General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. hears the rumblings from Phillies fans, and he understands there are serious questions about whether the back-to-back National League champions could have gone into the 2010 season with a starting rotation that included Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.
But while Amaro -- like any other GM -- would love that type of talent in the game's most important position, he pointed toward a desire to compete for World Series titles down the road as the reason Lee, who was traded in December for right-handers Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez and outfielder Tyson Gilliesis, is now in Seattle.
"I was talking to some people the other day," Amaro told reporters during the annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association banquet on Monday night, "and I said, 'I'm not a dummy. I know what Cliff Lee means to our rotation in addition to Halladay and Hamels. It's a no-brainer.'
"Our goal is to be a contender every year -- not just to be a competitor, but to be a contender every year. That's really my job. As an executive of the club, it's my job to do what I can to try to maintain that level of talent on the club and that hope from the fans."
In a complex December trade, the Phillies gave up Lee and a slate of prospects for Halladay, who they signed to a three-year, $60 million extension. They were then able to lock down righty Joe Blanton to a three-year, $24 million deal.
Lee, meanwhile, is a free agent after the 2010 season, and he'll demand top dollar in the open market. But since the Phils are nearing a club-record payroll of $140 million this season and have more than $130 million already committed to 15 players for '11, Lee seemingly would've had just one more year in Philly.
And Amaro preferred more stability thereafter.
"We cannot be the New York Yankees," Amaro told the Philadelphia-based sports writers. "We have to have people that we can bring to the big leagues from our system. The guys who are our core players are guys from our system.
"Yes, I'd like to have a championship, but not at the cost of having our organization not be good for 10 years. Absolutely not. That's not the goal. The goal is to be a contender every year. And once you get to the World Series or get to the playoffs, it's really a matter of who's playing the best baseball, who's hottest, who has the karma."
In a banquet in Cherry Hill, N.J., that manager Charlie Manuel also attended, the Phillies were honored as the team of the year for the third straight time by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.
During the ceremony, Amaro said he expects a bounce-back year from Hamels after he "didn't quite prepare himself the right way" heading into the '09 season, added that he feels this year's squad is better than last year's -- specifying that "our rotation is better," the club has more experience, a better bench and "more All-Star players" -- and defended that relatively unpopular decision to move Lee to Seattle.
"It's going to be difficult to look fans in the face and say two years from now, 'You know, why we don't have any players to supplant some of the guys we have now is because I went for it with Cliff Lee and now we have no players to fall back on,'" Amaro said, according to The Philadelphia Daily News.
Manuel agreed, and he pointed to the Braves' run of 14 consecutive division titles, which was a reality because of the core players they had locked up.
"You have to do what we did this winter," Manuel said. "You have to turn some guys over every year."
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