Inside the Phillies: Manuel decides to speak out
TORONTO - The visitors' clubhouse at the Rogers Centre is small, with minimal floor space between the rows of lockers that line each wall. After Friday night's game, manager Charlie Manuel stood on the carpet in the middle of the room, according to several Phillies players. He spoke passionately, but did not shout. The players sat in folding chairs in front of their lockers, most looking at Manuel and listening.
The manager had not held a team meeting since the beginning of spring training. In March, Manuel told his players to remember how they became World Series champions - by focusing only on the moment, avoiding distractions, and functioning as a cohesive unit.
DARREN CALABRESE / Canadian Press
Ryan Howard after striking out. The players consider talk about their home-road splita distraction from real issues.
He rarely addresses the group as a whole, believing that words have more power when carefully chosen. He resisted the growing urge to express his frustration until Friday night. Before that night's game, Manuel said that berating professional athletes rarely achieves the desired result. He admitted that he still was looking for the right strategy to address the Phillies' poor play as the team lost 11 of 13 games. They hadn't just been losing. They also were playing sloppy defense, carelessly wasting at-bats, running the bases mindlessly, and pitching ineffectively.
Friday's game was especially difficult for Manuel. He watched Toronto starter Ricky Romero no-hit his team through six innings, a tough spectacle for the old hitting coach to endure. He saw the usually reserved Chase Utley bark at an umpire for the second night in a row, and saw Cole Hamels ejected at the end of a disappointing start.
Finally, he noticed that his players were perhaps taking their losing streak too lightly. Manuel does not mind levity in the clubhouse, even after a loss. He likes a loose team. But he didn't think that the joking he had seen lately was appropriate, considering how badly the Phillies were playing. He decided it was time for a meeting.
The Phils' clubhouse remained closed for 20 minutes after the game, double the usual time. When the doors opened, several players were willing to discuss the state of the team, but Manuel's speech remained an internal matter.
Interviews yesterday morning offered a better glimpse. According to several players and others with knowledge of the meeting, Manuel addressed the team for about 10 minutes. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was in the clubhouse, but not an active participant in the meeting, a player said.
The manager stood in the middle of the room.
"It was nothing too dramatic," one player said. "He told us we were better than this."
The theme of the meeting did not depart from Manuel's usual message: The Phillies are a talented team, and can win if each individual stays within himself. Manuel thought that his players were trying too hard to single-handedly snap the team out of its slump. That had the reverse effect of causing uncharacteristic mistakes. He reminded the Phillies to trust their teammates, and realize that no one player can carry a team.
Many players thought Manuel's speech was effective, and helped identify what they were doing poorly. The manager later spoke with Hamels one-on-one in his office, in a talk the pitcher called helpful after an aggravating night. Coincidence or not, the Phillies played a much sharper game yesterday, defeating Toronto, 10-0, behind J.A. Happ's complete-game shutout.
Now, the team must demonstrate that it can win consistently, despite the many injuries it has endured in recent weeks.
Beyond those issues, Manuel has criticized his team at times for falling victim to post-championship distractions. The theory goes that, because the players won a World Series, they now have more commitments, money, and opportunities in Philadelphia. The players do not agree with that idea. The younger ones chafe at the suggestion that they are not focused, and the veterans say they have noticed no difference in dedication or preparation.
The psychology of trying to repeat a championship is clearly different from the psychology of chasing a first title. The Phillies are a different team now, made confident by past success.
Manuel wants his club loose and self-assured, but also wants to ensure that confidence does not become complacency. He carefully chose a moment to say so Friday, and hopes the meeting will help turn around a suddenly troubling season.
Inside the Phillies:
Read Andy Martino's Phillies blog, the Phillies Zone, at http://go.philly.com/pzone
Blog Response of the Week
Re: Bastardo leaves with shoulder pain
Posted by GoBirds77 10:23 p.m. 06/25/2009
The Bastardo experiment is over. So much for that. The bullpen can't get anyone out. The offense can't score past the first inning. We haven't seen the team play this bad in a while. The Mets are about to take over first place with over half their lineup on the DL. No playoffs this year, folks. We might even be selling off some players by the deadline. I'm not used to losing again.
Contact staff writer Andy Martino at 215-854-4874 or amartino@phillynews.com.
