When Ed Wade was fired as general manager of the Phillies in October, 2005, no one wanted to see one of his proteges promoted to the post. David Montgomery wisely went outside the organization and tapped Pat Gillick to take the Phillies to the next level. Gillick kept Charlie Manuel as the manager and began to rebuild the Phillies into the team that won it all in 2008.

Now, Ruben Amaro Jr. finds himself in a dynamic spot that is rife with landmines. Taking over the 0-16 Detroit Lions comes with expectations, but not nearly those of replacing a very successful GM who brought a World Series to a championship starved city. There’s nowhere for the Phillies to go but down after winning it all, and while the fans will give passes (for a time) to the heroes of the ’08 campaign, Amaro will get no mulligans as he tries to build on Pat Gillick’s masterwork.

The beginning of the Amaro era began with plenty of opportunities for second-guessing. Not offering salary arbitration to Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer, signing Raul Ibanez and not bringing back Pat Burrell had some believing that the Phillies’ biggest worry was their new GM.

Arbitration season, with the Phillies needing to come to terms with 8 players, including Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels, was going to test Amaro even more than the winter hot stove season.

So far, so good.

Greg Dobbs, Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson have all been locked up to multi-year deals, and of the remaining 5 arb-eligible Phillies, only Jayson Werth would be a free agent after 2009. The ability and desire to lock up Ryan Howard to a long-term deal still looms, but with Howard still under the Phillies’ control until after the 2011 season, it’s hardly a pressing matter.

The importance of harmony surrounding the Cole Hamels situation cannot be overstated. Last year’s salary snafu was probably unavoidable. The Phillies were paying Hamels a salary that was inline with what was expected for a non arbitration eligible player with Hamels’ service time. The Phillies are not a franchise looking to rock the boat with the Commissioner’s Office by setting a new bar for paying players. Hamels was pissed about the perceived lack of respect, and the whole situation felt like the beginning of several years of player/front office strife leading to Hamels’ departure to parts unknown.

But these aren’t the same old Phillies. New banner. New attitudes. Hamels now talks like he wants to go all Tony Gwynn on us and stick around forever. Some credit for this situation improving drastically must go to the GM.

There are more potholes ahead for Ruben & Co., including patching together second base and lefthanded relief in the early part of the season. 2009 is also Brett Myers’ contract year, and decisions regarding his future with the franchise loom. But those underestimating Amaro’s ability to pull it all off may find more surprises ahead.