Frustration Continues For Manuel & Phillies
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Frustration Continues For Manuel & Phillies
Charlie Manuel is usually upbeat but this season is wearing on him. He sees a group of hitters who don’t show patience at the plate. His starting pitchers not named Cole Hamels and his relievers have produced a season of inconsistent performances.
So Manuel has said that jobs are to be won in these final 38 games. And even though he loves the game, Manuel couldn’t hide his frustration when asked how hard this season has been on him.
“It’s tough for me,” he said after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. It’s a challenge and that is good but at the same time I want us to keep playing hard and improving.”
Good luck with that wish, especially the improving part.
Among the more impatient hitters is Jimmy Rollins who is now batting .238 and has an on-base percentage of .297, not what a team is looking for from a leadoff batter.
“When Jimmy works the count, he is hitting good,” Manuel said.
That hasn’t happened consistently this year.
Manuel also seems like he is getting tired of being asked about Vance Worley’s loose bodies in his elbow.
“If something is wrong with his elbow he should tell us because we will do something about it,” Manuel said before the game.
Manuel says players are always getting MRIs to see if they are healthy enough to perform.
“When they (the medical staff) say he is OK and fine, then it is OK to pitch,” Manuel said.
To Worley’s credit, he has not blamed his elbow for a disappointing season that has him 6-9 with a 4.06 ERA.
When asked about his elbow after the game, Worley said, “It works.”
Then he expanded.
“I feel good,” he said. “The inflammation is not in there the way it was early in the season and I am still lighting up the gun. I hit 93 a few times.”
Manuel mentioned how Worley didn’t have his command but battled. In this season, that constitutes a positive development.
Case in point about the command - it took Worley 99 pitches to get through six innings. Reds winning pitcher Bronson Arroyo threw 59 in his first six and 86 in eight plus innings.
Kevin Frandsen has certainly helped himself in these late-season games and Domonic Brown has been playing well, batting .282 with a .397 OBP.
This may have been his best all-around, with a home run, double and a sensational catch and later just as impressive throw gunning down a runner at the plate. It’s the type of performance that makes a team not want to give up on the organization’s former top prospect.
Manuel was genuinely excited talking about Brown’s play. Maybe it took his mind momentarily off this 57-67 season, one that has even sapped some of the enthusiasm from this baseball lifer.
"Wahhh, it's tough on me." A former girlfriend's 5 year old son used to say this regularly. hitting guru Magoo is equally manipulative, begging for sympathy to hide his own failings. The only interesting question here is if Narducci is buying this childish whining, or if he's simply passing on the act to more fully reveal the deceit of the Country Bumpkin.
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— Quixote II- uncle chollie, of course we all know as the hitting guru, sure is fine at sugar coating things. maybe we can send him in to tell cancer patience when they aren't going to survive. i'm sure he would do quite well at that. well, at least better than he does at managing a baseball team.— nazblueeagles11
- Cancer patience?
And you're poking fun at Charlie?— PhightinPhil - Really. — drenner
- What? I am simply implying he is excellent at sugar coating things. — nazblueeagles11
- Seriously?
Cancer patients, not cancer patience.
My goodness.— PhightinPhil - The guys I'm excited about, Brown, Frandsen, Kratz. The guys I'm not -- Rollins, Howard, Lee. See a pattern salary-wise?— Claudio Vernight
- Yeah Claudio. Lets go back to losing 90 games a year with a bunch of minor leaguers. Gimme a break. Do you really think we would sell out the ballpark with these guys? Not! Thank goodness we have players of these caliper that WANT to play for the Phillies. — bob brotzman
- Charlie benched Frandsen tonight...so no need to get excited about him Claudio— djmarco
- Chill out people!— Phillycb21
- "(Manuel) sees a group of hitters who don’t show patience at the plate."
Yeah, so what else is new? Hey Charlie, if you, or the players, did nothing about it before, what makes you think they are going to do do something about it now?
"Among the more impatient hitters is Jimmy Rollins who is now batting .238 and has an on-base percentage of .297, not what a team is looking for from a leadoff batter."
You can't put the blame entirely on J-Roll if Charlie is going to continually bat him leadoff.— PhightinPhil - Everyone needs to stop exposing themselves. The players have to execute not Charlie— dwilly
- Charlie,Let the minor league guys play together & let Rollins,Utley,Howard & a few others sit & think what they are being paid millions to do. I feel sorry for US (The paying fans) to see this team(High Priced)play so -Not Caring.Lets see what the attendance is going to be in 2013.— RonGon
- Jimmy has pictures of Cholley— attila
- naziblue eagles should learn to use the right words when posting. Of course, knowing what he's talking about is another issue.— phineas
