What the Phillies need to do this offseason

THE PHILLIES lost 99 games for the first time since 1969. They were owners of baseball's worst record when the season ended on Sunday.

They finished with the second lowest attendance in the National League, behind Miami, a city that should barely count as a functional major league franchise. The Phillies drew 1,831,080, falling below 2 million fans for the first time in 13 years.

They traded away a World Series MVP and another franchise icon, too; they had a manager walk out on the organization less than three months in; a beleaguered general manager was fired with three weeks left; a squirrel nearly attacked aforementioned franchise icon; and a dead bird plopped onto the Citizens Bank Park turf during the final game of the year.

Other than that, things went fairly smoothly in South Philly during the season.

But, really, you could make the argument it was a successful year, since the long-awaited rebuild began and continued in earnest.

Sure, the '15 Phils lost 10 more games than they did last year, but this season was more productive from a big-picture goal of becoming a relevant, contending baseball team sooner rather than later. The 2014 Phillies also finished in last place, yet also held dearly on to all of their veterans at the trade deadline for the second straight summer, for reasons still unclear.

Despite that big-picture perspective, neither manager Pete Mackanin nor interim general manager Scott Proefrock was ready to label the just-completed season a success.

"No," Mackanin said. "We don't want to lose. We want to win. There's a lot of things, like I said, that are positives that came out of this. It's not a success when you lose that many games. And when you don't win a World Series - that's every team's goal."

"Pete's right," Proefrock said. "Nobody likes to lose . . . Some positives came out of it, but we don't want to find ourselves in this situation on a regular basis. Nobody does."

Fair enough. So what's on the docket for the rest of October, with the games finished but the rebuilding process still underway?

Two weeks ago, incoming team president Andy MacPhail said he had interviewed only one candidate for the general manager's job held by Ruben Amaro Jr. You could assume that candidate was Proefrock, who is holding the position on an interim status.

But MacPhail also said he expected the GM search to pick up considerably in the first week after the regular season concluded, and, here we are. MacPhail is expected to cast a wide net for candidates and is on the record twice as saying it would be "ambitious" to think they would find their new GM before the Phillies' organizational meetings later this month.

What should help the Phillies reach that goal: The Angels, Mariners, Red Sox and Brewers all filled their own GM vacancies in the last three weeks. While some of the potential fits for the Phillies are off the board, including Jerry Dipoto and Billy Eppler, others remain available, with no other GM positions open, although that could change this week.

Among the names that still make sense for the Phillies: Matt Klentak (assistant GM for the Angels who lost out to Eppler this weekend), J.J. Picollo (Royals VP and assistant GM, and Cherry Hill, N.J., native), and Thad Levine (a longtime assistant to Jon Daniels with the Rangers).

The Phillies invited nearly everyone back from Mackanin's staff, except bullpen coach Rod Nichols (who previously interviewed for the pitching coach job) and assistant hitting coach John Mizerock. But it's no guarantee everyone will be back.

Perhaps the most intriguing story line is whether Larry Bowa will again depart an organization he's been a part of in some role or another for the better part of the last 50 years.

The Phillies have given Bowa permission to interview for the manager's job in Miami, according to CSNPhilly.com. Bowa has not been a big-league manager since he was fired by the Phillies in 2004, but in the time since, he's worked under Joe Torre in two stops and has mellowed a bit as he nears his 70th birthday (this December). He might be intrigued by one more shot at the top spot in a major league bench.

Similarly, Juan Samuel, 54, lives and breathes Phillies baseball, but was passed over for Mackanin last month after interviewing with both MacPhail and Proefrock. If he wants to move up in the coaching world (he was an interim manager under MacPhail in Baltimore in 2010), Samuel's best career move might be to find a job elsewhere.

Free agency doesn't get underway until after the last out of the World Series, which could extend until Nov. 4. But teams can retain their own free agents: Last season, the Phillies re-signed both Grady Sizemore and Jerome Williams in October.

The only likely candidate among the current soon-to-be free agents on the Phillies' roster is Jeff Francoeur, an incredibly popular and positive veteran influence in a young clubhouse. If Francoeur is content as a part-time player and isn't seeking a chance to get regular at-bats, an agreement could be reached - although it might not be signed off until a new GM takes over. The two sides have been negotiating.

When free agency begins, expect the Phillies to hone in on proven starting pitching. They would rather not put Aaron Nola in the position of being matched up against the likes of Max Scherzer, Matt Harvey and Jose Fernandez, and instead have an established veteran to help carry the workload at the top of the rotation.

Don't hold your breath on David Price. Think smaller, such as Doug Fister or J.A. Happ.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese