Things "aren't quite as grim or stagnant" around the Phillies since incoming President Andy MacPhail was introduced on June 29, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. A competing MLB exec said, "That organization is a gold mine. Look at the ballpark. Look at the spring training facility. Look at the television deal. This is a goose that's going to lay a golden egg. No wonder Andy MacPhail came out of retirement." Crasnick noted the Phillies have "even hitched a ride on the sabermetrics train," and the franchise's new proprietary computer system, PHIL (short for Phillies' Holistic Information Location) "will be up and running in September." As part of the "information-gathering process, MacPhail sits in on all the meetings." However, he has "steered clear of media interviews." Current Phillies President Pat Gillick said, "The game plan is for Andy to assume my position somewhere between the first of October and the first of November. To be frank, I don't know if I'm going to stay at that point." Crasnick wrote if conventional wisdom in baseball circles "means anything," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is "probably gone," and interim manager Pete Mackanin is "a good bet to follow him out the door." The Phillies were "guilty of excessive sentiment and clinging to the past when they signed aging stars to long-term contracts, but it would be naïve to dismiss the involvement" of Phillies Chair David Montgomery and ownership. The Phillies' recent surge of activity "set up an interesting scenario: Amaro played a big role in getting the Phillies into the mess they're in, and an equally prominent role in digging them out of it." If he "leaves Philadelphia, he's likely to find other opportunities" (ESPN.com, 8/27).
