Gillick Says Cholly's Here to Stay...For Now

Today, Uncle Cholly just got the dreaded "vote of confidence" from Pat Gillick. The New York Times reports:

Manuel has received a vote of confidence from General Manager Pat Gillick, but in Philadelphia, a vote of confidence is not always different from a last cigarette.

I have to agree with the New York Times on this one. The vote of confidence is usually just as good as getting a kiss from the Godfather. It is a fate sealer. Cholly is done. It's now only a matter of time....and we all be better off once this issue is put to rest.

Of course, Gillick didn't totally throw Cholly under the bus offering this response regarding the Phils' play this season:

"We've got basically the same guys we had at the end of the season ... so I don't see that much decline. ... He can't go up there and hit for them."

By the way, the Phils won Thursday 4-2 over the Nats after trying their best to blow the game in the bottom of the ninth. If wins are going to be this hard to come by this year, it's going to be a loooooong season.

(Man, I can't wait for the NFL draft to get here. I need something else to talk about other than the Phils/Uncle Cholly Tragedy.)