Dear Mr. Gillick,

I write this letter to you to please ask for a dramtic shakeup of your ball club as the trade deadline approaches.

It is not that often that fans of a team ask for a firesale, but we have had to watch four years of a dysfunctional underachieveing team. A roster that looks good on paper has not been able to advance to capture the division or the wild card. The same players routlinely look at called third stikes, and dont hit in clutch situations. There is in ingredient to this current cast of players that cannot be changed with a few tweaks, but rather needs a comeplete blow up.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Shane Victorino can be the cornerstones for a franchise that can leave half a decade of medioctiry behind with a facelift.

Mr. Gillick your are the General Manager of a team that has not made the postseason since 1993. You inherited a team where the General Manager and Manager had already been made scapegoats. You have a fan base that was plagued by owner ineptitude that bumbled an entire generation of fans after the 1994 strike. The people who are left know baseball as well as any fans in the country, and we know that this current cast of players wont be the ones playing in October.

While some of your offseason moves of signing pitching machine Ryan Franklin and .150 hitter Abraham Nunez have been questionable at best, you can put the onus on the players something your predecessor Ed Wade did not.


When the Boston Red Sox won their first world series in 86 years in 2004, they traded Nomar Garciaparra who had been the face of their franchise. Although Nomar was the face of the resurgence of the franchise management came to the conlusion they hadnt won anything with Nomar so why not try a new approach. Your team hasnt even made a a playoff appearance with Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, John Lieber, Cory Lidle, Mike Lieberthal, and Pat Burrell? Couldn't all of these parts with the exception of Lieberthal all bring value in return as well as a different chemistry and approach that has led to disappointing finishes the past five years.

Bobby Abreu is owed 15 million next year. By trading him couldnt some of that money be used to bring in a catcher and third baseman in the off season who could be significant upgrades. Reserve Shan Victorino could fill Abreu's hole in right field, and be the every day leadoff hitter something Jimmy Rollins is not. David Dellucci is more then a capable backup for Burrel having slugged 29 homeruns last year, and hitting .316 as a reverve this year.

While Philadelphia cannot compare as a baseball city to New York, Boston and St. Louis, the fans of the Phillies are loyal to a fault. People in my generation became hooked on baseball with Rico Bronga and Gregg Jefferies as our cleanup hitters and Mark Grace and Chad Ogea as our number 2 starters. . As the team treads water in mediocrity only selling out to the Yankees, Red Sox, and Ryan Howard bobble head night, please do something that will bring a new vested interest in our Phillies.

Sincerly,

A fan whos barely hanging on