Phillies GM Rubén Amaro Jr.

Unfortunately, we might not be far away from looking at the Phillies the way we currently view the Eagles. An old core gets a year older and the next group is not close. If Ruben Amaro goes on a winter spending spree filled with false bravado in 2015, I’m not buying.

There’s only so much the Phillies can do now, though. With a team constructed around what is supposed to be an elite rotation, the Phils need Roy Halladay to be phenomenal. Mike Adams was a solid signing and Ben Revere should, at the very least, provide stability in center field. For all the concerns with the Phillies’ lineup, the team scored the eighth-most runs in the National League in 2012. Not terrible.

But the Phillies are at a crossroads. This team might have enough to compete with a significant acquisition. At the same time, as everyone knows, the farm system has already been depleted to keep the run alive this long.

Here’s my solution – just be bold. Even if that sounds like a fortune cookie, Amaro has to own whatever he decides. Tear it down and play for the future or sell out to win now because doing either half-assed will result in immediate mediocrity and long-term irrelevance.

Ed Wade’s biggest problem was selling off the franchise’s mid-level prospects to band-aid an average roster. Amaro can’t make that mistake.