Cataldi: Manuel ‘overrated,’ lucky

Advice to Charlie Manuel:

Forget about that letter of recommendation from Angelo Cataldi.

Others have called the ex-Phillies skipper, officially dismissed on Friday, "a beloved civic figure" and a "team player" with "class."

Manuel was "the luckiest" and "most overrated manager in Phillies history," Cataldi, morning host on  SportsTalk 94WIP, writes today in his weekly Metro column.

"Empty-headed sentimentality" is what Cataldi calls the "hero's sendoff from a city snookered by [Manuel's] bumbling charm."

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. wept, and fans got teary over Manuel's exit.

"The smartest fans" had good reason to cry as well, Cataldi writes, "… over what might have been, if Charlie Manuel hadn't spent the last nine years squandering our best chance ever for a sports dynasty."

"He was fortunate to arrive here just as the biggest wave of talent swept through, and he was lucky that his one championship team in 2008 was Charlie-proof," Cataldi writes. "Lidge saved 48 games that season. He blew none. He served as the perfect eraser for all of his manager's blunders."

Manuel should have won more, Cataldi asserts:

"He had the best team in baseball in 2009, and he blew the World Series to the inferior Yankees. He had a 102-win team in 2011 — arguably the best club of the era — and couldn't get past the far weaker Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs."

Cataldi even pooh-poohs the praise for Manuel's getting the most out of players.

"They loved Charlie. They played hard for Charlie. Tell that to Rollins, who ran hard when he felt like it. Tell that to Papelbon, who has been begging for weeks to leave the team. Tell that to the entire 2013 club, which cared so much about him that they quit."

Have we covered all the bases, now?

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.