With Contract Extensions, Phillies Look Toward Future
By: Mike Reisman
In the past week, the Phillies have extended the contracts of both their manager, Charlie Manuel, and GM, Ruben Amaro Jr. Both have been key components in the team's success since 2007, when the team made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Both these extensions also take away some drama from the team in an already drama-filled spring.
Manuel's extension came first, a two-year deal that will take him through 2013 with the club. The deal comes well after Charlie expressed interest in an extension so that he would not be a distraction in spring training. Manuel also said that though he won't coach
as long as Joe Paterno, he doesn't plan on quitting soon.
Ruben Amaro Jr.'s contact extension came later this week, yesterday morning exactly, and keeps him for four more years, through 2015. Since Amaro has been the Phillies GM he has acquired Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Placido Polanco just to name a few. He has also traded away some of the Phillies best prospects.
Though neither of these extensions were surprising, they show that the Phillies are serious about winning not only the next year or two, but for years to come. Not so much with the extension of Manuel, but keeping Amaro shows that the Phillies like his style, and are willing to keep sending off their prospects to win short-term. Do I completely agree with this? Not totally, but if the Phillies are trying to win now, they might as well stick with what works. It will be very interesting to see if these short-term stars can bring home the hardware, or if the Phillies are just investing in hype.