Ryne Sandberg among three coaches added to Phillies staff
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Ryne Sandberg among three coaches added to Phillies staff
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Famer viewed as a potential successor to Charlie Manuel, was added to the Phillies coaching staff Thursday. Sandberg wil serve as Manuel's third-base coach and infield instructor in 2013.
He was among a plethora of changes announced. Only pitching coach Rich Dubee will remain in his 2012 role. The team will not have a bench coach next season.
Two others from the minor-league system were promoted. Steve Henderson, the organization's roving hitting instructor, was named hitting coach. Rod Nichols, who served as pitching coach at triple-A Lehigh Valley, was named bullpen coach.
Mick Billmeyer was "promoted" to catching coach, the Phillies said. Billmeyer is the longest-tenured member of Manuel's staff. He served as bullpen coach for the last four seasons and was major-league catching instructor for five seaons before that.
Juan Samuel was offered the first-base coach job and has yet to accept.
The Phillies did not retain three coaches -- Sam Perlozzo, Pete Mackanin and Greg Gross -- immediately following the conclusion of Wednesday's last game.
Finding a spot for Sandberg was paramount. Manuel has one season remaining on his contract and could retire after 2013. The franchise's decision-makers have an affinity for Sandberg, who managed at triple-A Lehigh Valley for the last two seasons.
Sandberg, of course, could still interview for managerial openings this winter. He interviewed with St. Louis last winter for its job.
Henderson, 61, was formerly hitting coach for Tampa Bay from 2006-09. He spent the last two seasons as the Phillies minor-league hitting coordinator.
Nichols, 47, mentored many of the young pitchers who have come through the Phillies system. With another young bullpen expected, Nichols could be instrumental in overseeing its development.
It's uncommon for teams to have a staff without a bench coach; Detroit was the only team in 2012 that did not retain one. But Manuel has long trusted Dubee as his righthand man. Billmeyer, now in the dugout, could ascend to a higher role.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
I've never been able to figure what the point of a "bench coach" is. If there is no bench coach, does that mean the manager can't talk to other coaches?
GOOD GRIEF!
BTW, SteveS11, it certainly wouldn't be the end of the world if Juan Samuel didn't like the demotion to first base coach (which it is) and left!— BEMiller- My guess is that the Phillies, out of past loyalty to Samuel, offered him the First Base job. I think it is a way for him to save face. He will turn the job down and everybody will move on with no ill feelings.
You could trace the Phillies decline back to letting Davey Lopes go over money at a time they were throwing money around like drunken sailors.
I do kind of like the moves they just made. I think Dubee micro - manages the pitching staff to a fault.— candidly - Welcome Ryno!— sedale
- BEMiller.....the Phillies developed the Bench Coach when Paul Owens became Manager in the early 1980's and made Bobby Wine his Bench Coach - the first ever in the major leagues.— sonnybuoy01
- Bobby Wine was an integral part of the coaching staff in the late 1970's (first Phillies "dynasty") which culminated in the 1980 title. He was passed over and the team went into a slide for a decade after he was let go. The man should have been named manager instead of Pope Owens in '83. I'm still bitter about it.
— Sam Crow - My guess is that the Phillies are looking to find a bench coach that will work well with Sandberg, making his promotion to Manager in 2014 just that much smoother. I also believe that in some ways, Charlie is probably glad 2013 is his final year as manager. Despite the moanings from the peanut gallery, it's been a great run with him at the helm. It IS time for Ryne to begin a calm and organized settling in as the new manager, and I'm looking forward to Charlie's final year and Ryne's first in the upcoming two years.— PeteInPhilly
- @Q......I can't stop laughing.....so much of what you say is true!
A few observations from my end......
1. It's gonna be tough for Charlie to work with Sandberg sittin' right there. But Charles is a pro...and Ryno is the hardest working HOF'er you will ever see. Unlike Schmitty, who thinks that everyone else is beneath him and should hang on his every word. Ryno actually "works tirelessly" at being a good coach and manager.
2. There is no such thing as an "assistant coach" in baseball. They are managers, and there is only one allowed in the dugout at a time.
3. MacKanin was redundant and not needed as a bench coach anymore. The last few years it's been the Charles Dubee show. They know eachother like peanut butter knows jelly. No need for a bench coach.
4. Nichols as BP coach is a huge upgrade and will help the guys in the bp immensely. He's fixed more pitchers than Charles has fixed hitters and to be right there in the bp with them and not on the bench like Dubee is a big plus.
5. Samual to 1st base coach is a demotion and a step down in pay scale as well. Sammy will take it and stay unless he has better options out there from another team. I don't think he has any other options out there.
6. The Phils are a 2nd half team and proved it again this year with something like a 47-33 record in the 2nd half. It was the first half that doomed them. Injuries were key but so was Rube not being prepared. The Tigers lost Victor Martinez, a big part of their offense before spring training. They didn't sign Wiggy and "hope to get by". They signed Prince Fielder and did it ever pay off for Miguel Cabrera. There is a big reason why he won the Triple Crown and his intials are P.F......imagine when that team gets VMart back next season. What an offense that will be. OMG!— Mark1npt - There's an old Dallas Cowboys story with Roger Staubach in the huddle, and he says (refering to Landry), "The Man in The Hat wants us to run strong right, 38 trap pull right, pitchback sweep; but we're gonna throw the ball ... " Staubach, US hero, Navy man and straight shooter, calling Landry "The Man in The Hat" and changing the plays on his own. Hopefully when Nichols gets a Dubious Dubee phone call in the bullpen, he will turn and mock Dubee to all his young pitchers.
"The Dubious One wants Bastardo to get ready - Horst, start loosening up."
Anarchy in the bullpen - occupy that!
§
- Hi Mark--i posted a comment in here under yours that has not shown --a pretty thorough one at that--so i hope it shows--
I have a feeling that it wont as i refered? to an endearing term -around the barns --as to what folks were called who cleaned stalls--u know ends with er--sounds like u know what.
I should have saved it as i put some serious time into it.
Oh well.
RS move was great as now the players next year are also being watched and evaluated for their hustle etc by the 2014 manager.
So i believe the team wont lack for effort plus many of the younger ones have played for him.
Have a great day!!!— HO HUM - fransdale, you obviously dont' follow the Phillies closely. Hamels was a #1 pick and a can't miss prospect. Under Dubee he has developed slowly, you can say. He was supposed to be a 20 game by now and perennial Cy Young candidate. As a matter of fact, Myers and Hamels called Dubbee once a drill sergeant. KK and Madson went to the minors and came back better pitchers. As a matter of fact, when Lidge wasn't ready to start the season in 2011, Dubee went with Contreras as his closer. When asked why not Madson, he said, when did Madson take a course on how to be a closer?, or something to that effect. Now yo give him credit? Bastardo has regressed, from a flame thrower that used to hit 97-98 MPH to a guy who is confused out there, throwing in the low 90's and who hasn't developed secondary pitches. What the hell are you talking about.— EL Zorro
- ... and the fans rise from their seats, cheering on a fantastic shutdown performance by the team's closer ...
§
(And don't forget Dubious Dubee's #1 chart topper: "I knew there was something wrong with Halladay all the way back in spring training - but I was too busy performing my duties in the Billy Conlin Happy Club to do anything about it.")
§
- El Zorro, I take it "fransdale" was a typo of my handle. If I followed the Phillies any more closely I'd be single, living in my Mom's basement, and drowning in my own drool. The rest of what you have to say is nowhere near a compelling argument. Have you followed the game closely enough to recite all the #1 "can't miss" prospects who never even make it to the majors let alone bounce back from a year like the one Cole had in 2009? You're going to throw the 2 weeks of Contreras as closer out there as a terrible example of coaching? He had 5 saves and an ERA of 0.00 through the end of April, when he got injured and lost his job to Madson. Jeez, and if any coach can straighten out Bastardo he should move ahead of Leo Mazzone as first pitching coach in Cooperstown. I expect more out of our baseball geniuses.— frankenslade
- One other thing and i might as well post it in here.One big Dif between the Phils--and..........The NATS.
Their leading hitter for the year batted .292-Ian Desmond .J W batted .300 but for -81 games. The difference is that ALL of the other starters were .270(harper) to .291 M Morse.So not a weak link in the group.
That should be a big priority for the Phils--very few if any weak bats next year.— HO HUM - I think it's premature to assume Sandberg is Manager in 2014. He still has a long offseason where someone will probably offer a head job for next year. In addition, there's a good possibility that this team will be headed in the wrong direction competitively the next 3 or 4 years, and he might not want any part of a re-building project, especially in this highly charged atmosphere around the Phillies since the World Series in 2008.— fightonphilly
- For those of you who say it's a demotion for Samuel, was it a demotion for Perlozzo when he moved from 3B coach to 1B coach after Lopes left? Plus 1B utilizes Samuel's talents as a base stealer during his career better than 3B and I believe he's been more of a 1B coach with other teams than 3B. And, I'm not sure 1B & 3B coaches have a salary differential since the bench coach came along. In the old days, the 3b coach was considered the guy who would take over if the manager was ejected or needed time off for personal reasons.— sonnybuoy01
