The Phillies entered into Game 3 of the NLDS with one thing in mind: Win and go home.
And they did just that.
Behind a dominant Cole Hamels and a constructed hitting squad that showed the value of both the long ball and the short ball, the Phillies dominated nearly every aspect of this game.
Let’s take a look at how the Phillies fared against not only the best defensive teams in the NL this season, but also against one of the best teams, in one of the most hitter friendly parks in the majors.
The Philadelphia Phillies are in a good place. It’s a place most young kids, high school standouts, and college athletes covet.
The sporting pinnacle.
You’re on a team—your own team—that you helped build with your own hands and you are enjoying success year after year.
This is what Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and the rest of the gang are experiencing now.
They’ve clinched four straight National East crowns, and they find themselves standing alone at the top of the mountain as the hottest team in the MLB.
They’ve even held the league’s best record for a good part of the final stretch this year.
It’s hard to bet against the Phillies right now, with so much going well for them.
Among many different things that work in their favor, I was able to consolidate them into 12 different things, beginning with…
Before autumn 2007, Charlie Manuel had about the same chance of ever being Manager of the Year as Michael Vick had of ever being the Eagles’ starting QB, right?
Guess a lot has changed in three years.
But can the skipper of a team that was an overwhelming World Series favorite in the preseason actually win Manager of the Year?
Well, The Phillies are on the doorstep of their franchise-record fourth straight NL East title. Ho hum. Nothing too surprising.
Right now the Phillies are where everyone expected them to be back in March, but the road they’ve taken over the past six months to get here has been anything but routine.
The Phils have trailed in the division for the majority of the season, slept-walked through inexplicably prolonged spells of offensive stagnancy, and sustained a mind-boggling rash of injuries.
Yet, these Phillies have overcome all the adversity that everyone quickly assumed would derail them in the regular season, and you could actually make a point that Charlie Manuel has done a more impressive job of managing in 2010 than he did the past two seasons.
Yes, the 2008-09 Phils made it to the World Series. Yes, Charlie didn’t blow up when things got rough. Yes, managing Phillies games wasn’t always easy. Remember last year’s Brad Lidge situation?
But the Phillies were one of the healthiest teams in baseball each of the past two seasons. They had very, very few injuries. Charlie had the luxury of relying on, for the most part, a set lineup and a set pitching staff where everyone knew their roles.
The 2008 Phillies had four players that started at least 145 games, four starting pitchers with at least 30 starts, and four relievers who pitched in over 70 games.
The 2009 Phillies didn’t have that same kind of health in the pitching staff, but made up for it in the starting lineup. Remarkably, six of the Phillies eight regulars played in over 150 games.
Having so many talented players so healthy over the prior two seasons was a great gift for Manuel and the Phillies. John Russell, currently the proud manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, would look like more of a baseball genius if he had the chance to write Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard and company into his lineup card on a nightly basis.
But obviously the Phillies haven’t had health in 2010. Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are the only regulars that will play in at least 150 games, and a grand total of 18 Phillies have been on the DL.
Actually, Manuel’s managerial job in 2010 is quite reminiscent of his outstanding 2007 season, when he finished second in the NL Manager of the Year voting behind only Arizona’s Doug Melvin.
While the ’07 Phils had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, the 2010 Phillies have had one of the most erratic offenses in the league. Yet, in each year, Manuel relied heavily upon his reserves and less-proven players as his club sought to navigate the rough seas of a team constantly riddled by injuries.
The Phillies were also given up for dead by most followers on several occasions during ’07 and ‘10, yet somehow managed to rebound from the countless times a total collapse seemed imminent. Of course, the on-field resilience that the 2007 and 2010 Phillies showed was partially made possible by the positive attitude of their man in the dugout: Charlie Manuel.
Turning our full attention back to 2010, the never impulsive Manuel has shown faith in his players, and they have rewarded him for it, as usual.
If Charlie had listed to the fans he would have benched Ibanez in June and demanded the promotion of Domonic Brown.
If Charlie had listened to the fans he would have canned Mr. Valdez just for the sake of making a change after Wilson had grounded into about 40 double plays in his first 10 games.
If Charlie had listened to the fans he would have replaced closer Brad Lidge with Jose Contreras in July (I was one of those fans).
Then again, if Charlie had listened to the city’s pulse in August 2008, he would have sent his struggling second-year, eight-hole hitting catcher to the bench for the rest of the season. Oh by the way, Carlos Ruiz is now one of the most popular players on the team and one of the finest catchers in MLB.
Well, right now, this particular author doesn’t question any of Charlie’s moves in 2010, except for perhaps giving Roy Halladay a slightly longer leash than need be.
The patience, and dare I say poise, that Manuel has shown in his team has really paid off over the past four seasons, but especially in 2010.
So, Will Charlie Win?
Unfortunately for Mr. Manuel, there’s at least a little bit of truth to the old cliché, “A manager is only as good as his players.”
That saying tends to stack the deck against the Manager of the Year chances of any skipper guiding a team as well assembled as the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies.
Charlie won’t win manager of the year.
The San Diego Padres’ Bud Black will, and Cincinnati’s Dusty Baker should finish second in the voting.
Both the extremely young Padres and Reds have won without much proven big-league talent, and, despite being overlooked by mainly everybody in the spring, appear poised for the postseason. Their managers deserve the recognition they’ll get.
And yes, Charlie deserves accolades for the job he’s done in 2010. But they just won’t come in the form of a Manager of the Year award at the end of the season.
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Charlie Manuel is 66 years old, and has had complications with his health in the past.
Three of his contemporaries have either announced retirement, or will be announcing retirement.
As we know, Bobby Cox, 69, is calling it quits after the conclusion of this season. Joe Torre, 70, has also announced that he is stepping down. There has also been a buzz about Tony LaRussa, 65, looking into walking away from the game as well.
Dennis Deitch, of the Times Staff, asked Charlie if he’s thought about hanging it up soon. His response was:
“If it’s baseball, I don’t think I’ll ever say I’ve had enough of it,” Manuel said. “I have a lot of respect for those guys. They probably feel like they have things they want to do, but when they get out they might want to come right back.”
With Torre being the oldest manager currently in the MLB retiring, and Cox, the second oldest retiring, this would make Manuel MLB’s current oldest manager in the league. He has Cito Gaston, of the Toronto Blue Jays, beat by two months and 13 days.
The current average age of managers in the league now is 55 years old. The youngest being the Seattle Mariners interim manager, Daren Brown, at 43.
There are currently 10 managers who fall into the range of 50-55 years old, five of whom are 53 years old.
Fortunately for Philly fans, if it were up to Manuel, Philadelphia would hold the two oldest managers of all-time.
When asked when he would think about resigning Manuel responded, “I can see myself managing at 85. Pennsylvania’s known for having old coaches and managers.“
When Manuel made that statement he was referencing Joe Paterno of the Penn State Nittany Lions, but, what came to my mind was the oldest MLB manager to ever manage baseball, Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics until he was 87.
Manuel admits that his whole life is baseball. He tells Deitch:
“I don’t go nowhere…I go home and go to the ballpark. I go from the ballpark to the airplane and to a hotel…That’s all I do. I might walk downtown before I go to the ballpark, but I don’t go to bars. If I were younger, I’d go to bars. But that’s all I do. That’s all I want to see.”
So in light of all the manager retirement news, Manuel is here to stay…as long as it’s his choice.
For more writing from Vincent Heck visit www.vincentheckwriting.com
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81-60. That is the best record in the National League to date and it is currently boasted by the 2008 and 2009 National League Champions and 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
What is it that led the Phillies to back-to-back NL championships and has now led them to the National League’s best overall record with only 21 games left in the season? The answer is sheer toughness.
This Phillies baseball team is driven by a sense of toughness that crumbles your average team. The Phillies have had numerous players take trips to the disabled list this season and at this late point in the season, when they should have been out of the equation, they are currently on top.
That is toughness; having the mental and physical toughness to endure the myriad of injuries without allowing them to defeat the team. How many franchises could endure DL stints by three different starting pitchers, its starting catcher, starting first baseman, starting second baseman, starting shortstop, starting third basemen, starting center fielder, its setup man, its closer, several other bench players and bullpen arms, and still be in first place atop its division and league this late in the season?
I don’t know exactly how many teams could, but I do know that the list is short and that the Phillies are certainly atop it, if not the sole name on it.
Not only are the Phillies tough enough to endure the rash of injuries that have befallen them. They are also tough enough to endure the pressure of being a target every night. They have represented the NL in the World Series two years in a row and they clearly have a bulls eye on their back because of it. Even with every NL team gunning for them, they stay right in the mix of things.
This is clearly a team that knows how to win in the face of adversity. That’s why late in the year teams like Atlanta, San Diego, and St. Louis are falling apart. That is why teams like the Mets in 2009, who had high expectations but got bit by the injury bug, fall off the map. This Phillies team has a clear attitude that they are supposed to win no matter what. This attitude clearly makes them the best NL team and perhaps, the best team in baseball.
I think Charlie Manuel said it best, the night that the Phillies took sole position of first place this past Tuesday. “It’s always good to be in first place. That’s the only way to live.”
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Legend has it that Billy Martin, the oft-hired and fired coach of the New York Yankees, would occasionally arrange batting orders by picking names out of a hat in an effort to break out of hitting slumps.
Such a radical tactic would never be tolerated by today’s big-money players, (imagine A-Rod strolling into the clubhouse only to find out he is hitting out of the nine-hole), in fact most of today’s managers will stubbornly stand pat and send out the same lineup day after day as their season goes down the drain.
Luckily for the Phillies, Charlie Manuel isn’t like most managers. Never known as someone to stick to conventions, Manuel rolled the dice with a new lineup for the night-cap of Monday’s doubleheader, and so far its looking like a move that could pay big dividends for Philadelphia.
Since his debut during the 2001 season, when Jimmy Rollins has been in the lineup, he has hit lead-off. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power, he runs well and steals a ton of bases—everything you want from the top of your order. Except, there is one little problem: He doesn’t know how to get on base.
For the season, Rollins is getting on base at only a .328 clip, and has seen his average dip into the low .240s. As important as J-Roll is to the Phillies’ World Series aspirations, its almost impossible to win in October with a lead-off hitter that reaches base less than a third of the time.
So Chaz took a chance and moved Rollins to the fifth spot, inserting Shane Victorino into the lead-off slot.
In the two games since, the Phillies have scored 15 runs. In those two games, the Flyin’ Hawaiian is 5-for-10 with three runs and three steals hitting lead-off. Rollins has been just as solid hitting fifth, going 3-for-7 with two runs scored and two driven in.
Two games is hardly an adequate sample size, but the switch could have a strong psychological impact on both players if the move becomes permanent.
For Rollins, he can finally become the player he always wanted to be. He no longer has to worry about working counts, bleeding walks, and hitting the ball on the ground (things he was never very good at anyway). Instead, he can focus on being a playmaker—driving in runs, taking extra bases, swiping bags—anything that causes havoc on the diamond.
Victorino, on the other hand, finally gets to feel like part of the order. Stuck in the seven-hole most of the season, Shane was slowly morphing into a sourpuss, a far cry from his free-wheeling style that had made him a fan favorite in Philly.
Granted, with an OBP similar to J-Roll’s, Victorino is far from the ideal lead-off hitter. However, in the two games since moving to lead-off, his approach at the plate has been noticeably different, working the count and hitting line-drives as opposed to constantly swinging for the fences like he did from the bottom of the order.
As far as I’m concerned, Manuel can do whatever he wants with the lineup as long as Polanco, Utley, and Howard stay in the 2-3-4 spots. Utley and Howard are too talented to be put anywhere else, and Polanco was put on the earth to bat second for a National League team.
Other than that, the rest of the starters seem fairly interchangeable, and it’s certainly possible Charlie has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
But for now, Rollins seems happy, Victorino seems happy, the team is scoring runs again as they have taken back control of the National League East.
Now let’s just hope this means we won’t see names being picked out of a hat any time soon.
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With two outs in the 9th inning, the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins homered to tie Houston at 2-2.
With two outs in the 16th inning, and two men on, Ryan Howard should have been in a position to win the game 5-4.
But Howard had long hit the showers.
Why?
He was tossed from the game several innings earlier by third base umpire Scott Barry, a minor league replacement ump.
Howard’s crime?
Disagreeing with two appealed check swing calls in the same at bat, the latter resulting in Howard striking out (and going 0-7 on the night).
The first check swing, Howard put his hands on his hips, which Barry mocked right back.
“Unprofessional,” is how Phillies color analyst Larry Anderson described it on the radio.
The second check swing, which was a TERRIBLE call if you’ve seen the replay, garnered almost an immediate ejection after Howard’s reaction.
Howard charged Barry and had to be restrained.
The Big Guy was HOT, pointing at the home plate umpire saying, “Don’t you try to stop me.”
This is the same ump that tossed the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman after throwing his bat to the ground on a swinging strike three (foul tip). The same Ryan Zimmerman that had NEVER been ejected from a game.
The Nats’ Rob Dibble was apoplectic.
“I shouldn’t know these guys’ names,” he fumed, referring to the umpires.
So instead of Howard standing in with a chance to redeem himself for an 0-7 night, Roy Oswalt got pressed into duty. As a left-fielder no less.
This marked the second night in a row that the the Phillies were on the wrong side of an umpire “judgment call.”
First base umpire Greg Gibson ruled Monday night that Michael Bourne did not run out of the basebath after a bunt attempt, nor did Ryan Howard apply the tag.
Replays showed both calls were suspect.
Houston would push what proved to be the winning run across the plate with two outs in the inning. A run that would not have had a chance to score had Bourne been ruled out at first.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would eventually be tossed. According to the Phillies radio broadcast, it wasn’t the first time this particular ump had ejected Manuel.
He then cited MLB regulations saying he wouldn’t talk about the call. (Funny how Jim Joyce was able to)
So, two consecutive games. Two consecutive controversial losses.
Perhaps it’s karmic retrobution for the Phillies extra innings win over the Florida Marlins on August 6, when earlier in the game third base umpire Bob Davidson called Gaby Sanchez’s line drive down the third base “foul.”
Replays showed the ball was clearly inside the third base bag, yet Davidson was defiant afterwards, saying he called the play correctly.
There are two problems here.
First, the drumbeat for instant replay is growing louder.
Purists can claim “human element” all they want. I consider myself a baseball purist, and the game needs replay.
More time is wasted with managers arguing the call instead of just looking at the play and making a determination.
The Little League World Series is using replay, and a close play at first base between Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia was reviewed and overturned this past weekend.
It was quick. It was decisive.
It was correct.
The second issue is the attitude problems some of these umpires have.
Maybe Barry was looking to make a name for himself. He is a replacement, afterall.
Davidson could have asked for help from the home plate umpire on the Bourne play.
He did not.
Nor could the other umps intervene.
Gibson had to ask for help.
He chose not to.
NFL refs huddle when another sees a play differently. They discuss it. And try to get the call right.
And replay is there for the occasions when they get it wrong.
MLB needs to get handle on those that handle the rules.
Because these moments will get replayed-on SportsCenter and other highlight shows.
Over and over and over again.
The game would be better served if those highlights showed its officials getting the call right.
One way or another.
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“You remember when they traded Bobby Abreu for Matt Smith, CJ Henry, Carlos Monasterios, and Jesus Sanchez?”
“Yeah, that was bad but they got Shane Victorino in the Rule 5 draft so it makes up for it”
People remember the good trades and the bad trades but no one ever seems to talk about the moves that didn’t happen. Most of the moves that you will read about led to a World Series Championship in 2008 and a World Series appearance in 2009.
Without some of these moves, the people in this picture would have had no reason to congregate in Center City, Philadelphia on October 31, 2008.
Note to Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel: Don’t get drunk on the night you select the reserves of an All-Star Game. Snubbing Joey Votto in favor of Omar Infante, a utility player, was not a wise idea.
As of July 5, Votto is leading or near the top of the National League in almost every major offensive category.
Let’s have a look:
First in home runs, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage, first in OPS (obviously), third in batting average, tied for third in RBI, and tied for fourth in runs scored.
Infante is on pace to end the season with 350 plate appearances. The number needed to even qualify for the batting title is 502.
One does not need to be an accountant, or even an expert number-cruncher, to realize that is 152 below the minimum.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie…
In the two days since you neglected to place Votto on the All-Star Game’s NL roster, you have made him quite unhappy.
On Sunday, the usually mild-mannered Votto was kicked out of the game in the first inning. That should have served as a serious red flag.
On Monday night, at the New York Mets’ Citi Field, he went 3-for-4 with a double and two homers: one 431-foot bomb to dead center field and a 414-foot blast to right. He scored three runs and had two RBI in the 8-6 win over the home team.
Another thing, Charlie, you really should have thought about this before making your drunken decision.
Starting this Thursday, Votto and the Reds are coming to your house to play four games versus your Phillies—the last series before the All-Star break.
It is doubtful that Votto will physically murder you.
Psychologically though, you should have considered the state of your ticker and the probable heart attack you will suffer while watching helplessly at the total destruction Votto will inflict upon your pitchers.
Charlie, you really should have taken note of your team’s schedule before choosing a guy who isn’t even a starting player over Votto.
Yes, that is a lot to ask of a man who had just downed a 12-pack and topped it off with a pint of Johnnie Walker Blue.
Still, though, you need to think of the health of your players.
Especially Ryan Howard’s head injury after a smoking Votto liner renders your first baseman a slobbering vegetable who will never play another baseball game in his life.
You should, in fact, advise all of your guys to wear batting helmets while playing the field.
Ignoring Votto may be a good thing for you—a life lesson, if you will.
If you ever have the chance again, don’t drink and pick.
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It can now be said without a doubt that the Philadelphia Phillies will not be making their third straight trip to the World Series this October.
Or at least their manager, Charlie Manuel, seems to think they won’t.
Why else would he do such a preposterous job of selecting his All-Star pitching staff and reserves?
As we all know, the Dumbest Rule in Professional Sports mandates that the winner of the MLB All-Star Game gets home field advantage in the World Series.
Thus, it only stands to reason that Manuel, the manager of the National League’s squad and also the manager of a potential World Series participant in the Philadelphia Phillies, would want to put together the best All-Star squad available to protect the Phillies’ shot at World Series home-field advantage.
Apparently, Manuel doesn’t see the Phillies back in the Series and has thus decided to sabotage whichever team it is that will eventually get there.
That is the only explanation.
Mind you, Manuel did not simply screw up one or two picks. Manuel practically picked the wrong player at almost every opportunity; everywhere that a pick wasn’t obvious, he went with the wrong one.
Consider, for example, the selection of Tim Lincecum for the pitching staff. Lincecum is one of the best pitchers in the game and is coming off consecutive NL Cy Young Awards. But in 2010, Lincecum is not one of the best 13 pitchers in the NL.
The selection of Lincecum stands in contrast to the exclusion of Clayton Richard and Mat Latos of the San Diego Padres, both of whom have an ERA well below 3.00 (unlike Lincecum) and one of whom, Richard, is a left-hander.
Which brings up an interesting point—the American League will feature six left-handed starters out of nine, yet the National League has only one left-handed pitcher, Arthur Rhodes.
So, to face a veritable murderer’s row of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Robinson Cano, Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton, and Carl Crawford, the National League will be armed with a bevy of right-handers and Rhodes, a 40-year-old middle reliever who, while having a great year, may not even be in the game by the time those other guys have been pulled for backups.
Have a nice weekend, all you left-handed starting pitchers: Jaime Garcia, Johan Santana, Jonathan Sanchez, and Clayton Kershaw. Charlie won’t need your services.
Manuel’s outfield picks, too, are baffling. In selecting Chris Young, Marlon Byrd, Michael Bourn, and Matt Holliday, Manuel made sure that each team in the NL is being represented at the expense of actual All-Star-caliber talent. Fact is, Colby Rasmus, Josh Willingham, and the Phillies’ own Jayson Werth are, to a man, each having better seasons than Young, Bourn, and Holliday.
Look, I realize Charlie is old school and probably despises modern statistics. So, here are some old school stats for you: Chris Young is batting .264. Michael Bourn is batting .260. Holliday has 11 home runs and 39 RBI, which both rank behind his own teammate Rasmus’ 16 and 40.
And it isn’t like Rasmus, Werth, and Willingham are the only viable alternatives. So too would Andrew McCutchen, Angel Pagan, and Matt Kemp have been better selections.
It is funny that Manuel would diss Werth in favor of marginally better outfielders, because he selected Ryan Howard over Joey Votto, who is enjoying a significantly better season than Howard.
Votto isn’t arguably better than Howard; he’s demonstratively better than Howard.
Perhaps the worst selection of all, and perhaps even of all time, was Manuel’s choice of Omar Infante, a utility infielder for the Atlanta Braves, over, well, just about anyone else in the league.
Infante has played just 56 games in 2010 and has appeared at five different positions. He is hitting .311 with a .721 OPS, one home run, eight doubles, three stolen bases, and 23 runs scored. He has 28 strikeouts to only nine walks and only 62 total bases.
Did Charlie lose a bet with somebody?
Look, I am sure Omar Infante is a nice guy, but there are 50 hitters in the National League who are more deserving of the All-Star Game than Infante.
Meanwhile, the final roster spot will be selected by fans in a vote between Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Zimmerman, Heath Bell, and Billy Wagner, all of whom are significantly better than Infante, and frankly several other players on the roster.
The irony here is that the NL All-Star team would be better off if it took the five worst reserves and replaced them with all five of the players in the Final Vote.
Even if Charlie Manuel was doing the noble thing and trying to pick the players that most deserved to be at the All-Star Game—which he failed to do—one must be mindful of the fact that, thanks to the Dumbest Rule in Professional Sports, we are beyond the era when every team gets an All-Star and everyone that is there deserves to be there.
An All-Star roster should be filled with the best players in the league with position, team, and fluke season performance aside.
Alas, it is not to be.
So this is it, Philadelphia Phillies fans. On July 4, 2010, you got all the indication you needed that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel feels that his Phillies team has no shot at the World Series.
If he did, he surely would have given himself a better shot at winning the NL All-Star Game—and he has given himself none.
Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com.
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