Ringolsby: Gillick going, going, gone?

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Pat Gillick says he is retiring -- again.

But will baseball let him?

How long will an owner desperate to win wait before calling Gillick and making him an offer he can't refuse?

Remember, the man has retired three times previously but has been lured back each time. He's a baseball lifer. And he knows what it takes to win.

There were those who questioned him in Philadelphia when, in the midst of the 2006 season, his first on the job, he decided to dismantle the team, trading Cory Lidle and Bobby Abreu to the Yankees in late July and David Bell to Milwaukee shortly before that.

"I thought we had to change the thinking of the club," Gillick said.

At the time, he predicted the Phillies would be ready to contend again in 2008. They were actually a year ahead of schedule and won the National League East a year ago, only to be swept in an NL Division Series by Colorado. This year, the Phillies won the NL East again but knocked off Milwaukee in the NLDS and advanced to play the Dodgers in the NLCS, which they opened with a 3-2 win Thursday night.

First, Gillick and Co. opened the way for some homegrown help, then filled in the holes with the addition of Brad Lidge, Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs, Pedro Feliz, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton.

Then came successive postseason appearances for a franchise that hadn't been to the playoffs since 1993, which was the Phillies' only trip to the postseason from 1984-2006.

It's the Gillick way.

During his first tenure as a general manager, with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, he withstood temptations for quick fixes early, then reaped the reward with a franchise that advanced to the postseason five times from 1985-93 and won the World Series in 1992 and '93.

He then went to Baltimore for a three-year stint (1996-98), during which he oversaw the Orioles' only two postseason appearances (1996 and '97) in the past 25 years.

Then it was on to Seattle (2000-2003), which was coming off two successive losing seasons and had produced only three winning seasons in 23 years. There, he oversaw the trade of Ken Griffey Jr., refused to give in to the demands of free agent Alex Rodriguez and watched the Mariners make back-to-back postseason appearances and produce a franchise-record 116-win season in 2001.

INFIELD CHATTER

-- Former Rockies pitcher Jerry Dipoto, currently director of pro scouting in Arizona, has been scheduled to interview for Seattle's GM vacancy. Bill Geivett, the No. 2 man in the Rockies' front office, was among the candidates the Mariners submitted to Major League Baseball for background checks.

-- The Yankees aren't expected to make a strong pitch for potential free-agent left-hander CC Sabathia, whom they fear might be too laid back for the turmoil of the Bronx.

-- Before the Cubs get too active in the offseason, they must deal with GM Jim Hendry, who has until December to opt out of his contract. An extension is being discussed.

THE ROTATION

Since 1999, when teams with eight of baseball's top 10 payrolls were in the postseason, at least one team ranked in the bottom half of the payroll standings advanced to the postseason. Tampa Bay ranked 29th this season, equaling the lowest payroll ranking ever. Teams with a payroll ranking in the bottom six that reached the postseason in the past decade:

Year, Team, Rank, Payroll, Comment.

-- 2008, Tampa Bay, 29th, $43.8 million, Playing Boston in ALCS.

-- 2001, Oakland, 29th, $33.8 million, Lost to Yankees in ALDS.

-- 2002, Oakland, 28th, $40 million, Lost to Minnesota in ALDS.

-- 2002, Minnesota, 27th, $40.2 million, Lost to Anaheim in ALCS.

-- 2007, Arizona, 26th, $52.1 million, Lost to Colorado in NLCS.

-- 2007, Colorado, 25th, $54.4 million, Lost to Boston in World Series.

-- 2003, Florida, 25th, $48.8 million, Beat Yankees in World Series.

CLOSING STATEMENT

The Angels won more games - 100 - than any other team, but yet they were eliminated in four games by Boston, the AL wild card, in the first round of this postseason.

Does winning the most games mean a team is the best in baseball? Not necessarily. At least, it's not the best team for a postseason dash.

What the Angels are left to ponder is that they didn't play a meaningful game in the second half of the season and they beat up on the AL West, which kept them from having the proper postseason edge.

Oakland, the Angels' only first-half challenger, conceded the division in July by trading starting pitchers Joe Blanton to Philadelphia and Rich Harden to the Cubs. The Angels played only six of their final 33 games against a team with a winning record. They finished 21 games ahead of second-place Texas.

There were only eight teams that finished 21 games or more out of first place this season, and three of them -- Texas, Oakland (24-1/2) and Seattle (39) -- were in the AL West.

NUMBERS GAME

-- 2,521: Games without a World Series appearance for Ken Griffey Jr., the most of any active player and fifth on the all-time list, behind Rafael Palmeiro (2,831), Andre Dawson (2,627), Ernie Banks (2,528) and Julio Franco (2,527).

TRUE PART-TIMER

Pitcher Curt Schilling, recovering from June 23 shoulder surgery, said he might pitch in 2009, but it wouldn't be until the second half of the season.

His plan is to rehabilitate, then probably approach teams in May about signing.

Schilling's thinking is he would spend June in the minors, getting ready to help a contender the final three months.

HE SAID IT

"Say you're asked to name the greatest Cardinal of all time. That's real difficult to say. Can you say (Stan) Musial without saying (Bob) Gibson? (Lou) Brock? What about Rogers Hornsby? Red Schoendienst, Gussie Busch, Jack Buck and Mike Shannon? George Kissell is in that company. He has to be mentioned in that group."

-- Tony La Russa, St. Louis manager, on Kissell, 88, who died Monday from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. Kissell had been in the Cardinals organization since 1940.

(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)