June 24 -- LET'S MAKE A DEAL

Pat Gillick doesn't know if C.C. Sabathia will get traded before July 31. Nobody does. The Indians are a proud franchise that came within one win of reaching the World Series last October, and although they're 6-1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central and 9-1/2 back in the AL wild-card race, they aren't ready to tell their fans in Cleveland and beyond that they're throwing in the towel on 2008.

Check back in a month, though.

For five straight days, Gillick watched the Phillies' offense flail away against the Red Sox and Angels. But, to the Phillies' GM, the biggest difference between the Phillies and arguably the two best teams in baseball (sorry, Cubs fans) is pitching. In a short series, the Sox can throw Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester in Games 1-3. The Angels can call on John Lackey, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana. After Cole Hamels, who do the Phillies have? Brett Myers? Jamie Moyer?

How about Sabathia?

From his office at the Bank, Gillick said the Phils better worry about making the playoffs (their lead in the NL East is down to one game) before they concern themselves with beating the Sox or Angels in the World Series. But, in the next breath, he restated his confidence that the Phillies are a playoff team that can advance through a pair of NL series. And while there figure to be plenty of available mid-level starters (Bronson Arroyo or Jarrod Washburn, anyone?) who can help the Phillies secure their playoff spot, Gillick believes there may be "only one or two frontline guys out there" who could make the difference between being a World Series champion and a sacrificial lamb for the Sox or Angels.

That's where Sabathia, or maybe Erik Bedard, come in.

But even if the Indians and Mariners are willing to trade their aces, the Phillies aren't sure they have enough to offer. Everyone knows the farm system isn't exactly ripe with prospects, prompting Gillick to suggest that the Phillies would have to trade someone off their current roster. It would seem they have some outfield depth, but if Shane Victorino were to be traded, Jayson Werth and Geoff Jenkins would have to play every day. That's a problem since Werth hasn't proven he can hit right-handers and Jenkins is wretched against lefties. Ultimately, Greg Golson may be the Phillies' starting center fielder, but there's some question about his ability to hit major-league pitching.

Also, Sabathia can be a free agent after this season. If the package to acquire him includes someone like Victorino and a pitching prospect or two (Antonio Bastardo or Carlos Carrasco?), is that too much to give up for a pitcher who may be someone else's ace next season? The Phillies may be more willing to weaken their outfield and their farm system for someone like Bedard, who is signed through 2009 even if he has been injury prone throughout his career with the Orioles and Mariners.

These are the sort of issues Gillick and his inner circle will be debating over the next six weeks.

"It's very difficult because you certainly don't want to let a window of opportunity pass you by," assistant GM Mike Arbuckle told me Sunday. "But, by the same token, you say, 'How much do we mortgage our future?' I think, realistically, next year this is still going to be a good club. It's not like we're going to say it's all or nothing. It's a tough call."

Sure is.

OK, put yourself in Gillick's shoes. Do you pursue a mid-level pitcher or an ace? How much do you give up?

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Must So go?

So Taguchi guesses that his struggles this season have stemmed from a lack of playing time. Taguchi, who led the majors with a .406 average as a pinch-hitter last season, is 0-for-13 in such situations. He hasn't been a base-stealing threat as a pinch-runner or an upgrade over Pat Burrell when he enters games as a defensive replacement in the late innings. And, in the process, he is losing manager Charlie Manuel's trust.

If Golson or Chris Snelling weren't injured, you have to wonder if Taguchi would've gotten on the charter flight to Oakland on Sunday evening.

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Curt Schilling was in Wilmington yesterday, undergoing shoulder surgery. His old friend, Dr. Craig Morgan, performed the procedure, which went about as well as could've been expected. Morgan didn't find significant damage to the labrum or rotator cuff, and it's now possible that Schilling could pitch next season.