http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16005412.htmGMs try bowling before baseballPhils officials are expected to get to work tomorrow in a meeting with Alfonso Soriano's representatives.By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
Dressed in flowery bowling shirts, the game's GMs gathered in the lobby of the Naples Grande Resort on their way to a kickoff bowling tournament about noon yesterday.
Upon returning a couple of hours later, Phillies GM Pat Gillick reported that he had rolled a 122. He went on to say that Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams won the event and that St. Louis' Walt Jocketty brought up the rear with a 46.
"But he won the World Series," Gillick said.
Gillick is trying to bring a title to Philadelphia and has listed a middle-of-the-order bat and pitching help as the team's biggest needs.
"They're equal," he said.
The search for both began weeks ago but will intensify at these weeklong meetings.
The Phillies have targeted Alfonso Soriano as the hitter they'd most like to sign. Bidding for free agents opened Sunday.
Gillick refused to comment when asked if the Phils had made an offer to Soriano, but a baseball source with knowledge of the situation said the team had not. The source went on to say that team officials were planning to meet with Soriano's representatives tomorrow.
Gillick tried to downplay interest in Soriano, which has been characterized as serious in media reports.
"We've had no conversations with those people lately," he said of Soriano's representatives. "The only conversations we've had with them were about [Kerry] Wood, and Wood signed."
The righthander re-signed with the Chicago Cubs and so, too, did slugging third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who got a five-year deal worth $15 million per season. Soriano is seeking even more than that, and has set Carlos Beltran's seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets (average salary: $17 million) as his price. The Phillies are tight-lipped on matters of free agency and money, but there have been indications that they will not go that high for Soriano, who hit 46 home runs last season.
Several other teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, are interested in Soriano, and the field could grow with Ramirez's bat off the market. The Los Angeles Angels had been high on Ramirez and now could intensify efforts to sign Soriano. Ramirez and Gary Sheffield had been backup possibilities for the Phillies, but both have found homes.
