Dec. 6 -- DAY 4: ALMOST FINISHED

NASHVILLE -- Good morning, all. Only a few more hours left at the winter meetings, which conclude today after the Rule 5 draft (more on that later). Once the draft ends, it'll be like a jailbreak, with folks fleeing for the airport. Me? I'm flying home tonight. Hopefully, there's no more snow.

So, I wrote this whole story last night on the Phillies' increasingly frustrating search for pitching that appears in today's 50-center. And, after a late dinner, I took one last spin through the lobby and found out something interesting.

Carlos Silva wants to pitch for the Phillies -- again.

At least that's what Silva's agents, Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, are telling people around here. But Silva, one of only three free-agent pitchers (Tom Glavine and Andy Pettitte were the others) to win at least 13 games last season, wants a four- or five-year contract. And, as we know, Phillies GM Pat Gillick is opposed to such long-term deals for pitchers. So, whatever interest Silva's people have shown toward the Phillies this week hasn't been reciprocated. Again, that's according to Praver and Shapiro.

Now, you could argue Silva isn't worth a four-year, $48 million contract. He's 55-46 with a 4.31 ERA in six seasons with the Phillies and Twins, and he's never won more than 14 games (in 2004). Over the past two seasons, he's 24-29 with a 5.01 ERA. And when assistant GM Mike Arbuckle said yesterday, "We don't want to pay for a Cadillac when we're getting a Ford Focus," free agents like Silva popped into my mind.

But, given this market for pitching, it's hard to see Silva's price coming down. So, as the offseason chugs along, the Phillies may have to ask themselves this question: How much is it worth to deepen the back of a rotation that features still-unproven Kyle Kendrick, 45-year-old Jamie Moyer and injured/ineffective Adam Eaton?

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The more I talk with people here, the more I think the Phillies are going to have a hard time circumventing the MLB rule that prohibits them from re-signing Tadahito Iguchi before May 15 after releasing him last month. Even Iguchi's agent, Rocky Hall, is beginning to doubt whether it can be done. And Hall said Iguchi probably won't accept a minor-league contract to play at triple-A Lehigh Valley until May 15, although that hasn't been discussed yet.

Also within the notebook, Aaron Rowand's agent/Barry Melrose lookalike, Craig Landis, responds to Gillick's comments that re-signing Rowand is a "long shot."

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Didn't make the paper: Phillies have the 24th pick in the Rule 5 draft, and while Arbuckle, scouting director Marti Wolever, farm director Steve Noworyta and assistant farm director Mike Ondo have been studying eligible players, it's unlikely the Phillies will be able to get a quality player unless they trade up. That said, I'll bet they make a pick. The Rule 5 draft has been a Gillick favorite since he plucked George Bell from the Phillies in 1980.

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In case you missed it, the rift between Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and third baseman Scott Rolen may have grown yesterday when La Russa went on a 10-minute rant to Cardinals beat reporters. He said his contentious relationship with Rolen "bothers the heck out of me" and characterized the situation as "very personal." It seems Rolen almost certainly will get traded, but it won't be to the Phillies.

Keep an eye, though, on Morgan Ensberg. Heard late last night that the Padres almost certainly won't offer him a contract for 2008. Could he fill the Phillies' third base need?