Pat Gillick was adamant: The team needed pitching.
In 2008, the Phillies offense had disappeared during a stretch of interleague games, as it typically does, but Gillick wasn’t worried about that. The offense would come back. What they needed was another arm.
The Dodgers had a top two. The Red Sox had a top two. Anybody the Phillies would encounter on the road to the World Series would have more than one starter they could rely on. He wanted to give Cole Hamels some back-up. He wanted to match up with the league’s best.