Breaking news! Pat Gillick's old!

Yes, Pat Gillick most probably will retire when his three-year contract as G.M. expires. I'm a bit surprised that so much is being made out of something that I figured fit under the "conventional wisdom" column. I can remember shooting the breeze with Gillick on a bench in Clearwater two spring trainings ago and having him mention that he considered this his last job, so I didn't really think that the septegenerian ever had any intention of doing this gig beyond 2008. Maybe that's a shortcoming of mine - I tend to think that revealing the obvious is a waste of time and space in the paper. I don't begrudge Marcus Hayes for writing the story ... I just think it was overplayed as breaking news goes.

In lieu of Gillick's announcement comes this: According to a source, Dennis Deitch will not succeed Pat Gillick as general manager. (I can't reveal my source. Sorry.)