Frustration Continues For Manuel & Phillies
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Frustration Continues For Manuel & Phillies
Marc Narducci
Charlie Manuel is usually upbeat but this season is wearing on him. He sees a group of hitters who don’t show patience at the plate. His starting pitchers not named Cole Hamels and his relievers have produced a season of inconsistent performances.
So Manuel has said that jobs are to be won in these final 38 games. And even though he loves the game, Manuel couldn’t hide his frustration when asked how hard this season has been on him.
“It’s tough for me,” he said after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. It’s a challenge and that is good but at the same time I want us to keep playing hard and improving.”
Good luck with that wish, especially the improving part.
Among the more impatient hitters is Jimmy Rollins who is now batting .238 and has an on-base percentage of .297, not what a team is looking for from a leadoff batter.
“When Jimmy works the count, he is hitting good,” Manuel said.
That hasn’t happened consistently this year.
Manuel also seems like he is getting tired of being asked about Vance Worley’s loose bodies in his elbow.
“If something is wrong with his elbow he should tell us because we will do something about it,” Manuel said before the game.
Manuel says players are always getting MRIs to see if they are healthy enough to perform.
“When they (the medical staff) say he is OK and fine, then it is OK to pitch,” Manuel said.
To Worley’s credit, he has not blamed his elbow for a disappointing season that has him 6-9 with a 4.06 ERA.
When asked about his elbow after the game, Worley said, “It works.”
Then he expanded.
“I feel good,” he said. “The inflammation is not in there the way it was early in the season and I am still lighting up the gun. I hit 93 a few times.”
Manuel mentioned how Worley didn’t have his command but battled. In this season, that constitutes a positive development.
Case in point about the command - it took Worley 99 pitches to get through six innings. Reds winning pitcher Bronson Arroyo threw 59 in his first six and 86 in eight plus innings.
Kevin Frandsen has certainly helped himself in these late-season games and Domonic Brown has been playing well, batting .282 with a .397 OBP.
This may have been his best all-around, with a home run, double and a sensational catch and later just as impressive throw gunning down a runner at the plate. It’s the type of performance that makes a team not want to give up on the organization’s former top prospect.
Manuel was genuinely excited talking about Brown’s play. Maybe it took his mind momentarily off this 57-67 season, one that has even sapped some of the enthusiasm from this baseball lifer.
Poll: Will Lee be traded before Opening Day 2013?
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I didn't see the 93 MPH Worley saw. all I saw was 85-86 constantly. Unless he was joking.— EL Zorro- Charlie, we are frustrated also, by your inept managing. How the hell you sit a guy who the night before made the best defensive play of the year, that at the moment looked like a game saving play, who also had three hits and is batting over .300 in favor of and old struggling hitter? Only a clueless person would do that. Again, blaming others.— EL Zorro
- Can't we just get rid of this boob, already? His act is old and stale.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- I have argued that managers generally do not win or lose many games over a season and that their main role, as Dutch Daulton said last week, is to manage the egos of 25+ players and keep them playing hard and smart (might remind Rollins about that playing hard part). Having said that, however, last night's benching of his two hottest hitters at a time when trying to get a feel for next season's roster is paramount is inexcusable UNLESS Amaro is looking to trade Polanco and needs to show that he is healthy (even though his accumulated injuries over the past few seasons have taken a toll on his ability to drive the ball). They should also try to move Schneider in the next week and bring up Valle to give him a taste of the show behind Kratz. IF Polanco is still here in September, then Manuel's decision last night to bench Frandsen, hitting over .350, hitting to all fields, generally making good contact, playing overall solid defense, was ridiculous. In any event, time to give the golden parachute to Manuel and give Sandberg a three-year contract and the right to hire his own coaches. Move Frandsen to second, bring up Asche to play third and Ruf play first, and time to see the veteran core of Rollins, Utley, and Howard for what they are, not what they were. Very important off-season.— chuckw
- "Very important off-season." Hmmm, haven't I heard this one before? Seems we need Doug Collins and Rod Thorn to take over the Phillies in order to turn over their roster.
Who knew, 18 months ago, anyone would be saying that?
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- EL...It's pretty clear Frandsen already has the inside track on 3rd base next season.Players traded before the end of the month are eligible for the playoffs. Maybe they're showing teams in need of a defensive 3rd baseman Polanco may be able to help. That's hard to do if he's not playing.— RichG
- I can't watch Rollins anymore. It's pretty obvious his MVP season of '07 was achieved with the help of shady substances. They aren't serious about winning because they keep writing him into the leadoff spot despite the fact that he's truly awful.— YodelInTheVlly
- Charlie has built up a lot of goodwill in Philly b/c of 2008 WS and his genuinely friendly demeanor. But his laid-back approach isn't a good match w/the team anymore. If he comes back in 2013 and the team gets off to a bad start, things could get ugly down at CBP. Of course, maybe that's why RAJ keeps Charlie around: he's a buffer and will be the fall guy...RAJ needs to go too— Polecat_39
- didn't Brown lose one in the lights which resulted in a run? I don't know if you can count that as impressive.— wolfburn
- No. Know the facts if you want to rip somebody. He erased his mistake by gunning that runner out at the plate with a great throw. Last night he doubled and homered,
made a great catch and a gret throw. Not convinced he has the attitude but if he can play like that they need to let him play out the season.— drenner - it all comes back to Clueless Rube commiting another $95 million this past off-season to such overpaid or complete garbage like Papelbon, Rollins, Qualls, Thome, Wigginton, Nix, Kendrick, Schneider, etc instad of getting a third baseman, an outfielder and bullpen depth....after previously wasting money and/or prospects on Howard, Polanco, Oswalt, Pence, Ibanez, etc ...and that's how the imbecile destroyed a baseball team..and chollie has no idea how to manage (or anything else)— warbiscuit
- Hey Chowie, do you think it might be time to move Jimmy Poppins out of the leadoff spot? A pitcher throwing 59 pitches in 6 innings is disgraceful. Chowie should bench them all.
- I Chollie is not a game day manager. He never was, he never will be.
And expecting Chollie to fix Rollins inability to do much more than pop the ball up for a player who's played baseball for 3 decades is a bit much.
That said, he's probably not the right skipper to right the ship and help them rebuild.— fmMD - Brown did have a good game, even though he lost one ball in the lights. That ball was called a triple, which counted against Worley. But, Brown didn't hustle on his hit to right-center and got only a double. He should have been at third and would have scored on Rolen's error. Rollins' attitude has leaked over to Brown.— SEEK313
