Yong Kim/Staff Photographer
Phillies players celebrate in the locker room after the game.
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Phillies' Manuel lets players celebrate
A Phillies official motioned toward Charlie Manuel to join the champagne-spraying celebration in the clubhouse across the hall from his office last night.
Manuel shook him off and said no. He later said the Phillies' third successive National League East Division title was not about him. It was about the players. And, besides, he'll be there for the big one.
It was a gesture that said so much about the homespun manager.
"I let them celebrate because it's more their celebration and I like it that way better," he said. "They're the ones who play. They're the ones who got it done and that's kind of how I like it."
Earlier, Manuel had made a move that also revealed much about him and how he genuinely cares for his players.
There were two outs in the ninth inning of the Phillies' 10-3 win over Houston at Citizens Bank Park. The title was wrapped up when Manuel took that familiar, slow amble toward the mound and signaled for Brad Lidge.
As far as Manuel was concerned, he was already looking ahead to the postseason, and his beleaguered closer - or, for now, former closer - needed a confidence boost. As Lidge prepared for his warm-ups, the din from the towel-waving crowd increased. And everything went the way Manuel figured it would. Juiced by the supporting crowd, Lidge threw one pitch to end the clincher.
"I wanted him to pitch in front of the crowd," Manuel said.
"I thought it would be good for him and the crowd. They responded kind of like the way I thought they would. First of all, I've said all along I didn't want to get away from Lidge. That I wasn't going to shoot him or anything. It was an ideal situation to put him in. My whole intention all along was to get his confidence back up because I know he's got talent and ability.
"You know," he added with a grin, "when he came in and threw warm-up pitches, he was throwing the ball harder than he had the last few days."
Meanwhile, Manuel continues to grow in stature in a city that took a while to embrace him. He became the second Phillies manager to win three straight division titles, joining Danny Ozark, whose teams won three in a row from 1976 to '78. Ironically, Manuel did it on the same day the Cleveland Indians fired manager Eric Wedge and his coaching staff. Manuel was fired as the Indians' manager midway through the 2002 season, even though the Tribe won 90 and 91 games the previous two seasons under him.
"Maybe I was part of the problem," Manuel said with a shrug before last night's game.
Manuel said that this division title felt just as good as the previous two, but that it seemed this one came a little bit harder even though the other two were clinched later in the season.
"They all feel good, but I felt like this one was a little bit harder than the others because all year long I heard people talk about how good we were and everything," he said. "We do have a great team, but at the same time we've had pitching problems all year long. Our bullpen went down on us from the start of the season, and we played short all year."
Manuel was pleased but far from satisfied. That will only happen if the Phillies can go on to successfully defend their World Series championship.
Asked if that was the message he would tell the players, he said he already had when he held a team meeting before Tuesday's win.
"I did a lot of that [Tuesday], if you want to know the truth," he said. "They know it's the first step. They've been there before. They know what it's all about."
Apparently, the message got through. The Phillies won the next two games.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo
at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
