Gonzo: TV show can impair your thinking

ESPN should come up with something approximating the warnings on a pack of cigarettes. You can't be too careful. We're talking about the public's health.

Television General's Warning: Watching SportsCenter may leave you confused and/or angry. Prolonged exposure may lead to depression.

Buster Olney has been on ESPN quite a bit lately. He rarely has good news for Phils fans these days. I like him and think he does a pretty good job on the whole, though you may remember him from such breaking news stories as "the Phils have talked about trading Ryan Howard to St. Louis for Albert Pujols or maybe a unicorn." Olney also whiffed on Cliff Lee last week. He reported that a deal that would have sent Lee from the Mariners to the Yankees was "just about done." Later that night, Lee was traded to Texas.

Anyway, there was Buster staring at me in all his high-definition glory. He was talking about the Phils and the trade deadline. Around the time Olney combined the words might be and sellers and Jayson Werth into a sentence, my ears began ringing and I started seeing trails. Then everything went dark. Next time you're tailgating and you run out of adult beverages, I recommend watching Baseball Tonight. It's cheaper and just as potent.

Will your Fightin' Phils - winners of the 2008 World Series and two straight National League pennants - move Werth at the trade deadline? Or will the Phils gamble and hope Werth can help them make another playoff run before possibly leaving town for good after he becomes a free agent at the end of the season? Maybe Olney had a great source for his report. Maybe not. Either way, he was able to float the idea on national TV because it's not such a crazy concept.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has a hard choice to make, perhaps his most difficult to date as the team's general manager. The Phils are 41/2 games out of first place in the NL East - close enough that you could see them making a run and claiming another division title, far enough back that there's still lingering doubt about the club's true postseason potential. That puts the general manager in a tough spot. If Amaro deals Werth, there will be second-guessing and screaming. If he keeps Werth and then watches him walk at the end of the season, there will be second-guessing and screaming.

Keep Werth or trade him, re-sign him or let him go, the only way Amaro rescues himself from a crush of criticism is if the Phils push deep into the playoffs. It's a huge decision, and it might indeed be the one that sways public sentiment one way or the other on how Amaro is perceived as a GM. Some of Amaro's moves have worked out well (trading for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, acquiring Placido Polanco); others have been less successful (shipping Lee to the Mariners and giving Raul Ibanez a three-year deal). How Amaro handles Werth could very well cement his reputation as a general manager. But will he ultimately be seen as more Ed Wade or Pat Gillick?

When recently approached by the media with the Werth trade report, Amaro said he doesn't talk about rumors or specific players. Fair enough. But he also told the assembly that he wouldn't rule out trading someone off the major-league roster if he thought it would help his team.

"Obviously I don't want to weaken my club," Amaro told various outlets, "but if I have to weaken one area to strengthen another, I might do that."

That Amaro is even addressing the possibility of breaking up the core of a crew that has achieved so much over the last two years is stunning. How did it get to this point? How did Fightin's fans go from marking their parade route spots with orange cones and lawn chairs to wondering what lies ahead for Werth, his beard and the rest of the Phils? This was supposed to be a runaway season, wasn't it? There was always the possibility that Werth might not come back in 2011, but most people seemed to believe he'd stick around long enough to help them at least reach another World Series, if not win it all.

These are tense times for the Phils and their fans. The Fightin's aren't in the same spot they were last year when they had the opportunity to acquire Lee for prospects. That was a no-brainer. There's no obvious or easy way to proceed now. One of the most difficult questions the franchise has faced in a while must be addressed - and soon. Amaro had better hope he has the right answer.