[JetsOhFive]

Wade relieved as Phillies GM
10/10/2005 8:00 PM ET
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- A week after the Phillies lost their ticket to the postseason, Ed Wade lost his job.

Wade was dismissed as general manager after the Phillies did not make the postseason for the eighth straight season under his watch. Philadelphia had its greatest run this year, finishing 88-74 and one game behind the Astros in the National League Wild Card race.

It wasn't enough.

"We're a better club today than when he took over," said team president David Montgomery. "However, we set goals for ourselves and haven't achieved our goals. At this time, I think it's appropriate that we find a new GM."

Montgomery said he'd been contemplating the move for some time, and he made the decision as the Astros were finishing off the Braves in an 18-inning thriller. He called Wade on Monday and requested a meeting.

"The expectation is that you need to make the playoffs, and we didn't live up to that," said Wade. "I've seen it happen in other places. There's never a good time for something like this, but that's not my decision to make.

"I absolutely believe I have effectively done this job. We haven't gotten to postseason play, and I can't walk past that fact. That stands there on my record and I'm more than disappointed that is the case. I certainly know I did the best to my ability. I understand that changes get made."

Wade, 49, replaced Lee Thomas in March 1998 after serving as Thomas' assistant for eight years. He has two years remaining on his contract, and he won't be reassigned within the organization. He leaves with a 643-652 overall record, though the Phillies had winning records in four of the past five seasons.

Philadelphia had a $95 million payroll this season and a roster full of players with guaranteed long-term contracts and no-trade clauses. Though the Phillies remained in the playoff chase until the season's final day, attendance at two-year-old Citizens Bank Park dropped off by nearly 600,000, down from 3.25 million in 2004.

This season, Wade had become a target for fans' discontent. He shrugged off some of the attacks and was clearly bothered by others.

"I think public perception is a big part when you talk about selling," Wade said. "In order to move things forward, if the decision was based on the performance of the club, obviously not getting into postseason is a big role in that. But I also think the fact that I became a lightning rod for criticism for the organization, with me out of the picture, it makes things easier from that respect."

While Montgomery said the drop in attendance and fan backlash had little to do with Monday's announcement, he offered that the organization needs to do a better job of connecting with those who come to the games.

"We're very concerned because the fans are our customers," Montgomery said. "It's important that all of us to do everything we can to make the best possible connection. We make decisions every day in what we feel are our fans' best interests. But in this case, this wasn't about that. This was about what's best for our ballclub.

"I think he did a good job. At the same time, he's been our GM for eight years. It was frustrating to watch 18 innings last night and know we were a game or two away from that opportunity ourselves."

Montgomery set no timetable on who will take over as the next general manager, though he said assistant general managers Ruben Amaro Jr. and Mike Arbuckle are among the candidates. Other names that will surface over the next few weeks will be former GMs Gerry Hunsicker (Astros), Pat Gillick (Blue Jays, Mariners) and John Hart (Indians, Rangers). Current GMs Brian Cashman (Yankees) and Theo Espstein (Red Sox) will also likely have their names bandied about, though they are long shots.

The main thing will be to find the right man. Montgomery also stressed that manager Charlie Manuel and his coaching staff -- who had their contracts renewed last week -- were likely safe.

That said, the new general manager could decide otherwise.

"I would hope [the new GM] would take a look at the job Charlie did," Montgomery said. "We have a pretty good manager. At the same time, I'm making it very clear -- when you hire a general manager, one of his duties is the status of the manager and his coaches. At the same time, we have an incumbent manager who has performed well."

Wade hopes the next general manager will get the team where it wants to go.

"I just hope that the changes that take place are effective enough," Wade said. "I was going to say capture the imagination of our fans -- but more importantly to win. I know the sacrifices that I made and my family made to get us to the finish line here. They deserve it. They deserve that championship. My focus is not to look back and sort of say what could have been. I hope the changes that take place get this team to the position where there is a parade down Broad Street."

[JetsOhFive]

[JetsOhFive]

Its gonna be hard for any GM to be worse than Ed Wade. We should have the playoffs in the near future.

[JetsOhFive]

Hey we dont give a shit about your team... don't get pissed... im just "busting your chops".

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