Results tagged ‘ Charlie Manuel ’
Manuel: I’m A Winner
Ruben Amaro Jr. said last week that Charlie Manuel has done a “fantastic job” as Phillies manager.
He said he should not even have to answer questions about Manuel’s job status.
“We haven’t played well,” Amaro said.
But with the Phillies taking a 37-50 record into the All-Star break, the heat is being turned up on everybody. So it was no surprise Manuel was asked Sunday at Citizens Bank Park if he is concerned he might take the fall for the team’s fast fall.
“How concerned am I? I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself,” said Manuel, whose contract runs through next season. “And I am a fighter. And not only that, I think I’m a winner.”
Manuel then presented the places he has won as a player and manager, both in the big leagues, minor leagues and Japan.
“I’ve been a winner ever since I’ve been in the game,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence. I’ll do my job as hard as possibly can, and as hard as I possibly can and that’s all I can do. The rest is out of my control.”
Amaro Discuses Hamels Speculation
If Phillies fans think speculation about Cole Hamels is hot today, just wait a couple weeks.
Ruben Amaro Jr. said today the Phillies remain optimistic they can sign Hamels to a contract extension, despite indications the parties are not close to an agreement. He also downplayed multiple reports the Phillies are calling teams to gauge interest in Hamels, in the event they decide to make a move as the teams falls further and further from contention in the National League.
The Phillies are 36-45, their worst record through 81 games since 1997.
“It’s a matter of having good players, including Cole and others, who are outstanding All-Star caliber players,” Amaro said about the reports involving Hamels. “And teams who are contenders have an interest in them. That’s how it works. It’s a product of the time and circumstance.”
Hamels will command a monster deal if he hits the free agent market. Certainly he should get more than the five-year, $120 million contract Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies in Dec. 2010, considering his talents and age.
Hamels is just 28.
“I’ve never had any indication at all, to be frank with you, that the goals haven’t remained the same on both sides,” Amaro said. “One, a club that wants to continue to have the player. Two, the player that — I believe – has given no indication that he wants to leave.”
Asked Saturday in Miami if the Phillies’ losing ways could impact his decision in the offseason, Hamels said, “I’m not even thinking about that. I’m trying to not lose. Like today. I’ve got a game in five days, so that’s all my focus.”
The front office could take that answer one of two ways: Hamels did not answer the question because he simply does not want to talk about his contract situation, or Hamels did not answer the question because he did not want to give an honest answer.
Amaro would not comment on where negotiations stand with Hamels, although ESPN.com reported the Phillies will make one more push to sign him before they seriously consider trading him.
“I have no indication at all that anything is too late for anything,” Amaro said. “We stay optimistic that we’re going to keep him in our uniform. And that’s the bottom line. Whether we can do it or not, I don’t know, but we stay optimistic that we will.”
But if the Phillies continue to lose, they will have to start thinking about retooling for next season. Hamels could get quite a haul. Trades involving Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and others also could change the dynamic and chemistry of the clubhouse.
“Those are things that we may have to think about down the road,” Amaro said. “But they’re not what we’re actively trying to do now.
“Our goal will always be the same: it is to be a contender this year and beyond and to keep Cole Hamels in our uniform as long as he possibly can after 2012. I think our best chance to continue to be a contender is with him and not without him. We don’t comment on all this stuff, but the one thing I can say about it is this is a product of the time of year, the fact we’re not playing well and that we have very, very good players people will speculate and ask about.”
Everybody is taking heat for the Phillies’ losing ways, including Charlie Manuel. Amaro said about Manuel: “He has done a fantastic job. We haven’t played well.”
Howard Back After Break?
Chase Utley is expected back in the Phillies lineup tomorrow, but what about the Big Piece?
Could Ryan Howard be back shortly after the All-Star break?
It looks like it. The Phillies announced today that Howard will return to Philadelphia tomorrow for “functional testing on his left Achilles.” If Howard passes those tests he will begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Class A Lakewood. Once a position player begins a rehab assignment he has 20 days before he must be activated, unless there is a setback. That means if Howard took the full 20 days he could be back no later than July 18, or six games following the All-Star break.
Howard has been on the disabled list since the season started because of left Achilles surgery. He suffered a setback because of an infection in the heel in February. Charlie Manuel spoke to Howard on the telephone Monday.
“More than likely, the way things look, it’ll be after the All-Star break,” Manuel said. “He feels real good. He still says that when he runs he’s got a little limp. He says, ‘I want to play and I feel like I can play.’ He says, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be where you want me to be or not,’ but at the same time he’s got to be able to go play and be able to do some things. He feels like he’s getting there. He’s very positive about where he’s at when I talked with him.”
Utley: There’s Still Time
Is it too late for Chase Utley?
Is it too late for the Phillies?
“There’s no doubt in my mind there’s plenty of time,” Utley said before Monday’s game against the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. “I know there are some people that have given up on me. And there are some people that have given up on this team. But I’ll be the first one to tell you that I definitely haven’t given up on myself, and I know our guys have not given up on this year. We have strong-willed guys on this team.”
Those were uncharacteristically strong comments from Utley, who has been on the disabled list since the season started because of chondromalacia in his left knee. He worked out with the team Monday and will play a rehab game Tuesday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Assuming he feels OK, expect Utley to be activated and hitting third in the Phillies lineup Wednesday.
The Phillies certainly could use him in the lineup, in the field and in the clubhouse, which has been noticeably more blasé than past seasons.
Charlie Manuel is looking forward to Wednesday.
“Utley is our three-hole hitter,” he said. “I think he is the guy that works the count. I think he is the guy that when he’s right he’ll hit 25-30 homers. I think he is the guy that’ll hit .300. I think he is the guy that can knock in 100 runs and score 100. That’s what I picture Utley to be. I think until we find somebody I think can do better more than likely he’s going to land in that three-hole.”
And Manuel still believes Utley can be a productive three-hole hitter?
“I think he’s earned a chance to see if he’s that guy,” Manuel said.
“I do believe that,” said Utley, asked if he can be the hitter he was a few years ago. “There’s no doubt that (his legs) are stronger than they were last year. Having my legs under me is an important part of that. But time will tell.”
Utley would not say he is completely pain-free in his knees, but “I’m in a much better place than I was a month ago and I’m encouraged by that. I wouldn’t be out there if I felt uncomfortable.”
Utley hit .156 (5-for-32) in nine rehab games with Class A Clearwater, but it is difficult to read much into that. For example, he went 1-for-10 in a rehab assignment in Clearwater in 2007. He hit .332 that season for the Phillies.
“Every day, it seemed to get a little bit better,” Utley said. “I had some good swings and some bad swings, which was anticipated. But I’m optimistic of how things went.”
Manuel indicated Utley will be worked in slowly before they turn him loose, but Utley believes he should be eventually playing five, six or seven games a week.
No pressure, Chase.
“Anytime you add pressure to this game it will just make it more difficult. I understand,” he said. “I’ve been around here for a long time. We’ve had successful years here. I’m just as excited as the fans are to get back on the field.”
Spread the Blame
Hola, amigos.
The Phillies are 34-40, nine games behind the Nationals (11 behind in the loss column) and 5 1/2 games out of the second Wild Card spot (check my math on that). Fans are angry with some of Charlie Manuel‘s moves in yesterday’s losses. Should he have tried to squeeze an extra inning from Cole Hamels on a hot day, despite throwing 111 pitches? Should he have used somebody in the eighth inning other than Antonio Bastardo, who had thrown 29 pitches a day earlier? Should he have pinch-hit Juan Pierre for Michael Martinez in the eighth inning?
They’re all valid questions, but let’s be honest here.
The blame for this team’s failures can be spread everywhere.
Let’s look back to the offseason.
The Phillies signed Jonathan Papelbon to a $50 million contract in November, but did nothing other than sign Chad Qualls in late January to help the bullpen. They essentially bet on Jose Contreras, 41, coming back from elbow surgery and pitching effectively for an entire season and Qualls pitching effectively, despite the fact he had a 5.05 ERA away from PETCO Park last year. It’s not hindsight to say people questioned whether or not the Phillies bullpen would be good enough. Those questions were asked throughout the offseason and Spring Training. But I didn’t have a problem with Manuel using Bastardo in the eighth inning in Game 1 yesterday. Bastardo had thrown 29 or more pitches in an appearance just four times in his career and he had never pitched the next day until yesterday. But so what? Is there a huge difference between 20 pitches and 29 pitches? Are nine pitches the difference between throwing strikes and not throwing strikes? Get real. No, the real problem is this: If Manuel doesn’t use Bastardo, he uses Qualls. And if Qualls blows the lead, everybody is killing Manuel because he used Qualls and stayed away from Bastardo “because he threw 29 pitches the day before.” Manuel is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t because he has a bad bullpen. The Phillies bullpen has a 4.48 ERA, which ranks 25th in baseball. It’s pick your poison.
Chooch Is Great, But …
Roy Halladay said something interesting last night when we asked about Carlos Ruiz‘s ejection in the top of the third inning.
“It’s unfortunate because he’s our best player,” he said.
He said it very matter-of-factly, like the Rangers were talking about Josh Hamilton or the Mets were talking about David Wright. Ruiz is tied for fourth in the National League in batting (.344), 10th in on-base percentage (.397) and seventh in slugging percentage (.576). His .973 OPS is 209 points higher than his career average. He is having an unbelievable season. He should be a National League All-Star for the first time. But even on a team without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, it is too much to ask Ruiz to carry the offense when he has never had more than nine homers or 54 RBIs in a season.
Catching is a grind over six months. Ruiz has had hot starts before. He had a .945 OPS through June 7, 2009, but had a .710 OPS the rest of the way. He had a .969 OPS through May 10, 2010, but an .810 OPS the rest of the way.
Maybe Ruiz keeps up his torrid hitting through the end of the season, but the Phillies should not expect it. They need more than him.
What’s Up, Doc?
Roy Halladay allowed nine hits, five runs, one walk, two home runs and struck out six in six innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park.
He left with a 3.58 ERA.
Halladay has not had an ERA that high this late in a season since he finished 2007 with a 3.71 ERA.
Reading my Twitter feed tonight it is clear more than a few people are worried about Halladay. I understand that. But there also are a few people ready to draw concrete conclusions based on his first 10 starts. I’m wondering how wise that is? Cliff Lee was 4-5 with a 3.94 ERA after 12 starts last season. That included a May 31 start, when he allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Nationals. I had a lot of people asking me then, “What’s wrong with Cliff?” My answer: Absolutely nothing. Remove a bad start against the Braves and a bad start against the Nationals — he allowed 12 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings in those starts — and he had a 2.90 ERA in his other 10.
Manuel Suspended, Davidson Suspended
Major League Baseball suspended Charlie Manuel one game for his involvement in Tuesday’s “on-field incident” in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park. He will serve that suspension tonight against the Red Sox.
But MLB also suspended umpire Bob Davidson one game for “his repeated violations of the Office of the Commissioner’s standards for situation handling.”
Guess that means Davidson did not handle that situation and others very well.
I imagine Manuel got suspended because the brim of his cap appeared to graze Davidson’s forehead. Or maybe it was just what he said. But it seemed more than fair that Davidson got dinged, too. Clearly, the Phillies bench thought Davidson interferred with Brian Schneider on the play, but Davidson escalated the situation immediately. You can hear him yelling back at the Phillies dugout on the replay.
Manuel hasn’t said anything about the incident, but it’s interesting that while he was saying something to Davidson from the dugout he didn’t seem to be overly heated. He was just kind of sitting there talking to him. But once Davidson tossed him Manuel charged out of the dugout.
You can see some expletives exhanged at that point, especially from Davidson.
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here! Here are our upcoming book signings:
- June 2: Citizens Bank Park, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
- June 16: Barnes & Noble, 4801 Concord Pike, Wilmington, Del., 2:00 p.m.
Check out my Facebook page. Follow me on Twitter.
Chooch Playing Like All-Star
Carlos Ruiz continues to build his case to make his first National League All-Star team.
Consider:
- He leads big-league catchers in batting average (.343), slugging percentage (.610), OPS (.999) and game-winning RBIs (four).
- He is tied for first with A.J. Pierzynski with 24 RBIs.
- He is tied for first with Carlos Santana with six go-ahead RBIs.
- He is second in home runs (six). Only Matt Wieters (seven) has more.
- He ranks third in on-base percentage (.390).
And those are just his rankings when he is hitting as a catcher. His .990 OPS overall — it’s a bit lower than his catcher OPS because he is 1-for-3 as a pinch-hitter — ranks 12th in baseball. His .602 slugging percentage is 10th.
Simply put, Chooch is one of the best hitters in baseball right now.
I know a lot of people have been asking why Charlie Manuel does not hit Ruiz third. Good question. But much like Jimmy Rollins being more comfortable hitting leadoff (despite the fact he’s hitting just .247 since his return to the top spot) and Hunter Pence being more comfortable hitting anywhere but fourth (his career .711 OPS hitting cleanup is the lowest of any spot in the order) I think Manuel believes this: Ruiz is tearing the cover off the ball. He’s comfortable. So don’t move him into a spot where he might feel more pressure to produce.
Manuel has had Ruiz hit fifth four times and sixth four times since May 5. Before this stretch Ruiz had hit higher than seventh only 31 times in his career. I say keep hitting him fifth or sixth. The Phillies are hitting .276/.328/.438 since April 22 in San Diego. They are averaging 4.9 runs per game in that span, which ranks fourth in the National League. They are scoring runs more consistently, and Ruiz is producing where he is.
Don’t screw that up.
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Since Kyle Kendrick allowed six runs in seven innings in Toronto last July, he has a 2.96 ERA in 13 starts.
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here! Here are our upcoming book signings:
- June 2: Citizens Bank Park, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
- June 16: Barnes & Noble, Wilmington, Del, 2 p.m.
Check out my Facebook page. Follow me on Twitter.
Time for a Talk
So what was Charlie Manuel‘s tipping point?
“Sitting there watching that game,” he snapped.
Manuel called a team meeting following last night’s brutal 10-6 loss to the Mets.
Manuel was asked following Tuesday’s loss why he had not spoken to his team yet. He said he did not know what to say. Well, he found the words last night.
People outside the team always want the manager to hold team meetings. They love the idea of him storming into the clubhouse, flipping the postgame spread and throwing chairs against the wall. Only if you’re the manager and you do that too often (or do that even once) the players start looking at you as a buffoon. Manuel picks his spots carefully, and he has a good track record with team meetings.
Here are the team meetings I found after doing a quick search and the immediate and long term response (I’m sure there a few meetings I missed, but this should give you the gist):
Todd Zolecki
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