The march of time is unstoppable. Less than three days after the unbelievable parade crowning the Phillies as the 2008 World Series Champions, the team starts its focus on 2009. And, it does so without much surprise.
We all knew this was Pat Gillick's last year at the healm. And, we all had a hunch that 2009 would be Ruben Amaro Jr.'s first year leading that team. Our hunches were correct: the Phillies are announcing his new position at a 10am press conference this morning.
There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about Amaro's ascension. He learned the trade from Ed Wade. His statements to the press often show a lack of understanding of modern baseball analysis. He's more connected to the Phillies establishment that had such a long history of mediocrity than to the Pat Gillick reign.
But, still riding high from last week, I'm in a forgiving mood for now and will wait to fully disect this later in the off-season. For now, let's be content that Amaro inherits a championship team. How bad can he mess things up?