I think losing Arbuckle may be a bigger story than Amaro becoming GM. With all the talk of the Rays' home grown players, it was lost that a large chunk of the Phillies roster was home grown as well.

If I were Stan Kasten (who's familiar with Arbuckle from his Braves days), I would send Jim Bowden on his way (after successfully persuading the Lerners to let him go), and invite Mike to come down I-95.

Arbuckle's stamp was all over this team. Not sure how much Amaro actually did all these years

I have no idea who did what for the Phillies. I will assume, though, that Montgomery knows. And he chose Amaro.

This goes back to the Kim Ng/Seattle Mariner GM discussion. What does a GM actually do?

I have no idea who did what for the Phillies. I will assume, though, that Montgomery knows. And he chose Amaro.

Arbuckle was director of amateur scouting, and all of the draft picks that made up the team's core came under his watch. The Phillies are a very loyal organization, so it's fair to say that not all of their decisions are based primarily on merit.

When is the last time a first-year GM had to take over after his team won a World Series? (The Theo Epstein situation I guess, but I don't remember the two guys that stepped in)

I'll put the over-under on regretting the choice of Amaro Jr over Arbuckle at one year. At least they got their ring....

Amaro may well be a fantastic GM. I don't know his credentials. The problem is that the organization went with the predictable choice, and did it with nary a public job search in sight. They had this decided months ago.

Well, I don't know that it's automatically a problem if a World Championship franchise decides to promote from within. Were it a consistently excellent franchise--the Braves or Angels or something--then I'd expect it. If you have a "Braves" way and it works, then promoting someone who knows the ropes makes sense. The hiring process is important but I don't see that a preordained internal promotion is necessarily a problem.

I cannot imagine that the organization wanted to blow up its structure after a WS win, right or wrong. So you don't get a big-name GM without giving them blow-up power. And if you're getting a promising person, that's not inherently an upgrade over Abruckle or Amaro. I think the Phils promised Arbuckle and Amaro they'd be groomed for the chance to replace Gillick when Gillick came in, and that's why they stayed post-Wade. If the Phils did a public search, they probably both would quit.

On paper Amaro looks good. Stanford, former bball player, connection to the Caribbean, popular, good media guy, good face of organization. It hurts that his promotion means Arbuckle is gone. A lot depends on whether he's able to keep rebuilding the farm system, a job that Arbuckle headed and was pretty good at.

Amaro may well be a fantastic GM. I don't know his credentials. The problem is that the organization went with the predictable choice, and did it with nary a public job search in sight. They had this decided months ago.

How is that a problem in this case, really?
You've got a successful organization, two internal candidates who have been coveted throughout baseball and who you knew well... why not keep a good thing going?
What would an outside search really give you?
Hiring GMs is tough, could a couple interviews really convince Philly brass that Kim Ng or Mike LaCava was a better idea than two candidates Philly brass already knew, first-hand, to be excellent?

I'll put the over-under on regretting the choice of Amaro Jr over Arbuckle at one year. At least they got their ring....

Why though?
I agree that Arbuckle's resume is outstanding but that doesn't mean Amaro isn't very good. Lots of people seem to be sour on Amaro for no good reason.

When is the last time a first-year GM had to take over after his team won a World Series?

Cedric Tallis took over the Yanks in 1978 replacing Gabe Paul (and won it again). But Tallis had been a GM before with the Royals.

Bob Scheffing took over the Mets in 1970, his first GM gig, after Johnny Murphy passed away months after the Mets won it all.