list because outgoing President & CEO Larry Lucchino has been removed as a "powerful, behind-the-scenes operator," and because the team arguably has the most "young (inexpensive) talent from which to build around and with which to trade." On the other hand, the next Red Sox GM "might not have final say on baseball issues," because of the recent hiring of President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski. He is, however, "considered a good executive to work under." The Mariners, Angels and Brewers round out the list which might not stay at five for long due to the "possibility that the Reds, Orioles, Marlins and maybe even the Nationals and others could make changes, too" (N.Y. POST, 9/13).
