Sandberg Steps Down

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The Hall of Fame player turned Phillies' manager resigned his post on Friday. Ryne Sandberg spent six years managing minor league ball clubs, riding buses around from small town to small town waiting for his chance to prove he could excel as a manager the same way he excelled at second base for the Chicago Cubs. It took him less than three full seasons to realize he no longer wanted the opportunity to prove himself at the big league level, not with these Phillies anyway.

In a fairly shocking move, Sandberg let the Phils’ brass as well as the general public know that he had had enough as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies after compiling a record of 119-159 in parts of three seasons in South Philadelphia. Sandy took over for Charlie Manuel, the best manager in Phillies’ history, in August of the 2013 season. Hope was not exactly springing eternal at that point, and it never really got much better for the stoic former slugger.

Sandberg was officially named manager for the 2014 season (he had the interim title finishing up 2013) and came in on his medium sized horse preaching “fundamentals” and “doing things the right way.” Basically, he came in and supposedly placed emphasis on playing baseball hard-nosed and old-fashioned because the Phillies no longer had the talent to not play that way. Turned out, which everybody saw coming, the Phillies don’t have enough talent to win ball games even when they are playing the game the right way.* Sandy had to know this. He had to know that best case scenario for the 2015 Phillies was winning 70 games and netting something of value for Cole Hamels. If he didn’t know that, and he didn’t expect to be this awful, he was not the man for the job then anyway.

I just don’t quite get the timing of what Sandberg did though. He has another year left on his contract and clearly wanted this big league managing job something fierce as evidenced by his willingness to toil so long in the minor leagues despite his HOF credentials. So how was he just going to give up on the team that had originally drafted him?

Sure the losing gets to you, but he had to know that the fan base certainly wasn’t holding him responsible for the schlop on the field that he was tasked with managing. The Phillies have Cole Hamels and then 4 guys who don’t belong in Major League Baseball starting for them right now. Did we think that was Sandberg’s fault? The Phillies have a platoon of outfielders so mediocre that Ben Revere is clearly the best of the bunch. Dom Brown and Jeff Francoeur made plays that little leaguers wouldn’t have made this weekend. Did he think that we think that’s his fault?

So I don’t like the move by Sandberg. I haven’t exactly enjoyed his managing tactics or overall demeanor, but I never once placed the blame of losing on him.  Sandy stepping down the day after an off day out of nowhere in the middle of a season is just perplexing and I’m sorry to say a little gutless. He had to have assumed he would be fired at the end of the season, but if I was him I would have stuck this thing out and made the Phillies fire me. Resigning in the middle of the season on a team that has quite a few young players, including the stud Maikel Franco is becoming, gives off an even worse vibe to a team that has had nothing but bad vibes since Ryan Howard tore his Achilles. It doesn’t sit well with me, and it can’t sit that well with the players either as nobody wants to change managers midway through a season.

Please excuse me while I jump in the mind of Sandy here real quick to see if I can’t come up with some sort of theory as to why June 2015 was the time to leave the Phillies.

I lost the clubhouse. I had it out with Kenny over his lack of respect for my authority when I called for that intentional free pass a few weeks back and Kenny’s only been in the league a year. I'm a hall-of-famer for chrissake, doesn't that mean anything to these kids? The guys aren’t winning so they feel like they don’t have to listen to me, and I can’t abide by that. When Chase had his spat with Bob (McClure – Phillies pitching coach) over the Frenchy relief appearance that was it for me. Maybe I left Frenchy out there a bit too long, but still.. Chase was the one guy in this clubhouse I couldn’t afford to lose and that was all she wrote. Chase put the writing on the wall for me.

In a sick twist of irony, Sandberg had to sit through his resignation press conference sitting next to the one and only Ruben Amaro Jr. If I’m Sandberg I would have insisted the PA guy blared Slikk The Shocker’s late 90s hit “It Aint My Fault” when I took my seat on the dais. Because truthfully, Ryne Sandberg has had about as much to do with the Phillies losing ball games at a late 90s like pace as I have. 

At this point, you have to point to ownership's lack of accountability for the baseball minds it employs almost as much as you have to point to Amaro's lack of competence. Even still, it’s Amaro who should have stepped down and allowed somebody with a clue to shepherd the Phillies through their rebuilding process. Somebody that doesn’t have emotional ties to Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels. Because they all need to go, whether the Phils wind up paying them or not, they have to go. The Phillies will not have a winning season again with Howard and Utley on the roster, it’s time to cut the cord.**

So the beat goes on for the Phillies. The losing-est franchise in professional sports history will have to have a second half surge to avoid losing 100 games this year. Sources are talking about Andy MacPhail, former executive with the Twins, Cubs, and Orioles, coming on board to take a knife to this Phils’ squad. I think we’re all ready for that.

* They're not.

** It was time in 2012.