Three days later, in need of pitching at the deadline, Gillick traded for Kyle Lohse. The reaction was reasonably underwhelming among the paying customers. It was only 3 years ago but it was another lifetime for the franchise, the tail end of a 13-year postseason drought that nobody knew was about to end - and that would not have ended had not the Mets gagged on a piece of meat that they still have not successfully digested.
Iguchi? Lohse?
Iguchi hit .304. Lohse went 3-0 with five quality starts out of 11. The Phillies don't win the division that year without them. They were the little moves that defined Gillick's work that season, a year of patching and filling and fulfillment in the end.
With that, all eyes now turn to Ruben Amaro Jr.
Utley went on the disabled list yesterday with a sprained thumb that might or might not be a Really Big Deal; second opinion pending. (And, just guessing here, but people don't tend to run home to Philadelphia for a second opinion when the initial diagnosis is a super-optimistic two thumbs up, you should excuse the expression.)
Third baseman Placido Polanco also went on the disabled list yesterday with an elbow problem that has been nagging for weeks. He's getting another opinion, too. Seven players are on the DL all together, including a third regular starter, catcher Carlos Ruiz.
With that, Amaro now has some decisions to make. If the second opinion on Utley is bad, the general manager is almost certainly going to have to make a move - and the same with Polanco. In 2007, Utley missed a month and a day but Gillick was not willing to make do even for that long - and that was with a much better bench than the Phillies have this season.
Quick OPS comparison time.
