Charlie Manuel's firing last week was a sad day in Philadelphia, as the all-time winningest manager in Phillies history was shown the door in the midst of a miserable season. Most of the negativity was directed at Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, who saddled Manuel with an aging team in 2013 and threw him under the bus for his own failures.
One person who agreed with the managerial change from Manuel to Ryne Sandberg is Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay. After a rehab start for Class A Lakewood on Tuesday night, Halladay made his opinion about the managerial change known according to a report from CSN Philly..
“I’ve exchanged texts with Charlie,” Halladay said. “Obviously, I loved him. He was great. But from what I’ve seen, Ryne [Sandberg] came in and made some changes and addressed some issues that I think were being overlooked. So from that standpoint, as much as I miss Charlie, I think that Ryne’s going to do a good job and I think he’s going to bring back a little more of the Phillie baseball style than we’ve had the last couple of years. You know, we really haven’t had that whole team effort and the whole team hustle that I think we’ve had in prior years.”
The rehabbing ace then seemingly took a shot at some of his teammates when asked about the specific issues plaguing the club.
“Just different things,” he said. “Guys being in places on time. Being on the field on time. Taking ground balls, taking extra BP, and all those little things that nobody thinks makes a difference."
Ouch. Halladay really didn't pull any punches there throwing some of his fellow Phillies under the bus. Depending how factual Halladay's comments are, it looks like the situation in Philadelphia had spiraled out of control so much that the inmates were running the asylum. It'll be interesting to see how Sandberg's audition as manager goes over these final six weeks of the regular season. The Phillies are 2-3 since Sandberg took over last Friday, with both wins coming in one run affairs.
Halladay hasn't pitched in the majors since May 6th following shoulder surgery, and was shaky in his second rehab start last night. Getting back to the majors this season and at least putting together a couple of solid September starts could be huge for his job prospects next year. The Phillies hold a $20 million club option on Halladay for 2014 that will likely not be exercised after the former AL and NL Cy Young winner has thrown just 190 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.
