Sandberg walks away before they make him walk plank

Ryne Sandberg could see the Phillies' future and he knew it did not include him.

Given those circumstances, the manager accused of lacking the communication skills necessary to do his job at the big-league level decided to relay a clear and surprising message to his bosses when he arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Friday at about 10 a.m.

The Hall of Fame second baseman took the elevator up to the executive offices and informed general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and team president Pat Gillick that he was finished as the Phillies' manager. He got out before he was kicked out, and you cannot blame a man for leaving a job that he knew was not going to be his for much longer.

Sandberg, 55, said the losing was getting to him, but I believe he could have handled that part of the equation if he thought he was still going to be around when the tide turned. We are, after all, talking about a man who is sure he only has a plaque in Cooperstown because he grinded his way there. He considered himself more of a great worker than a great player and he probably related better to the guys trying to get to the big leagues than the ones who already had made it there.

"It is not an easy decision," Sandberg said. "In a lot of ways I am old school. I am very much dissatisfied with the record and not pleased at all with that. And that goes hand-in-hand with being a manager. So it has been a difficult thing to swallow. I have thought about it for some time and we have come to this day.

"But with some leadership [changes] coming up, I thought it was important for me not to be in the way. It will allow the organization to move forward and really get things going."

In the very near future, the Phillies are going to name Andy MacPhail the newest member of their front office. He may not come in with the title of team president, but he is likely going to have a strong opinion about who will be the manager and the general manager of the team as the rebuilding process continues.

The Chicago Cubs were among MacPhail's previous stops during an executive career that has made him a borderline Hall of Famer, and although Sandberg never worked under him, the paths of the two men did cross. It was impossible to work for the Cubs and not know how beloved Sandberg was at Wrigley Field.

A source close to Sandberg described his relationship with MacPhail as "complicated" and "mediocre."

Truth is, the support for Sandberg among the front-office members currently in place was already waning. Gillick had offered a vote of confidence Sunday during an interview with The Inquirer, but he also conceded that he'd like to see a little more fire from his manager. He was not alone in that opinion.

Sandberg, however, was just being himself. He believed his players should show up on time, do their work and play the game the right way. It is the way he did things, and it is the way he wanted things done. Right or wrong, sometimes the modern player needs more.

It would have been a great story if Sandberg could have come here, replaced Charlie Manuel and been a successful manager after being rejected by the Cubs, the team that stole him and Larry Bowa from the Phillies in an infamous 1982 trade.

Instead, Sandberg took control of the Phillies just as the franchise's second great era was coming to a crashing halt. Initially, the players, especially some of the veteran ones, welcomed his more regimented style of managing, but as the losses mounted, his message seemed to lose steam. The guy who connected so well with Erik Kratz and Kevin Frandsen as they made unlikely climbs from Lehigh Valley to the big leagues was being questioned by guys with questionable big-league resumés.

Sandberg was not blameless for all that went wrong, but he was the manager of a team that could not have won with Tony La Russa or Joe Torre in charge.

When asked if he hoped to manage in the big leagues again, Sandberg said he did not know. He does not need the money, but he does have the knowledge to teach the game the right way and that should be valued by some organization.

"Managing a major-league baseball team is very challenging," he said. "I enjoyed the challenge. I enjoyed coming to the ballpark every day. I enjoyed thinking of players as individuals and the team. What we needed to do to get better. I had excellent work from my coaching staff. The goal was to get the most out of the players. I know I gave 100 percent every time I came to the ballpark with the attitude of winning the game that day."

None of that was enough to keep this disaster of a season from unfolding in the exact manner so many anticipated. All the losses and the knowledge that a pink slip was all that was waiting for him at the end of the season was enough to make Sandberg walk away before he was pushed aside.

@brookob