Don't expect much improvement for Phillies anytime soon

THE DAMAGE is done, but the wounds are fresh from the Phillies' latest battle with irrelevance.

The pain for fans will not fade until they know, finally, what moves the Phillies will make to correct consecutive 73-win seasons. It was their worst 2-year run since 1996-97, when managers Jim Fregosi and Terry Francona dealt with the Gregg Jefferies debacle.

The pain will linger for quite a while.

The players might expect change; ace Cole Hamels said as much after his last start, on Sunday.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. might trumpet change, but his hands might be tied, inside and out of the organization.

For now, the whole shebang is being run not by dynamic front man David Montgomery but, rather, by sedentary stand-in Pat Gillick.

Do not underestimate the importance of Montgomery's status.

At the moment, Montgomery remains on medical leave as he recovers from cancer treatments. There is no indication as to when he will return. Fox 29's Howard Eskin reported last night that Montgomery had been pushed out, and that co-owner John Middleton had seized greater control over the team in an attempt to gain a majority stake. Either way, turmoil at the top is never beneficial.

This effectively could paralyze the organization.

For one thing, Montgomery's presence as owner and CEO, coupled with the hiring of Gillick as general manager in November 2005 and his retention as an adviser after he retired in 2008, largely undid damages of a decade that pervaded the organization throughout. A paranoid, sensitive organization became, to degrees, more professional, less petty and far more capable of attracting and retaining top talent.

Yes, the Phillies had money, and new Citizens Bank Park, and some recent winning seasons, but so did every team that courted, say, Cliff Lee before he returned to the Phillies in December 2010. The culture changed. Inside the Bank, Montgomery is revered, and rightly so.

Montgomery also approved every wrong the Phillies need righted.

Will they be bold enough to drastically recast the roster without Montgomery's presence?

Probably not.

Remember, it was on Montgomery's watch that the Phillies demolished the veteran underpinnings on which the Bank was opened. Gillick shipped out Jim Thome in November 2005, then, in July 2006, Gillick traded Bobby Abreu, David Bell and Cory Lidle to make way for less proven talent. The talent that remained won the 2008 World Series, Montgomery's shining moment and Gillick's Hall of Fame clincher.

The emotional and financial ties to aged players such as shortstop Jimmy Rollins (35), second baseman Chase Utley (35) and first baseman Ryan Howard (34) are deep and involved. Cutting those ties while Gillick fills in for Montgomery might be too much to ask.

The person charged with doing the cutting will, ostensibly, be Amaro . . . ostensibly, that is.

Gillick endorsed both Amaro and overwhelmed first-year manager Ryne Sandberg when he took over in August.

Gillick also endorsed the virtue of "patience," contended that the roster needed only a "tweak" . . . and acknowledged that, if the Phillies faced a big decision on which he and Amaro disagreed, Gillick would have "part of the final say."

In his three seasons as GM, Gillick created an atmosphere of cooperation and inclusion. Amaro's style has been less inclusive.

This makes the next few weeks fascinating.

Will Gillick effect a version of a coup? Will he recalibrate the organization to suit him?

If he does, it will be from the inside out.

The Phillies offered the entire coaching staff their jobs back, from bench coach Larry Bowa, Sandberg's personal Karl Rove, to hitting coach Steve Henderson, whose hitters hit only .239 at the Bank, which is perhaps the best hitters' park in baseball.

They fired draft director Marti Wolever, a holdover who predated Gillick and Amaro. Wolever's drafts since 2004 largely were unimpressive, but his hands were, to a degree, tied. The Phillies made a series of deals that cost them picks and the disadvantage that comes with annual success: picking late in the first round. After they selected Hamels 17th in 2002, only twice in the next 10 years did they have a pick among the first 20. Still, the Phillies have offered a pound of flesh.

It is a paltry offering.

Nothing is certain. Nothing can be.

The Phillies can only hope that Lee returns healthy in the spring. He managed only 13 starts in 2014 before an elbow strain finished him. He did not have surgery. The Phillies owe him either $37.5 million - his 2015 salary plus a $12.5 million buyout for 2016 - or $52.5 million, if he pitches 200 innings and vests that $27.5 million option.

Lee has a partial no-trade clause, but is willing to move, though he remains untradable until he proves himself healthy deep into 2015. At 36, he also could retire if his elbow worsens and requires a surgery and long-term rehab.

Lee is the biggest name in Phillies history to sign as a free agent since they entered the Bank in 2004. They would hate to see him go and break up the tandem he and Hamels comprise.

They also managed to lure A.J. Burnett, who was mulling retirement. He is owed $12.75 million next season and said he will pitch again if his arm is healthy, but that tune might change later this month after he recovers from sports hernia surgery. Burnett, 37, lost 18 games, the most in his career. He must inform the Phillies within 5 days of the end of the World Series if he plans to return.

The biggest reliever the Phillies ever landed was Jonathan Papelbon, whose $13 million salary next season, matching option for 2016 that is likely to vest and prickly attitude make him virtually immovable. Depending on how you value closers, he has been worth the money. However, after his crotch-grabbing incident last month, a me-first player such as Papelbon will see his value dwindle in the eyes of men such as Montgomery, who loves Phillies fans, and Gillick, who is sensitive to clubhouse vibes. Amaro will fight to keep him, and, since Papelbon will have little trade value until at least late July, Amaro should get his way.

Which probably makes sense.

The same is true of Howard, a slugger who doesn't slug anymore. Injury and ineptness limited Howard to 48 home runs from 2012 to 2014. He averaged 49.5 in his first four full seasons. Howard is owed at least $60 million more through the next two seasons. Say the Phillies would have to pay at least $40 million of that for another team to acquire Howard. Why? To make room for Utley to move from second, for Darrin Ruf to move back from leftfield or for one of the corner prospects to move to first base? That seems unsound; and, again, unpalatable to the men who would have to make the move.

After all, Gillick and Montgomery are the ones who decided to build the franchise around the Big Piece.

No one making final decisions is nearly as invested in, say, Dominic Brown, whom Gillick recently endorsed but who desperately needs a change of scenery. Brown could be the only significant lineup change.

That might be hard to swallow.

Rollins has only one more season and remains a steady player.

Utley was signed to an extension in 2013 so he could be the Phillies' Don Mattingly or Chipper Jones or Derek Jeter: the first-class face for a generation, through good and bad.

Lately, considering the $340 million the team spent on players the past two seasons, it's been as bad as it's ever been.

Considering the situation the franchise finds itself in, 2015 could be just as bad again.

On Twitter: @inkstainedretch

Blog: ph.ly/DNL