Ryne Sandberg among three coaches added to Phillies staff
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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.
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The lame duck manager sure does get hot and bothered when an infamous local reporter questioned him about Jimmy Rollins's hittin' approach. Well Howard, if a guy only walks twenty times a season, he ain't gonna suddenly walk 100 times. I think Manuel's stubbornness on hitting, spoke loud and clear today at the press conference. Thank goodness that all signs are pointing to 2013 as Charlie Manuel's final season. A hitting coach will be finally be able to teach on the day that Manuel is shown the door.— FreeCable4Ever- Manuel needs a bench coach. He still could be let go or maybe the Phillies will force him out or he could start the year as manager and get fired if he gets off to a bad start. It seems like there's more to come.— Phillies2008WSChamps
Maybe not giving Manuel a bench coach is a calculated move to let Manuel flail and fail on his own, with no one on which to blame his clueless moves and ultimate failures, making it that much easier for Amaro to fire him mid-season if things go sideways and replace him with Ryne. Just a thought.....- Glad to have Ryno here. The biggest mistake RAJ made was resigning Jimmy "Superstar" Rollins. He should have been permitted to walk - his skills are diminished - many balls went by him in the infield that he should have gotten. Also, he IS NOT a leadoff hitter, and Charlie stubbornly refuses to make an adjustment. Both Pierre and Victorino were better leadoff hitters. If you checked the Phillies lineup during the summer, Rollins had the lowest batting average of anyone. The Phillies need to ditch Michael Martinez - let Pete Orr be the utility guy. Keep Frandsen as the third baseman - he's earned it. Ditch David Herndon and Bastardo. The best guys to keep around in the bullpen are Horst and Aumont (and Papelbon). Many changes need to be made before spring, and it can't be business as usual.— Larry Eastwood
- Glad to see Sandberg hired as a defense and third base coach. His players coming to the big club will pay dividends for the Phils and with Chase and Ryan getting healthier in 2013 we should see the Phils in contention. Now for a third baseman, middle relief and a right hand outfielder bat.— walt1
- @chuckw: Thanks for the shoutout, "shadow government" is the perfect term for it, I wish I had thought of phrasing it that way. I'm not sure exactly how well the old guard has to perform to keep their job all the way through 2013, I just know that RAJ has it set up to install the shadow government rather easily at the time of his choosing.Charlie could be fine until the end of the year unless they get off to another 37-51 start ( or simply have another June where they roll over and quit, this year they were 9-26 between June 2 and July 13); if that were not the case RAJ could have always fired him yesterday. I'm not sure Ruin Tomorrow Jr( dasher will always have high posting status for coining that) should escape unscathed here either, perhaps Monty told him if the roster is full of Wiggintons and Nixes next year, he'll be leaving with Charlie. The roster may also be the reason Charlie got another chance, maybe Monty gave it to him against the wishes of RAJ.— drbob1
- drbob1: agree on Dasher winning the nickname of the year award, a classic. I have to believe that Amaro has been put on notice by Montgomery, after a huge drop in TV ratings and potential drop in season tickets, that this off-season is crucial. They then probably decided to keep Manuel rather than pay him that last year on his contract while he is sitting at home. But leaving him without a bench coach and having him attend that dog and pony show today makes Amaro's position clear: the organization expects the players on this team to perform to the level of their contracts or beyond and for the team to return to the playoffs and to fill CBP. Otherwise Manuel, Dubee, Samuel (if he stays) and Billmeyer will be gone and the new triumvirate of Sandberg, Henderson, and Nichols will take control with the right to name their own coaches, including a bench coach. If they fail, however, then Amaro will be next! The key question: Amaro swears he gave no assurances to Sandberg in terms of managing and that Sandberg can leave if offered a managerial position. Does anyone believe that is the case?? Amaro has to know that everyone associated with the team from the batboy to the players to the beatwriters believes that Sandberg is the heir apparent, but, if not, why add him to the coaching staff, particularly with Nichols, his compatriot from the Iron Pigs? — chuckw
- @chuckw: I agree that the ownership was probably beside itself over the TV ratings ,a 39% drop is an unmitigated disaster. I suppose the bottom line is this: RAJ will either get viable players in here to play CF, 3rd base, obtain at least 2 pitchers for the bullpen's '8th inning problem', and improve the bench or he will fail to do so. Charlie will be held responsible for the veteran core players, like Howard , Utley, etc. If ownership feels that the roster was improved and Charlie loses anyway, the onus will be on him( and the shadow guys will be here sooner than later), but if Monty feels that RAJ didn't do enough he may get rid of BOTH guys. The only problem I can see with that is the new GM may be forced to work with Sandberg's group with no say in their hiring; few GMs will go for that.— drbob1
- drbob1: A colleague of mine, also a season-ticket holder, is convinced that this season was the curse of Ed. Wade, now back with the organization. Our greatest fear: Montgomery et al will fire Amaro and re-install Wade as the new GM. — chuckw
- @chuckw: You won't believe this, but when I wrote the words "few GMs will go for that", Wade's name immediately came to mind. I'm with you and your colleague, that would be horrible.— drbob1
- @chuckw and drbob1: If I may enter the discussion, my take is that Ryne has basically been guaranteed that he will take over as manager, either in 2014 or as early as by the All Star break in 2013, depending on the performance of the team, especially since it appears that Manuel will be on his own in the dugout without the benefit of a bench (assistant) coach.— ghost of callison
- @ghost: I agree with you, the only question would be what qualifies as a good performance by the team and whether RAJ or Monty would make the decision on a midseason change.— drbob1
- @dr., what would qualify as a good performance is one that puts fannies back in the seats, with quality offense, quality defense, and quality pitching, as witnessed by the 2008 club. These core players are still with the club, bolstered by an enhanced pitching staff. Now, with a manager that can actually strategize, our Phillies can be formidable and will return to prominence.— ghost of callison
- ghost: I liken this situation to the Shadow Government (as I mentioned above) versus the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (a book and film back in the day when John Callison was alive and playing),the latter starring Charlie "don't need no stinkin' bench coach" Manuel and his sidekick, El Dubee. My concern about the dueling groups is potential division between the veteran core and the players who have recently come out of the farm system. Amaro calling out the veterans to perform at the level of their contracts is all well and good, but age and injuries have taken their toll, so that scenario is unrealistic. — chuckw
- I hope GG catches on in another role. He's incredibly even keeled, very low key, very patient, but a gifted teacher who knows the game intimately. I got to know him as my HS coach. I could see his style not going over with players who think they know everything, but he's a natural to work in the minors or with developmental guys.— Truthiness
