by The Philadelphia Daily News

Manager Charlie Manuel said, "I think we have a window in there of at least 3 years. That gives us a chance to go back and repeat in the World Series for the next 3 years."

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, "My goal is to sustain this window . . . to keep that window as open as possible. Our goal is not just to win for 1 or 2 or 3 years."

The Phillies are like every Baseball franchise. They have field people and development people, now-now-now people and now-and-later people. They have people who wear uniforms and people who wear sport coats. And they have conversations.

The name of Toronto starter Roy Halladay is now supposedly in play. Of course, his name is never really used in hypothetical conversations with reporters. The questions all pretty much contain euphemisms - "top-line starting pitcher" and such. But if the Blue Jays are serious about entertaining offers, it goes without saying that the Phillies need to make one at the proper time.

(Attention e-mailers: Rodrigo Lopez for Halladay was never going to get it done, even before Lopez grabbed his shoulder after five innings last night against the Reds.)

Manuel wants to win now and says he is willing to trade pretty much everybody in the farm system except Kyle Drabek to do it. Amaro wants to build an operation that consistently makes it to the postseason and says he is unwilling to gut his farm system for any one player, that there are at least a couple of unnamed untouchables in the minor leagues.

(Attention e-mailers: If the Blue Jays are seeking a sampling of the Phillies' best young pitching in the deal, and the Phillies aren't willing to include Drabek, the conversation is likely over. Of course, that assumes complete truth-telling on everybody's part, a big assumption.)

Anyway, Manuel and Amaro, about 15 minutes apart, sat in the same spot in the Phillies' dugout before last night's 3-2 win over the Reds and offered these opposing perspectives.

Some hear a serious division.

Others just hear Baseball, old as time.

Manuel said: "If I could get somebody that's going to [make an] impact right away, I might - well, not might, I would go get him. Because I look at our team, I look at Howard, Utley, Rollins, Victorino, Lidge, Cole Hamels, those guys, and you're looking at anywhere from 3 to 4 years under contract. I think we have a window in there of at least 3 years. That gives us a chance to go back and repeat in the World Series for the next 3 years. I would like to see, 'Why not make our team as good as it can possibly be at the major league level?' ''

Amaro said: "Some of it comes into play but, at the same time, my goal is to sustain this window . . . to keep that window as open as possible. Our goal is not just to win for 1 or 2 or 3 years. It's to try to win for many years and give ourselves an opportunity to do that . . . I do know that once you give yourself a chance to be in the dance, then if you're playing the right kind of Baseball, you've got a chance to win the World Series. So if we're putting our club in a spot to be a playoff team, year-in and year-out, then we're giving ourselves a chance to be a World Series champ.''

For what it's worth, Manuel seems to have it about exactly right. If Drabek really projects as a top-of-the-rotation guy, they should keep him. Any other minor league player should at least be considered in a package for a player of Halladay's pedigree.

The problem is that other teams have prospects, too. If this Halladay thing is real, the Jays will have plenty of options. Oh, and another thing: Amaro says he agrees with the philosophy of his old boss, Pat Gillick, when it comes to limiting free-agent pitching contracts to 3 years. That means Halladay is probably a this-year-and-next-year guy, period - and that's if he were to agree to come under those parameters. He could veto any deal.

From here, it doesn't seem to be a likely match - fun to argue about but not likely. Much more interesting is the new GM talking so extensively about his philosophy of team-building (and sustaining). He was a blank slate when he got the job, and he has said that he can be impatient - maybe more impatient than Gillick. But on July 8, with his first-place team still trying to find its rhythm, Amaro was giving the impression he was in no hurry.

"We'll try to be aggressive with the right deals," he said. "At the same time, we have to be prudent about how some of these moves might impact our future, too. That's the difficult part."

Especially with the paying customers . . .

"I understand that," Amaro said. "The goal is to win this year - there's no question about that. That doesn't change. But we didn't get CC [Sabathia, to the Brewers] last year, and we didn't get Manny [Ramirez, to the Dodgers] last year, and most of these guys on the field right now are twirling rings around." *

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