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| So Long Suckas! |
He has to know this means he will most likely never get a chance to manage in the big leagues ever again. Any General Manager now has to see him as an unreliable guy who may leave them hanging when the going gets tough. How comfortable would the players on a team with a losing record feel with him as their manager?
Could be he would wanted leave on his own terms rather than being unexpectedly fired like his predecessor Charlie Manuel. Ryne’s big day came at the same time Phillies Favorite Uncle Charlie was blindsided.
For a manager to quit mid-season is a clear lack of respect to the leaders above him. Maybe Ryne wanted to let Ruben know exactly what he thought of him. Sure, Ruben hired him but afterwards what did he give him? All Sandberg has had since he took the job is a disaster of a roster. No manager could win with this group of players.
It had to be frustrating when The Big DomBrownski was promoted from a lackluster minor league showing to being the right fielder again. It’s pretty clear, Ruben is determined to prove Brown is an everyday player. Ruf demoted and Brown promoted. As a manager with no say over the team he fields, this had to be infuriating.
(Did you see the end of the Friday night game? Way to be a coachable player Dom! Mackanin, please bench him for Sundays game. I have tickets)
It’s possible the final straw was being forced to start Phillippe Aumont. Everyone said the same thing when they heard he was being promoted to the big leagues again – Seriously!?!? He has never produced in the Majors and his performance in the Minors has been underwhelming to say the least. This guy is not and will never be a Major League Ballplayer. Admit it was a bad trade and move on. The fans and Sandberg knew when he was named the starting pitcher the game would result in a loss and an unnecessary burden on the bullpen.
Or maybe...
As a Hall of Fame player, from the Chicago Cubs, who endured many losing seasons he got to see firsthand what a manager losing respect of the club house was like. It is more than reasonable to assume that Ryno saw the players no longer listening to him and playing their way rather than his.
Anyway...
It was pretty clear Sandberg would not be back next season as manager. It was more than possible he would have been dismissed before the end of the season. With rumors of Andy MacPhail being hired, changes are sure to be made. First move would hopefully be a new General Manager immediately followed by a change at manager.
But....
No matter what the reason, Ryne Sandberg is a great baseball man. He is a Hall of Fame player who worked his way from the lowest level of the Minor Leagues to realize his dream of managing a big league ball club. Good for him. How many people his age and with his resume are willing to start on the bottom and work their way to the top.
At this point, the only R(h)yno my son will ever care about is the villain from the Spider-Man comics but I hope he gets the same drive and determination as the Hall of Fame Second Baseman.
Who will be the next full time manager of the Phillies? I am still predicting Chase Utley will be filling out the lineup for the 2016 Philadelphia Phillies.
I will watch the Phillies so you don’t have to!
Erik Whitacre @erikwhitacre
I understand his line of thinking but I lost a little respect for him.
ReplyDeleteI understand it too, but respect him for what he told the press: he didn't want to get in the way of a complete front office sweep. He still knows his shit... he turned the Pigs from nothing to playoff finalists in 2 years. He had more to work with at LV than he did in Philly during that time. I'm almost certain now that he had nothing to do with Ruf's demotion and bringing back Dum Brown... that's on Amaro the asshole. The rest of the year we should be playing all the kids. Wait... I'm blowing a Bunts piece here lol.
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