Charlie Manuel is a nice guy - or at least he treats most of the press with respect, which is what passes for pleasant as far as most of us are concerned. He wasn't in such a good mood before the Phils went out and beat the Yanks in Game 5, however. He seemed sort of annoyed, actually.
I don't blame him.
There's a way the media sausages are made, and it's a lot like how the Fightin's win - messy. When a team is down three games to one, some journalists start planning ahead. Some of that involves asking questions about what happens after the World Series is over - even though it isn't yet and might not be for a while. It's a delicate process, or it ought to be. Problem is, most reporters are about as subtle as a hand buzzer or a plastic flower that squirts water. (Not me, of course.)
So Cholly was sitting there before Game 5, and the first question he fielded was about what happens to Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge next year. Not later in the Series or even later that night in Lidge's case. They might as well have gone up to Chuck and patted him on the back and handed him a nice parting gift like the World Series home game. Charlie wasn't in the mood to play, though.
"We're kind of getting ahead [of ourselves] because we've still got time," he said. "We might play a long time yet."
I don't think anyone believed him. I certainly didn't see people rushing back to their computers to reserve rooms at the Marriott in Saddle Brook or the Upper East Side. That's the thing about this team - almost no one believes in the Phils but the Phils and their fans. The Fightin's are starting to take that personally, and it's pretty great.
I mean, what did they expect Charlie to say? We're finished - I'm making vacation reservations at a time share in Boca Raton, Fla., as soon as this God-forsaken interview is over?
But his answer wasn't good enough, so someone rephrased (classic reporter strategy) and tried again: "Simply put, what gives you the confidence that your team can win the next three games?" It was the "simply put" that made it great. The guy should have just flipped Charlie the finger - would have saved time.
"Because first of all, during the season, 162 games, you can win three games in a row," Manuel said. "If you're a winning team, you do that quite often."
I kept waiting for Manuel to hop over the table and strangle someone or at least hand out a few noogies, but he restrained himself. Like I said, nice man.
Shane Victorino wasn't nearly as good at hiding his contempt. He received the same treatment as Charlie. "Obviously you want to win," a reporter began, "but if you don't this year, can you talk about what this past year for you personally has been . . .?"
I literally cringed. It was like asking someone to deliver his own eulogy while he was still breathing.
"I don't know what you're trying to get out of me, but I'm not satisfied yet," Victorino said. "I don't care what I've done up to this point. All-Star Game, defending world champ, I want to be a champ in '09. We're focused on that right now. I'm not worried about anything else."
None of the Fightin's are, but that's obviously a hard concept for certain people to grasp.
Just remember I'm only the messenger here: Before Game 5, a cake built to look like a two-foot-tall Harry Kalas arrived in the press box. It had the trademark powder blue jacket and everything.
Cosmi's Pastries - building creepy cakes since 1947! - sent it over to the Phillies in the hopes that Fox would show it on the air, thereby getting a little free publicity for the South Philly bakery. Instead, the Phils fed it to the press - because team representatives thought it was weird and, you know, the media will eat anything. So, yeah, they carved up Harry Kalas last night and served him to a bunch of paunchy journalists.
Digest in peace, Harry.
People were standing around the Kalas cake when one reporter nodded at it and asked, "is that in poor taste?" Without missing a beat, someone else quipped, "No - Harry's delicious.". . . Anyone see Thursday's forecast for New York? If the Phils win tomorrow and force Game 7, Mother Nature might get involved (again) - this time with snow. . . . So glad the Series is headed back to New York. I didn't want to watch the Bombers celebrate in Philly. Besides, it's long past time for Yankees fans to leave town. It was like having an annoying relative crash at your place for the holidays - after a while, you start fantasizing about them having an "accident" and tripping down the stairs.
Contact columnist John Gonzalez at 215-854-2813 or gonzalez@phillynews.com.
