Former GM and current advisor to the Phils, Pat Gillick, held court this afternoon at Bright House Field in Clearwater to address some of the Phillies offseason moves thus far.  The one opinion I was interested in hearing about was his take on the swapping of Pat Burrell for Raul Ibanez.

First, Pat was asked if he, personally, pushed for the signing of Rah-oooul:

“Yeah, I did. He fits in our clubhouse. He’s a very positive guy in the clubhouse. He’s probably going to hit for more power in our ballpark than he hit in Seattle. Fundamentally, he’s a very sound player that makes very few mistakes. And he’s a hard worker, maybe to the point where he wants to be perfectionist. He brings a very, very positive approach to the clubhouse. I think he’s going to do well here.”

I can dig that, I certainly won’t question Mr. Gillick’s ability to form a balanced baseball squad.  But now it’s time for the more important question — did the Phillies put any effort whatsoever in re-signing The Bat?

“We tried during the season to really bring Pat back. I think they had a little more grandeur than we did. We would have brought Pat back, but I think their thinking at that time was a little different than it actually ended up (two-year, $16 million with Tampa Bay). I think their expectation level was a little higher. … We were in different areas. … They were looking for a longer deal than we wanted to do. The length was more of the problem.“

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!

(Quotes provided by the resurrected Zo Zone)