A reason for pause

By Tim McManus
The Phanatic Magazine

It wasn't a bombshell, more like a flare.

Sports Radio 950's Jody Mac was interviewing Phillies General Manager Pat Gillick from Clearwater on Thursday, and asked him why the club had settled on the $900,000 figure mark for Ryan Howard's contract renewal.

Gillick provided a slight defense on the organization's behalf, saying that they offered Howard a one-year contract in the $1 million range, and it was rejected.

Hmmm....

Keep in mind, Howard's choices -- once the two sides failed to hammer out a long-term deal -- was to ink the new million-dollar contract, or let the Phils renew his current one for less money.

He chose the latter.

The only rationale for such a move is to do it out of principle, to protest the figure that was presented by choosing not to sign off on it.

"It's just part of the process," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "To me, it's no harm, no foul. Sometimes, people agree to disagree, and that's what happened. I think we're being appropriate."

That's one way to read it; the other is to see this as a potential bad omen.

Yes, Howard is property of the Phillies until 2011, but that's really not the point. The objective, in the end, is to lock the slugger up to give both sides peace of mind. This was Stage 1 of that courting process, and it did not go well.

It's difficult to decipher how much energy Howard invests in this issue. It is conceivable that he honestly doesn't worry about it at all, and that it is only agent Casey Close that gets tangled up in these contractual issues.

There is also a chance, however, that the first baseman closely observes the dance between his employer and representative, leaving open the possibility that he may feel slighted if the Phillies fall short of his perceived worth.

There's plenty of time to do right by Howard, and the Phils of course have to play the bartering game in the name of good business. The latest negotiations strongly suggest, though, that they should expedite the process of getting a long-term deal done, to ensure the small crack doesn't spiderweb.

Tim appears on this page every Thursday. You can contact him at tmcmanus@phanaticmag.com