Let the copycatting begin

Sports writers and executives aren't the most original people out there, and when a team wins, others try to copy its success. Last week, before the Phillies clinched the pennant, there was already one columnist advocating for the Yankees to sign retiring Phillies General Manager Pat Gillick as an adviser. Why? I thought everything was just peachy in the Bronx.

That made me wonder, though. What if the Phillies win four more games in 2008? What else will other teams rip off in attempt to be the 2009 World Champions? Here's what copycatting GMs might do in the off-season:

-Scour the minor leagues for an old journeyman catcher who can write.

-Spend $10 million on a human strikeout machine.

-Urge their star player to rescue puppies and endorse Vaseline and Tastykakes. There's a joke in there somewhere.

-Beg their team leader to loaf on the base paths and show up late.

-Assemble a bench with the league's best pinch-hitter and a bunch of scrubs so nondescript you don't even remember they're on the team. Make your only utility infielder a late-innings outfield defense replacement, hire the most irrelevant Japanese player you can find and somebody who looks like a famous quarterback.

-Tell your enigmatic left fielder to get a bulldog. I'm thinking Manny Ramirez on this one. (By the way, why didn't we notice this tidbit last week, that Pat Burrell brought a picture of Elvis to Milwaukee and Los Angeles?)

-Scout Hawaii for a scrappy player.

-Scout senior citizen softball leagues for a lefty who can eat innings.

-Find an ace who seems to be soft and whiny.

-Demote your No. 2 starter for a few weeks and hope he comes back pitching like a No. 1 or hitting well enough to try a Rick Ankiel position switch.

-Trade for an irrelevant fat guy to round out the rotation.

-Acquire Adam Eaton. All right, that won't help you, but I'm tired of having him around.

-Find a closer who is deemed scarred by a noteworthy home run even though his numbers really haven't declined. (Actually, not a bad idea.)

-Round out the bullpen with a bunch of cast-offs who somehow get the job done. (Again, not a bad idea.)

-Finally, to guarantee success, find an idiot to blog about your team, linking it with an unrelated team just because his wife also likes baseball but roots for a different team.

Red Sox post-mortem: It was a good year. If they lost Game 5, I would have been disappointed, but I was pleased that they sucked it up and went out nobly to a good, young, exciting team that I hope loses to the Phillies.

This year, we said good riddance to Manny and hello to Jason Bay. We saw the emergence of Jon Lester and probably the end of Curt Schilling, Mike Timlin and Jason Varitek.

We were depleted by injuries down the stretch. We came close, but didn't get the job done. Once I figure out how the Phillies will beat the Rays, I'll get to work on bringing the trophy back to the Red Sox in 2009.

PhilsandRays: While I like the fact this World Series features a team that hasn't won in 28 years against one that's only been around for a decade, the Rays and Phillies don't have a lot of tradition to go on. Look at the all-time roster of 21 players who played for both teams.

C-Pete LaForest
1B-Russell Branyan
2B-Marlon Anderson
3B-Tomas Perez
SS-Kevin Stocker
LF-Julio Franco
CF-Midre Cummings
RF-Travis Lee
DH-Randall Simon

Bench-Alex Gonzalez

SP-Cory Lidle
SP-Dennis Springer
SP-Paul Abbott
SP-Julio Santana
SP-Carlos Reyes

CL-Roberto Hernandez
Lefty setup-Norm Charlton
Righty setup-Rick White
RP-Scott Aldred
RP-Trever Miller

I guess I should have cheated and counted Bobby Abreu.

[Photo credit: Boston Globe]