By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor
Not giving the other team a chance is taboo. You can think it like everyone else, but to say it? Well, that might wake up the Baseball Gods.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was asked on Saturday if the Reds could come back in the series. His response: “It could happen. Sure, it could happen. It ain’t gonna happen.”
The last four words are the type of brutal honesty you rarely here. Uncle Chuckles likely meant it in a fun way. Some people will take it the wrong way to be sure. As a matter of fact, rumor has it that Orlando Cabrera is reaching for his crying towel right now.
Charlie is just confident in his guys and enjoying the moment as he should. He’s earned this.
If needed, Charlie Manuel clould pinch-hit for the Phillies. What other team has this bench depth?
Look, many people, myself included, thought this man was a bumbling southern hick due to his work at the mics after games. In this day and age of the soundbite, we perceived his lack of media training as a sign that he was baseball’s Rich Kotite.
All the guy has done is win four NL East titles, two NL pennants and led his team to the title of WFC. Oh, the negative people outside of Philly want to say he’s done that with the best Philly money can buy. He’s done it with an All-Star lineup?
Yes he has. And, that’s what gives him the authority to relish the next month and display his confidence without being perceived as cocky.
Managing 25 different personalities is bad enough — just ask any teacher. Trying to keep a lineup of all-stars happy, a rotation of three aces happy? Not that easy.
The Phillies are a Chooch All-Star game short of fielding a Yankees or Red Sox type of star-studded lineup. Few men can manage a team like that through the ups and downs of a 162-game regular season and have the type of annual playoff success that the Phils are having these days. Joe Torre was a master at it. Terry Francona is using his mulligan to show he has it.
And, Manuel is displaying that ability before our eyes. When he sat down in front of the media following Roy halladay’s masterpiece on Wednesday, Manuel jokingly quipped “great managing.”
Only, his joke was actually the truth.
Great managing? Who are you kidding.
When I think of a class act skipper, I don’t think of Charlie Manuel. The Phillies have enough hot shots on their team. They don’t need a manager with a big mouth. What they need is a manager that will bring them back down to Earth, diffuse those massive egos, and make them realize that there is no “I” in team (as cliche as that may sound, it’s true). Manuel is just too self-centered.
Roy Halladay pitched a masterpiece against the Reds and suddenly the Phillies thought they were untouchable. They became blinded with boastfulness. Manuel forgot to remind his team that beating the Reds wasn’t a real noteworthy accomplishment. Instead, the team just kept floating on an NLDS cloud. There was no one to bring the Phillies back down to Earth.
And then, Manuel became so full of himself that he decided to taunt the Baseball Gods once again. Manuel thought he could play God and turn a starter into a relief pitcher/closer.
Hopefully this time he learned his lesson. Never taunt the Baseball Gods. Anything is possible.