Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro says he is not dwelling on how things went down in October with eventual champions the St. Louis He is looking forward to next season and the positive changes they are making to improve the team. He also talked about the St. Louis Cardinals.
"I hope it bothers the players, but I've moved on," said Amaro. "Our goal is to try to concentrate on what we can do this year to be better."
Amaro believes that he has done just that by locking up shortstop Jimmy Rollins, closer Jonathan Papelbon, as well as improving the bench with guys like Jim Thome.
"I think we have a championship caliber team as it stands right now," said Amaro. "We are always looking for ways to improve it."
And by the time the team returns to Citizens Bank Park in April for opening day, Amaro wants to see changes from his hitters at the plate who struggled when it mattered most; the playoffs.
"As a club we are not going to beat guys up with home runs. That's not part of our game anymore. We have to concentrate on making good quality outs, and we have to concentrate on being smarter," Amaro said.
Amaro has talked to Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel about it, and he believes they can change their approach, even with slugger Ryan Howard, who they expect back in May.
