Blast from the past

Note: Watching Jeff Suppan win the MVP of the NLCS made me remember the 2003 season when the veteran right-hander almost became a Phillie. Upon some digging through the archives, I unearthed this story from July 31, 2003 about why Suppan ended up in Boston, and then ultimately St. Louis. Anyway, here's a little trip down amnesia lane.

Wade Stands Pat as Trade Deadline Passes
As the trade deadline passed with nary a whisper, general manager Ed Wade sauntered from the batting cage to the Phillies' dugout like a fifth grader asked to come to the board and figure out a math problem in front of the whole class. Sure, he absolutely knows the answer, but he isn't too jazzed about showing everyone his logic.

On Thursday, before the game against the Dodgers at the Vet, Wade had to explain how he thought the Phillies were better by not pulling the trigger on a rumored deal with the Pirates in which starter Jeff Suppan would have come to Philadelphia. Instead, Suppan ended up with the Red Sox, while highly coveted starter Sidney Ponson — who the Phillies never showed an interest in — went from the Orioles to the Giants.

Meanwhile, Wade stuck to his guns. During the past two days, the general manager told reporters that he believed his club was good enough to go to the playoffs without making a deal. With 55 games left in the season, we'll all get a chance to see if Wade's logic fits.

"We assessed our needs and said, 'we like our pitching. We're second in the league in pitching. Our bullpen is second. We went out and added [Mike] Williams because we wanted to add strength to strength and another experienced arm,'" Wade said. "We have the third best record in the league, sixth best record in baseball, second leading ERA, third in defense."

However, it does seem as if Suppan would make the Phillies' rotation better. The right-hander is 10-7 with a 3.57 ERA this season, with three complete games and two shutouts during an ongoing five-game winning streak. He shut out St. Louis, 3-0, on Monday.

Had Wade been able to pull of the deal, Suppan would have supplanted Thursday night's starter Brandon Duckworth in the rotation. With a 3-5 record and a 5.16 ERA, Duckworth's season has been a parade of setbacks and bad outings. Once a promising prospect that flashed stretches of brilliance during his three seasons in the big leagues, Duckworth is obviously the weak link of the team's staff.

Nonetheless, by not making a deal to acquire another starter Wade has given the maligned right-hander a vote of confidence.

"I think that Brandon is the kind of guy that if other teams had him, he wouldn't be the fifth starter," Wade explained. "He wouldn't be the guy that gets skipped in the rotation because of off days. Obviously, we need him to step up and pitch like he did in his last start and that would be more than enough for us."

Wade says the Phillies and the Pirates had been talking since the beginning of the week, but the talks broke off Thursday morning. He also said that Yankees GM Brian Cashman called and offered third baseman Robin Ventura to the Phillies late Wednesday night, but the offer was nothing more than a cursory one.

The same can be said for a rumored deal that would have sent Brian Giles from the Pirates to the Phillies. Ultimately, the asking price was too much and the Pirates had other places they could shop.

"[Pittsburgh GM David Littlefield] indicated that they had another deal that made more sense," Wade said. "People that we were talking to said they had alternatives. It was never just a one-on-one situation where we were the perfect fit."

The problem, it seems, was the asking price. Wade was not willing to part with stud prospects Gavin Floyd and Cole Hamels, or Triple-A pitcher Ryan Madson. According to reports, it would have taken Madson and another minor leaguer to get Suppan, and Wade as well as manager Larry Bowa acknowledge that several teams had called about a deal involving the studs.

"Some teams don't even ask [about Floyd and Hamels] because they know we'll say no," Wade said. "Untouchable is a very strong word, but in the circumstance in which we were dealing here, we weren't going to move them.

"We think that Ryan Madson is going to be a major-league starter for a long time and he's very close. You also have to project time tables of when they're going to arrive and he's very close."

Said Bowa on Floyd and Hamels: "I don't like to use the word untouchable, but it would have been stupid to trade those two guys."

In the clubhouse, Bowa relaxed and joked with reporters while watching the up-to-the-minute deals teams were making around the league. Periodically, Bowa would announce how much time was left before the deadline and was quick to point out that he was not disappointed his GM failed to make a move.

"It's not like someone said, 'hey, you are going to get Joe Schmoe and it's 90 percent going to happen.' And I was all pumped up and Eddie came in and said it didn't go through," Bowa said. "There were never any false pretenses. Eddie has been straight and honest."

Regardless, public outcry has been that the Phillies needed to make a move before the stretch run. Some suggest that if Wade had been able to make a deal, it would have had invigorated the fans and maybe the players.

"I'm sure that sentiment exists. That sentiment may exist with some players in the clubhouse. It's human nature to want to be the best you can be. It's human nature to want the club to turn out to be the '27 Yankees. [But] you can't operate like that," Wade said. "With all due respect to the fans or anybody else, I think we pay as much attention to the composition of our club as anybody."

Not that anyone else will ever get to see.

Injury update
After straining his groin running the bases in the first inning of Wednesday night's victory over the Dodgers, Jim Thome sat out of Thursday's game. He said he was available to pinch hit and should be back in the lineup on Friday.

Meanwhile, David Bell took batting practice for the first time since going on the disabled list with an injured back on July 12.

Reliever Rheal Cormier was unavailable to pitch Wednesday night because of back spasms. He reports that he feels "fine."

Other notes
Hector Mercado cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on July 21 when the Phillies acquired Mike Williams. He has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has 72 hours to report.

Bowa taped a segment for ESPN's "Hot Seat" before Thursday's game. The minute-long appearance features sports figures answering quick questions. Bowa says he was asked to give the first impression that came to his mind when he heard certain names. To "Tug McGraw," Bowa responded with "flake." To "Scott Rolen," Bowa said "the best defensive third baseman I have ever seen."

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E-mail John R. Finger