Skip to main content

Pat Gillick on the Phillies' Secrets to Success

Steve Greenberg reported, in the latest issue of The Sporting News, some comments that former Phillies GM and current "Special advisor" Pat Gillick told him regarding the team's head lock on the National League East. Here are some of those remarks....

Our manager never has a bad day. If we lose a tough one, Charlie comes to the park the next day and he's fine: he's ready to play baseball. That's one of his biggest strengths. Even though Charlie comes off to the public sometimes as this simple guy from West Virgina, those players see him for who he really is. They believe in him. They know he's loyal to them, and they're loyal to him.

We are a very consistent organization. We won't do things, in my judgment, that stray too much from the game plan. I've always felt the nucleus of a winning club has to come from within the organization- Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels. When the Yankees were the best team in the league year after year, it was because Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera were that kind of nucleus. I don't think you can win over a long period of time with a collection of free agents.

We've got good ownership. Our ownership is like Warren Buffet- they're investors. They hire professional management to manage the team. ...As far as management, (our owners) leave it up to (team president and CEO) David Montgomery and (GM) Ruben Amaro.

-----------------------------

Other quotes by Phillies, regarding the postseason, from the latest issue (October 12th) of The Sporting News...

Cliff Lee: I think we've got the players to be a team like the Red Sox or the Yankees. We have the team and the players to expect to be in the playoffs every year.

Ryan Howard: I think we know we can beat anybody.

Charlie Manuel on how the Phillies' proverbial tanks were still full after the World Series last year: It's like they didn't know it was over. Someone had to say, 'Come on, guys, you won. You can go home.' I know those guys. They had more left. That tells me they'll be ready if they get another shot at it.

Manuel on an unnamed rival GM telling him, at last year's winter meetings, that the Phillies had more heart than his own team: I didn't make a comment either way, but that made me feel good.

-----------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Is it time to be concerned about Mickey Moniak?

Mickey Moniak with Lakewood in 2017 Almost daily I am engaged via Twitter or email or text messages or in person about Phillies prospects. It comes with the gig.  The player that scores the most inquiries is, as should be expected, 2016 top overall draft selection Mickey Moniak . Questions from fans that don't want to seem overly judgmental will ask, “Should we be concerned?” Others, living up to the more stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan reputation, will assert the notion, “He’s a bust!  Somebody didn't do his job right!” For the most part I have responded in defense of Moniak and others, letting people know that the youngster’s skills are real and his coaches stand by them. I’d caution fans that he was young, still a teenager, among the five youngest position players in the Class A Advanced Florida State League (per his team the Clearwater Threshers, as of the end of April), and he just needed time to catch up to the older, more mature pitching at that level....