Sandberg promoted to Phillies staff
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Sandberg promoted to Phillies staff
Ryan Lawrence, Daily News Staff Writer
Less than 48 hours ago, Charlie Manuel didn't sound like a man with a plan to overhaul his coaching staff.
"I’m comfortable with the coaches," Manuel said before Tuesday's game in Washington. "I’m definitely not sending them a message that they didn’t do their job. I’m just saying that, what I see, we’ve got to improve."
But less than 24 hours after the Philies season ended, the staff has been given a facelift, including adding a Hall of Famer to the bench.
Ryne Sandberg was named the Phillies third base coach and infield instructor on Thursday morning, a day after the season ended with the team dismissing three coaches: first base coach Sam Perlozzo, bench coach Pete Mackanin and hitting coach Greg Gross.
Sandberg has spent the last two seasons managing at Triple A Lehigh Valley. But after being interiewed for the St. Louis Cardinals manager's job last winter, the Phils obviously felt it was imperative to add Sandberg to the major league staff this year to keep him in the organization.
Other coaching moves announced Thursday:
- Juan Samuel, who has acted as the third base coach in the last two seasons, has been offered the first base coaching job, which has been vacated by Perlozzo.
- Steve Henderson and Rod Nichols have been promoted from within the organization to hitting coach and bullpen coach. Mick Billmeyer, who had been the bullpen coach, has been promoted to catching coach.
-The Phillies will not have a bench coach in 2013. But with pitching coach Rich Dubee back for his ninth season as pitching coach, and 12th in the Philies organization, he is Manuel's de facto right-hand man.
But the biggest news is Sandberg joining the staff. The 53-year-old had spent the last six seasons in the minor leagues, being groomed as a major league managing candidate.
He has been widely rumored to be the heir to Manuel, who is entering the final season of a three-year contract extension he signed in March of 2010.
Keep Bonds away from the Phillies!— dwp66- if HappyBob were perceptive, how come 87,632 persons have ignored him to date?— warbiscuit
- if Victor Cruz could be a good NFL receiver how come 32 football teams passed on him?— warbiscuit
- if Ruben Amaro could be a competent g.m., how come the Cubs never offered him a job?— warbiscuit
- how come there are so many morons on this site?— warbiscuit
- Yesterday, I thought this GM was finally going to get serious about winning when he fired Pete Mackanin, but today I see it's just more of the same old Phillies, only worse, because now they've eliminated the bench coach position all together. Unless you have somebody on the bench like Sandberg telling Charlie Manuel what to do, I predict the Phillies are start the 2013 season approximately 17-35 by the end of May. Maybe that's the GM's master plan, but that seems like a dumb and unnecessary master plan. Why doesn't he just make a managerial change now or at least hire a competent bench coach?— Freedom Fries
- On a side note, I listened to the Phillies press conference on the radio, and it was one of the most depressing things I've ever listened to, because not a single journalist or TV reporter or radio commentator asked a compelling question. The Phillies just eliminated the position of bench coach, even though Charlie Manuel is one of the worse strategists in the game, and yet not a single reporter is going to ask about it?!— Freedom Fries
- They really need to move Charlie into another position in the organization. This manager in waiting is putting everyone in a bad spot. Charlie is looking over his shoulder, Sandberg has to toe the line even though he may not agree with it. The players have to decide if they are supposed to look to the current manager or the next manager. Hopefully Charlie looks to get extended, Rube says no, and viola and excuse to bump Charlie somewhere else,— blah
- The only one who matters is the Manager. They control everything. If Manuel wins next year Sandberg will be gone.— BOBMATT
- to the morons like phineas, happybob, scootch: nobody has any clue whether Sandberg will be a successful major league manager...the only thing for certain is that the current Phils manager is a failure who lost 3 of his last 4 post-season series with a series of bone-headed inexplicable moves and followed up his post-season failures in 2009, 2010, and 2011 with a season of bone-headed moves that prevented the team from even competing for a post-season spot -- and only a complete fool would somehow see fit to insert a discussion about one of the most evil tyrants in the history of mankind into a discussion of whether someone can or cannot be a successful baseball manager— warbiscuit
- if Dickey were any good, how come nobody wanted him 2 years ago?— warbiscuit
- if Brandon Moss could hit .291 and 21 homeruns in under 300 at bats, why did the Phils get Wigginton and Nix?
— warbiscuit - if Vogelsong and Grilli could be effective pitchers, why did the Phils let them go and go acquire Baez,Contreras,Oswalt,Qualls, Willis, Lindblom,etc?— warbiscuit
- if Phillies management understood talent, how come they spent the highest budget in the league and finished at .500?— warbiscuit
- if Bobby Valentine were a poor manager then why was he hired?— warbiscuit
