Oct. 22: Girardi has emerged as the favorite in the Phillies search for a new manager, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Breen hears the same.
A match with the Phillies is not a foregone conclusion, however; Girardi is undergoing a second interview with the Mets today, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link), so he’s still very much in the running for one of Philadelphia’s division rivals. There’s been no indication of a contract offer to this point. Even if (or when) the Phils do make an offer, it’s possible that Girardi will prefer one of the other openings for which he’s interviewed. He’s been tied most prominently to the vacancies in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, and it appears increasingly likely that he’ll be back in a big league dugout in 2020.
Oct. 21: Phillies owner John Middleton had the determining vote in the team’s decision to fire manager Gabe Kapler, and he could wield his power again in finding a new skipper. Middleton’s said to be “leaning toward” Joe Girardi as the choice, while other members of the Phillies’ hierarchy are fans of fellow finalist Buck Showalter, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. There’s no word on whether Dusty Baker, who has also been in the mix, is still a candidate for the job.
Girardi, reportedly the favorite for the position, had his second interview with the club Monday. Unlike Kapler, a first-time MLB skipper at the time of his hiring, Girardi brings a wealth of experience in the role. The 55-year-old oversaw the NL East rival Marlins back in 2006, when he led a low-payroll club to 78 wins en route to NL Manager of the Year honors. The dysfunctional Marlins fired Girardi in the wake of that season, though, and after a year off, he accepted the Yankees’ managerial job entering 2008. Girardi, who ultimately remained in the position through 2017, helped the Yankees to six playoff berths. In Girardi’s crowning achievement as New York’s manager, the team knocked off his next potential employer, Philadelphia, in the 2009 World Series.
Showalter, seemingly Girardi’s main competition, also comes with significant experience as a manager (20 years, to be exact). As of last week, Middleton was reportedly collecting information from players on Showalter. There’s already quite a bit of familiarity between Showalter and key members of the Phillies’ front office, making it unsurprising they’re interested in hiring the 63-year-old. Showalter last managed in Baltimore, where now-Philly president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak worked before landing their current gigs. MacPhail hired Showalter to steer the Orioles, but it doesn’t appear the two will be reuniting if Girardi truly is Middleton’s No. 1 target.
I, too, have the At Bat app
You don’t even need that. Just have a Twitter and everything they put on here is there 20 minutes before
I’d rather wait twenty minutes vs living a life of twitter.
“The hardest choices require the strongest wills”-Thanos
I got rid of my twitter, but it definitely pops up on there.
Good cheese man!
Now let’s here it for our next performer Yo Gabba Gabba!!!!!
“We Yo Gabba Gabba! Yo Gabba Gabba, yo mama flabba,
I walk in the store I want some sabba to $%#@ jabba!
Get the man with good stuff so we can wabba wabba
Life on the streets they be hard for them Yo Gabba Gabba.”
Come on Phillies sign him already. This is the man to help the Phillies win championships. Yes, I like the Rangers, Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays.
@ francys08 . . . . and the Cardinals too apparently
Girardi makes sense for Phillies as manager. But honestly this team needs upgrades in SP, RP and 3B. Bohm has all star talent with bat(but I think he will be best served at 1B). A healthy Clutch next year will help a lot as well. Phillies have some talent to work with(just not Atl/Was level talent).
Bohm will likely get significant time at the hot corner before they decide to move him to first (unless the phils go and sign Moustakas or something). At this point, theyve gotta get creative in how they address the many holes in the rotation–FA alone will not solve it, especially considering the fact that G Cole will be in such high demand and will be an almost impossible get for the Phils. Porcello ain’t gonna light the world on fire but he’s definitely an upgrade over the current lot, so I could see him as a decent fit. Get Hamels back in the mix and trade Hoskins to Tampa Bay for two top pitching talents and the Phils just might have the depth necessary to make a run.
As a Braves fan it seems to me that Girardibis the obvious pick. He has proven he can win on a regular basis even sometimes with unexpected teams. He doesn’t come with the concerns of allowing his pitchers to get injured like Dusty Baker and he doesn’t have terrible seasons on his record like Showalter. Why is it that I keep hearing so many Philly fans push for Buck Showalter?
The Philly fans aren’t pushing for Showalter. NBC Sports Philly did a poll on who should be the next Phillies manager & Showalter finished last (Girardi was first). A lot of fans are anti-Klentak & they view Showalter as one of his boys.
Klentak and McFailure want Buck. Middleton and the fans want Girardi.
I’m a Philly fan,and out of the 3 guys we interviewed,Buck would be my 4th choice.Id rather have Dusty over him,and I’d rather they tried to steal Ron Washington off of Atlanta before hiring either one of them.
Everyone wants Washington. The guy can flat out coach. However, Wash has been through a lot of public turmoil and seems to have been legitimately humbled many times over so I doubt he would take on a situation that could trigger a relapse.
My bet is the Phillies get Joe Girardi and that works out really good because Joe is pretty good too.
i dont see why they cant sign Girardi and also upgrade their talent
The Phillies are screwed.
Why is everything so slow?
Hire Girardi and move on.
The Phillies are still reviewing tape on the VCR and sending out faxes to make sure due diligence is done.
Phillies, like many teams in their division. Are just like me, have to open up most news on our team with a cold beer in hand.
Love Girardi….
The roster sucks. The FO doesn’t know much about how to put a professional baseball team that players on a field together. They’re more in line with fantasy baseball based on advanced analytics.
The Mets ‘Learning On The Job’ GM wants to continue to pull the strings of his Manager.
Consequently, the Phillies have a good chance of finishing 3rd in the NLE with Girardi as Manager in 2020 if they can stay away from multiple injuries.
Philly always clout chasing.
Really? How so?
Middleton seems to be running this team by the seat of his pants and he will ultimately make the call. He wants Girardi and so do the fans, so he will hire him to cater to the fan base. Anyone besides Girardi will cause more backlash from an already disgruntled fanbase. The real problem is Klentak and McPhail. Middleton and they are obviously not on the same page on a lot of things.
Bring in Girardi , reload the pitching that they need and this team is ready to take off. If they add another bat like Moustakus or Donaldson then even better.
Reloading the pitching is easier said than done behind Nola the whole rotation is suspect. Arrieta and Eflin are decent #4 and #5 guys but there’s no #2 or 3 on that team. ( or #1 depending on how highly you view Nola) The infield isn’t that good. They definitely need a 3B til Blohm is ready. Cutch will be 33 coming off a major injury so who knows what you’ll get with him…….
The team could be a wild card contender if things go right. But I could just as easily see them being a 78-80 win club.
Idk what the holdup is for Girardi. Offer him the job already!
I do not think that Girardi will sign here.
He will take either the Cubs or Mets job.
The Phillies will have to take Showalter.
Dusty would still be a good manager but I think that his age would be a hindrance.
“Dusty would still be a good manager” Not in the playoffs. “but I think that his age would be a hindrance” Lack of bullpen management, and in game decisions have been his negatives throughout. Baker should just enjoy his rocking chair.
Jack McKeon was 72 when he was the manager for the WS winning Marlins in 2003.
Girardi sucks.
Where are all the Yankees bandwagon jumpers? Sitting home waiting to post things like, if we had German, if Severino had more rehab time, and of course that damn dead ball they used.
Being a jackass that knows nothing comes really naturally to you doesn’t it….signed a Yankee fan!
Blocky, the saltiest jumper of them all.
ok – how so?
Clint Hurdle is available
So is Ozzie
Just pull the trigger already. This “_____ is the clear favorite as of now” stuff has grown old.
Looking at the rosters as well as the payroll flexibility I would say the best place for Gerardi is the Cubs. Not to mention he is always wanted to be the manager of the Cubs has gone on record several times saying that was his dream job.
Theo wants a younger (cheaper) analytics driven manager who’ll toe the company line. That ain’t Girardi.
Gabe Kapler is available.
Theo probably has the pick unlike Klentak in Philadelphia,but he better not make the same mistake as Klentak did.
He would be looking at a first time manager and the Cubs are a veteran team and usually that means veteran manager.
No matter how much influence the GM has on game day decisions the manager is still the contact with the players who are the ones determining wins and losses.
But are the Phillies the favorites in Joe Girardi’s managerial job search?
Long time Yankee fan but just can’t like this guy not for his profession as a manager but just as a person or commentator who irritatingly kept saying “AJ, AJ” like he wanted to date him or something at the Astro-Rays series last week. And his voice, so high toned. Anyone agree?
AJ Hinch will be the Mets next manager
Not if Billy Martin has a chance to interview
What about Joe Torre?
Too high on the food chain to take another manager job.
You have to wonder. Division on firing the old manager. Division on the new. Maybe Joe is just waiting on the Cubs.
Love it, great manager
He’s going to Philly. Have the feeling the Mets go with Beltran..
Big mistake taking Girardi over Showalter. Phillies got rid of Kapler for not getting it done, and are looking to replace him with another manager that couldn’t get it done – Girardi.? Girardi had so much talent on the Yankees, it was almost expected he would do well, yet he didn’t. If he was not good enough for the Yankees, what makes the Phillies think he can do better?
His Yankees overachieved between 2012-2016. Even unexpectedly in 2017 where that team wasn’t expected to do much yet nearly reached the World Series. Girardi is the guy to change the mindset of that clubhouse. He will kick some tails, and no team needs that more than Philly. Cubs a close second.
According to Baseball reference, Girardi actually underachieved in 1 season and met expectations in 1 season in the seasons you listed. Showalter may not have had the talent the Yankees had, but he actually overachieved in several seasons. When you are in one of the strongest divisions in the leagues, AND you can overachieve what is expected, that manager is better than Girardi. Whether Girardi can change the mindset is debatable, but if you want to go with the best talent as a manager, Showalter is the answer. Showalter was always loved by his players. The fact that he managed a team with a lot of bad talent, but still could overachieve, deserves credit. Overachieving by a win or 2 on a team that is loaded with stars just means some stars were emerging or peaking and some of Girardi’s additional wins were due to great players just becoming better. So I still believe Phillies made a bad decision in not getting Showalter.
I’m a fan of Showalter. He should be managing. However, Philly needs a certain personality, and that is Girardi. Showalter should be the manager of San Diego. Showalter can show them how to get to the next level. Padres would be perfect.
Baseball references had Girardi overachieve in 2013 with an 85 win season and a pythagorean of 79. In 2014 he won 84 with a 77 pythagorean. 2016 it was 84 wins with 78 pythagorean. I’d say he surpassed expectations more than once.
I’m not disputing the fact that Girardi overachieved in more than 1 season, I was merely disputing he did that in each season of 2012-16 as you previously mentioned. Also, having a team loaded with stars allows a manager to overachieve some years than having a lot of bad talent on the team. It’s a lot easier to manage a game or two when you have great pitching and a decent bullpen. Showalter had pitchers that never were impact players, but still got it done with the pitching he had. Like I said, changing the mindset is debatable, but if you want a manager that gets the best of a team, Showalter is the better answer. Phillies got rid of Kapler, and replaced him with basically a copy of him in Girardi. So it doesn’t make sense to fire Kapler, and replace him with his clone as far as talent. Unless the Phillies bring in at least 2 impact players that exceed expectations with the Phillies, they will never beat Washington or Atlanta. Expect another 3rd place finish under Girardi, something that would have probably happened under Kapler. Though the Phillies have done a weak job with their free agent signings and trades. Harper did ok, but he cannot support a team. Arrieta has been a disaster.