Dubee's role is more than merely Phillies' pitching coach

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The first postworkout question to Charlie Manuel concerned the status of young lefthander Antonio Bastardo. The manager's glance flickered briefly to his left. The next voice heard in the conference room was that of pitching coach Rich Dubee, providing the answer.

Reams of newsprint and countless hours of radio and television time have been devoted to the Phillies' ace starters since Cliff Lee reappeared at Citizens Bank Park a couple of months ago. Some of that attention will inevitably be reflected onto the man in charge of the care and feeding of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, Lee and the rest of the staff. It's a classic no-win situation. If the aces excel, well, that's what they're supposed to do. If they don't, the itch to assign blame will be overwhelming.

"I guess the perception out there is that I can kind of sit back in a lounge chair and just relax now," Dubee said with a laugh yesterday at Bright House Field. "And it's great. Talent is always a great thing to have and we have tremendous talent. For the most part, you just let guys work.

"But there are going to be minor glitches where we're going to have to make some adjustments. And we've got very receptive guys. They like that. They want somebody watching them. They know that they're human and that there are adjustments to be made."

As Manuel's willingness to let him field queries involving the pitching demonstrates, Dubee could be considered more assistant manager than pitching coach.

"I use him a lot in the dugout. He knows the scouting reports in and out. As a matter of fact, he sets them up. He knows a lot about the game and he gives good answers," Manuel said. "I talk to all my coaches. But I rely on Rich a lot. When I interviewed for this job, they asked me what I considered my weakness. And I said, 'I've got to have a good pitching coach who can communicate with me and talk to me.' "

Working with Bobby Cox in Atlanta, Leo Mazzone achieved a level of fame because he coached Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, and because his distinctive rocking on the bench became a familiar sight on superstation TBS. Dave Duncan is almost a cult figure because of the success he's had as Tony La Russa's pitching consigliore in Oakland and St. Louis.

Dubee's national profile might not be that high, but there's no question that he enjoys an unusual level of independence. So how did a career minor leaguer with a losing record evolve into a major league coach who has been handed the user's manual to what is already being touted as one of the best rotations in history?

A little serendipity was involved. There always is. But that wouldn't have mattered without Dubee's ability to take something out of every situation in which he found himself.

As a player in Kansas City system, he learned about controlling emotions on the mound. That lesson reverberated last spring when he stressed the need for Hamels to improve his body language. He now says that his stuff simply wasn't good enough but that he wishes he had experimented more. Now one of his staples is getting even the best pitchers to expand their repertoire and improve their secondary pitches.

He went directly from playing to coaching in the Royals system. There, he honed his organizational skills and learned not to try to make every pitcher throw the same way. It was also during this time that he got to know John Boles, whom he would later follow to the Montreal and Florida organizations. With the Marlins, he got his first chance to coach in the big leagues.

"John is a great people person," Dubee said. "He's a straight shooter. Being around him, I [came to believe] that the truth is always the best way to go. Sometimes guys don't like to accept it. But I think when you're straightforward with guys, they eventually see that what they're doing isn't right and hopefully they'll make some changes. So he helped me greatly with my communication skills and how to deal with players. When to put a thumb on them and when to put an arm around them. Being around him for those years was very beneficial."

(No coach bats 1.000. It's no secret that Dubee and Brett Myers didn't hit it off, for example.)

The Marlins went through an extreme makeover after the 2001 season. Dubee was looking for a job, and this is where some good fortune came in. Wanting to stay close to his Florida home to watch his son Michael pitch in high school, Dubee accepted a job with the Phillies as pitching coach at Class A Clearwater.

The same year, the Phillies hired Manuel as a senior adviser. When he became manager, he was perfectly willing to have Dubee as his pitching coach.

It's sometimes said that people become so close that they can finish each other's sentences. Six years and four playoff appearances later, these two have developed a relationship in which Dubee really can answer some of Manuel's questions.

Send e-mail to hagenp@phillynews.com.