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There is always the background hum in this town, of course, the perpetual why-didn't-he of the second guess when some managerial move doesn't pan out, when someone can't get down a bunt or bring home a run.
That happens everywhere, to Tony La Russa and Joe Torre and all the acknowledged geniuses whose particular genius fluctuates annually, like all managers', according to how well their teams play the game of baseball.
But for Manuel, genius wasn't going to come easily as manager of the Phillies. He got the job as the replacement for a popular if somewhat welcome-worn local hero and was perceived from the start as Jim Thome's caddie and little more. That he spoke with a Southern drawl, mangled the language on occasion, and confessed to a fondness for "rasslin'" with his players in the locker room didn't help.
An easy target, in other words, and he took the arrows for quite a while. This season, however, as the Phillies have covered their failings often enough to hold first place in the NL East, Manuel and some other recent targets have become more elusive, tougher to hit. It is too early to declare a full sea change in local attitude, but something is going on. It must be those night classes Charlie was taking to smart himself up.
Look at what else is going on. The bullpen, dismissed as a joke the last few seasons, is the best in the major leagues, with a 2.71 earned run average. Brad Lidge has been the anchor, but the setups including J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin have been remarkable. OK, so no more making fun of the bullpen.
Then there is Pat Burrell, who had become defined as a lead-footed, clunky-fielding underachiever simply because he signed a large contract and then failed to become anything more than a steady contributor. This season, Burrell has gone into the break with a curtain-call ovation still loud in his ears, with a vote-for-Pat campaign nearly getting him onto the all-star roster and with a good, but not earthshaking, total of 23 home runs and 57 runs batted in. At this pace, his RBI total will be about the same as it has been for the last two seasons, so why all the love now? Something must be different.
Manuel doesn't get a lot of standing ovations. A manager is rarely called from the dugout to wave his cap after a successful hit-and-run. In general, the cheers he gets are usually sarcastic ones when he finally emerges to drag Adam Eaton or some other starter from a game that has slipped away.
There has been a change, though, less nit-picking from the stands and the bar stools about his managing style, which Manuel admits often relies more on gut than guile. On Sunday, Manuel let Cole Hamels swing away with one out and Pedro Feliz on first when most managers would have shrugged, gone by the book, and called for a sacrifice. Hamels doubled home Feliz.
This is far from a push-button team. Aside from Jimmy Rollins, Manuel has almost no speed with which to work. If the power hitters in the order - Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Burrell - are hitting home runs, Manuel can wring some extra speed and defense by having Shane Victorino in the lineup, and he can live with the spotty offensive contributions of Feliz and catcher Carlos Ruiz. If the Phillies aren't hitting homers, he has to scrounge around to find runs, and it isn't easy.
The starting pitching, which will sink this team yet if the front office doesn't do something, is another headache. For most of the season, it has been like a broken wagon wheel, riding smoothly along with Hamels - and Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick, mostly - then coming to a thumping stop when Brett Myers or, increasingly, Eaton has the ball.
Myers will be back and he could be better upon his return. Eaton has been awful lately, giving up 14 earned runs in his last two starts. He might be removed from the rotation when Myers reappears, with J.A. Happ - who is getting a lot of congratulations for a total of 11 innings pitched - getting the other spot. It is still a make-do rotation shouting for help.
"Don't get me what I've already got," Manuel said of a potential trade-deadline deal for a marginal pitcher, or yet another minor-league call-up. The message to general manager Pat Gillick was clear, and very emphatic for a manager once perceived as a tool of the organization.
Perceptions change over time, though, and Manuel has gotten more time than anyone expected. His contract goes through next season, with a club option for 2010. If he goes the distance and survives his sixth full season, only Gene Mauch will have managed more complete seasons (seven) than anyone in modern team history.
That's how Manuel is. He kind of sneaks up on you and rassles you down before you see him coming. It's hard to dislike a guy like that, although Philadelphia gave it a nice effort.
Time to give it up, however. The team is still winning and, admit it or not, that is more because of Charlie Manuel than despite him. Y'all know it, too.
At Yankee Stadium, 8 p.m. (Fox29)
at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.
Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/bobford.
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