Changes are coming in Philadelphia. Gabe Kapler will not return as manager of the Phillies in 2020, the team announced on Thursday. His dismissal creates a nearly unprecedented eighth managerial vacancy around the Major Leagues.
The Phillies also confirmed previous reports that Chris Young won’t return as the pitching coach in 2020 and announced that interim hitting coach and franchise legend Charlie Manuel will return to his role as a senior advisor to the GM.
Not only will the Phillies be looking for a new manager, pitching coach and hitting coach — they’ll also be looking to revamp their training staff, as neither head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan nor assistant athletic trainer Chris Mudd will have his contract renewed for 2020, per the club. The rest of the coaching staff has been invited back for next season, although it’s certainly possible that the change atop the dugout hierarchy could lead to eventual changes down the pecking order.
Phillies owner John Middleton offered the following statement on Kapler, who had been under contract through next season:
Several years ago, I promised our loyal fans that I would do everything in my power to bring a world championship team to our city. I will never waver from that commitment. During the second half of this season and continuing into this week, I have evaluated our organization extensively, a process that included talking to many people both internally and around the league. Reassuring to me was the endorsement that people outside the Phillies gave to the progress we have made recently, both organizationally and on the field. Nevertheless, with the knowledge that I have gained from my evaluation, combined with my personal reflection on the 2019 season, I have decided that some changes are necessary to achieve our ultimate objective. Consequently, we will replace our manager. I am indebted to Gabe for the steadfast effort, energy and enthusiasm that he brought to our club, and we are unquestionably a better team and organization as a result of his contributions. With [general manager Matt Klentak] leading our search for our next manager, I am confident that we will find the right person to lead us.
The Phillies organization debated the decision at great length. The Inquirer’s Matt Breen reported earlier this week that Middleton had been seeking opinions from players and front office execs alike as he seemed to genuinely wrestle with whether to bring Kapler back for the final contract of his season. Ultimately, the organization will go in a new direction after a pair of disappointing playoff misses in Kapler’s first two seasons at the helm.
Of course, team record is hardly the be-all and end-all in determining the fate of a manager these days. Managerial changes are also linked to how one maintains order in the clubhouse, aligns with the organization’s vision for the future, oversees the a coaching staff and incorporates input from a club’s front office/analytics department into game flow. The team’s lackluster records in both 2018 and 2019 surely played a role in the eventual decision but were surely just a few of the innumerable factors Middleton weighed in making today’s announcement.
Kapler, 44, played in parts of a dozen Major League seasons and managed in the Red Sox’ minor league system before embarking on a player development trajectory with the Dodgers (where, notably, he worked with current Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who is also on the hunt for a new manager). Kapler spent three seasons as the Dodgers’ director of player development prior to being hired by the Phillies — a role in which he placed great emphasis on analytics, player nutrition and mental wellness.
During his time with the Dodgers, Kapler was viewed as a fast-rising managerial candidate, and although things didn’t pan out in Philadelphia, he’ll quite likely garner consideration from other clubs. It’s hardly uncommon for rookie managers to be dismissed from one club before finding success with another — as A.J. Hinch can attest — and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Kapler would like to continue his managerial career.
Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer first broke the news of Kapler’s dismissal (via Twitter).
This is the right move. Kapler should remain in the organization but the Phillies need a manager with experience. I am surprised.
Yap had to go
You know, with all these firings, eight so far, where are all the qualified managers to replace them? Teams will only be hiring Gabe kaplers and Dave Roberts types to replace them … guys with no big league managing experience.
Not sure the grass is greener with a new guy. Should have just kept the old guy and let them learn and grow on the job and have some consistency. I just don’t see the gain with a few of these moves.
The tigers and angels will argue that with Ausmus
Eight managerial firings?
Golly, I thought it was all about statistics and the players – that managers (and coaches) don’t really matter.
I can’t tell if you’re serious or not. “Where are all the qualified managers?” Without working at it all that hard, off the top of my head I can see Showalter, Girardi, Baker and Maddon taking a couple of those jobs and interviewing with more than one team. If Scioscia wanted to take another gig he’d be more than qualified and we’re not even talking about the guys with experience who always didn’t work in one place but could be just what is needed in a new place — Farrell, Gibbons, Matheny, Ausmus…
There are plenty of candidates out there before we even start looking at the coaches with no experience as the top dog in a dugout.
Vandals, not all 8 were fired. 2 WS winning managers retired. One of whom is a first ballot HOF’r.
asmus was a dombrowski casualty
However how do you think people gain experience? By failing and learning. I am not opposed to them letting him go but even the great managers fail. Look at Madden? and some of the names they are mentioning. Experience does not mean successful
Ausmus could have been a Dombrowski benefactor if Ausmus could coach even a little. Ausmus Tiger teams were stacked until he set a dumpster fire that forced them to start a rebuild.
Ausmus won’t ever be good.
Dusty Baker? Lol he’s done. There’s Madden and to a lesser degree Girardi and if he wants to manage again Bochy.
Those are the three to go after. Other than that you’re hiring first-year guys all over again and you just fired your rookie hire. Running around in circles.
Maddon wasn’t fired. His contract expired. That’s basically resigning from a position.. he was not fired. He was the only manager of the 8 that wasnt fired.
Joe was not rehired,but said that he wanted to stay as manager of the Cubs.
You are correct,he was not fired,but in essence,he was.
He was also smart enough to know that he did not need the job and would quickly get a similar one.
I agree, no doubt he has tons of baseball knowledge. I can see him being director of player development like he did with the Dodgers. He just wasn’t cut out to be a skipper though.
He’d probably be awesome as a team’s strength and conditioning coach. The Phillies could use some help in that dept. as evidenced by their injury issues this season.
Were Alex Cora and AJ Hinch experienced managers when they were hired?
Show Me Your Tatis…….
If you are asking about Hinch as the Astros manager, yes he had experience. 200+ games managing the D-Backs and even he admitted he was bad at it but learned from his mistakes.
Oof. Missed that one. Thanks Cat.
Still, managers don’t need prior experience to succeed. If they did there would be no managers.
EXACTLY!!!!! Thank you.
Or Aaron Boone?
I’m going to miss him. He helped the Braves win games with his choices.
Good move get him as far from here as possible!
Hire Mark DeRosa to manage this team. Former U of Penn QB and a tough North Jersey guy. Always played the game well no matter what team he was on despite not having Mike Trout-like talent.
LMAO that was fast. 2 minutes ago they were deciding on it…then boom.
Comment of the Day!
oh here comes clepto to the chat. Abandon chat everyone
This will be one of the most interesting off seasons in years!
We went from a decision coming today, to Kapler being fired in less than 20 minutes.
Yeah I saw the post about the decision and then BAM! he was gone
Gone. As in real gone.
LOL OMG NICE JOKE!
Ha. Nice!
He gone
Dave Roberts should be next. It won’t happen but man is he awful. The Dodgers win a lot of games in spite of him.
I bet he drives with his foot on the clutch.
LMAO! Nailed it on the head Ruso!!
Tigers will trade you Gardenhire for Roberts.
We Tigers fans don’t want Kapler. I know I don’t want Gardy back. Mets will be on the cheap, so let it be Alfonzo or Ventura.
Not really sure that’s fair. I’m by no means a Roberts fan but perhaps you can say more about that makes him awful.
i think at this point it might be. no reason for that team to not make it out of the divisional round, especially after failing to close the deal the two years prior as well.
Just wasn’t the right person to lead this team. Maybe Farhan Zaidi will bring his boy over to manage the Giants.
Really hope not.
Why?
That was my speculation as well.
He may have just decided to quit to save the time!
@Dodgers take notes pls
At least the Phillies waited for the day after Yom Kippur to fire Kapler!
I don’t think Kapler is religious.
he managed the Israeli National Team in the WBC. if not religiously, perhaps ethnically.
It was also Leif Erickson day. Ahinga dinga duergen.
That reminds me, I’m out of giant paper.
Guess he didn’t atone for his sins
No amount of atonement would have been enough for the Phillies. All the injuries weren’t his fault. Philly’s GM was not as good or lucky as NYY in plugging the holes.
Leo Durocher: “If you don’t win, you’re going to be fired. If you do win, you’ve only put off the day you’re going to be fired.”
I hope Brookover is right
I’m sure Klentak will make the wrong decision on who replaces him. After all he hired him
It was an odd hiring to begin with.
Phillies fans: who SHOULD get the job?
Pete Rose
Dallas Green
Seriously who should get the job?
Hmmmmm? A pedo or a dead guy?
I hope since Middleton is willing to pay players so well that he is open to pay an experienced manager good money as well.. As for who that may be I would like to see Girardi but I doubt they will get him.
John Farrell or Dusty Baker.
Please no
I would not want Dusty Was not the greatest, especially in the post season the last few seasons. he managed. Would rather someone younger and more in tune with today’s game.
gozurman1….
Dusty is a little less than 2 years older than Kapler (46 and 44). How much younger do you want to go?
Huh!!!
Dusty was born in 1949….
Sorry….I had Dusty Wathan on the brain from the conversation below and didn’t realize someone had mentioned Baker. My bad.
@Cat Mando- No problem.. Too many Dusty’s around now to keep em all straight. Wathan would be a much better Dusty choice the Baker these days. :)
Even in his current condition, Dallas Green could probably lead the Phillies to the same results or better than Kapler
Now thats funny.
Yes. Very true.
Going to be Showalter…Book it…
It really doesn’t matter. Gabe wasn’t the problem.
He was part of the problem. He made very poor decisions for a team that was mediocre and had no depth. He had to go. I agree he was not the full problem, but a good manager would have probably had 3-5 more wins, and saved his job.
Doug Mientkiewicz. He has proven himself in the minor leagues. A winning record every year, 5 out of 7 playoff appearances and two championships. He is just waiting for an opportunity. The man loves the game and is a players coach. Too many front offices are trying to control everything in the dugout. Hire Doug and let him work with his guys. He will bring you a championship, Philadelphia.
Much of the same can be said about Dusty Wathan the current 3B coach. He had a stellar minor managerial career before being promoted. He never had a losing season in the minors. He would make a fine manager for the Phillies although I do believe they will go after one of the “big names”
Dusty Wathan. success in the minors as a manager and has earned rave reviews for it. he also knows thd organization better than exterior options.
Could’ve said the same thing about Sandberg before they gave him a shot.Theres multiple proven options out there,they should get one of them.
I heard they’re doing their due diligence on his rave reviews.
He gone.
I bet Gabe wouldn’t have put Kershaw in to pitch the 8th last night though.
Absolutely not. In need of a lefty out there he’d have gone to Cody Bellinger. Kershaw probably would have been playing the outfield.
John Farrell….
No – Maddon 3/24m
That’s why Angels are interviewing Buck and Farrell
dream on!
Maddon is going to the Angels manager. Scioscia is from Philly. Could be mutual interest. Plus the GM was with the Angels.
Maddon is from PA as well. hazleton PA matter of factually. less than 2 hour drive to philly. I do hope scioscia,maddon,and Girardi are the 3 guys they’re going to be looking at. definitely feel like an experienced manager is necessary although I feel Scioscia not fully accepting analytics may hurt his candidacy
The Angels are holding these other interviews to give the appearance that they are conducting a thorough search. It will be Maddon.
#9 coming soon, Roberts may be next?
Yap – he’s not good. Probably be shown the door Friday
Are you brain dead? Has been the Dodgers manager for three years two of those years they were in the World Series. Lay off the drugs.
you dont need to be a good manager to lead that team to the world series. the fact that he’s squandered all three of his golden opportunities should see him out the door.
He’s been their manager for four years…
Teams can win in spite of, not because of, their manager.
That was a quick 33 minutes
Maybe the Braves’ FO will get a pair and fire Snitker.
you guys had a #8 draft pick in ’17. it is a quick turnaround!
Kind of bittersweet…yay, they get rid of Kapler, but Klentak, MacPhail, and the entire drafting/development staff should have gone too. This should be a total rebuild down to the studs.
The scouting director stepped down in the beginning of September
I don’t just mean the scouting director…I mean the entire staff, top to bottom. Basically the Phillies have been so awful at producing talent, everyone should be held accountable, not just a few heads of departments here and there. Everyone who is responsible for putting a product on the major league field.
If they hire a new director though,he’s likely gonna end up bringing in his own people to assist him.
Charlie Manuel?? They just brought him back as hitting coach and he helped them to two World Series..
Manuel is also 75 years old. At his age, he is in perfect position at where he is right now.
Also, I think it speaks volumes about what upper management though of Kapler b/c they moved Manuel to hitting coach, but now that Gabe is gone, he’ll be returning to his front office position. Seems to me that Uncle Charlie was doing a little baby-sitting…
Remind me to never let Manuel watch my kids then.
More likely is that Manual was looked at as a temp from the outset to see if offense would get going a little under him.
It’s not gonna matter if they don’t fix the rotation
My question is: why is the owner taking the lead on firing a manager. Doesn’t that kind of decision come from the GM and FO?
Dave Roberts is next
Buck Showalter would be great hire for the Phillies in my opinion. Phillies need a veteran manager to guide a team mostly comprised with veteran players.
There is that Baltimore front office history…
Kapler is a front office guy, not a manager. John Farrell always struck me the same way – the game moves fast from the dugout. Girardi or Showalter would be the best fit in Philly.
And my prediction at the beginning of the season that two of the three managers of the Mets, Nats, and Phillies would be fired, has happened. Callaway gone. Kapler gone.
That wasn’t an extremely bold prediction. All 3 were on “win now” teams and subsequently the hot seat. The 2 that missed the playoffs were likely to get canned.
My goodness, it seems that Bryce Harper is the Carmelo Anthony of MLB. Overrated player, “underachieving” teams, and gets his managers/coaches fired everywhere he goes.
Still on that “Harper is overrated” train?
You missed your stop
Is he overrated? Sure, he’s more popular or unpopular (depending on your view) than he is productive. He would’ve been a sure fire upgrade to Adam Eaton.
Stras was healthy and effective for a full season. And they added Corbin and Sanchez to solidify the #3 and 4 slots. If you’re trying to insinuate the team won because Bryce left; I’m calling BS on that.
@jbigz12 Harper wasn’t a big hit in the Nat’s clubhouse so I’m sure him being gone didn’t hurt.. I would say it was definitely addition by subtraction.
With money considered they were better off keeping Eaton over Harper
If you factor in the money absolutely. But to suggest the team won simply because Bryce is no longer there is not it. I’m not buying that.
Funny. Knicks fans used to say the same thing about Carmelo Anthony.
Too early to make a judgement. However, at some point in Harper’s career, he’s going to have to come up big, his teams are going to have to stop “underachieving”, and managers are going to have to stop getting fired where he plays because of those “underachieving” performances.
And what am I insinuating right now is this. The reason his teams seem to fail is because I think they depend too much on him and he’s overrated. He’s a darn good player and talent, but it’s hard to convince me he’s the centerpiece of a champion. The Nats went farther due to using their money on other pieces, but also because the kid Soto has performed in ways that Harper didn’t. Soto isn’t just stats. He’s come through in big moments during the season to combine with Rendon. In the postseason, he’s stepped up in star making moments. Harper has been a stat guy who usually ends up dangling his hair and looking up at the scoreboard as he removes his helmet and batting gloves after the moments for stardom have past. You put Harper in those moments that Soto has come through, the Brewers would’ve faced the Dodgers, and even if they still didn’t hold the lead, the Dodgers win 3-2 in Game 5 if Harper had those moments. Something about Harper just doesn’t equate to winning. Baseball has that for some reason with some of the star players. Until Harper proves otherwise, this is a legit question/concern about him.
And let’s not ignore that he’s only had a couple of seasonal performances that would warrant his contract. When you commit that kind of money to a guy, he needs to perform or that contract becomes a franchise killer until it expires.
Marlins Fan? So, you’re they guy..
I am not a huge Kapler fan, but this season was not his fault. The team lacks starting pitching and was decimated with injuries. It’s a miracle they finished .500.
That being said, changes need to be made for morale purposes. Hopefully they have another big offseason. Harper’s first year was pretty solid. Extend Realmuto. Sign Dickerson. Get pitching. Lots of it.
Dickerson doesnt have a spot with McCutchen coming back. He cant play CF. Hed be a bench bat
I’d be fine with that. Their bench was horrible
That doesn’t mean Dickerson is fine with it.
I was thinking Cutch in CF. Depth was one of the team’s biggest problems. So extra OFs would be nice.
Cutch in CF would be a huge defensive liability.
I am not convinced that some of these pitchers aren’t better than what they showed. I think they were handled poorly, in both preparation and mental toughness.. Krapler and company spewed nonsense in their general direction for two years. Maybe they can be salvaged with the right people leading them.
.
I hear the Phillies secretly want Matheny.
“It’s hardly uncommon for rookie managers to be dismissed from one club before finding success with another” – like Brad Ausmus? Lol!
Kaplar was unconventional anyone that puts the Phillies problems entirely on him does not know what they are talking about. They are starting pitching was pathetic not to mention their bullpen was even worse. If you cannot pitch not to mention hold leads from the seventh on you will not win no matter who your manager is. I don’t care if your manager was Casey Stangl which for you younger people out there was the manager of the Yankees during the days of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle and won 10 American league titles and six world championships. Even if you have that guy without pitching you’re not going to win. Something else everyone forgets we are in an era of analytics and Symmetrix where each organization has an analytics team that comprises up every possible scenario and they all put it in a big black binder so regardless who the manager is they are going to make those same decisions based on each organizations theories and ideas. Just take a glance at the New York Yankees where everyone thought things would change as far as their outlook of removing a starting pitcher once they got rid of Joe Torre incomes Joe Girardi and the same things happened then and came Aaron Boone and the same things happened. Three different managers with three different concepts but their decision-making was all the same. Why do you think that was? Because they were told to go by the numbers in that big black binder. The point is this goes out to all Philadelphia Phillies fans, if you think bringing in a new manager is going to change things you will be sadly disappointed what you need is a new general manager to change the overall outlook on your analytics theories to change how your team is managed on the field. This is how baseball teams are managed in 2019 and beyond
Paragraphs are your friend.
When a comment is that run-on I don’t even bother.
Same here. Just glancing at that jumble gave me a headache.
Was that paragraph written by Roberts, he could’ve used a pitching change or 3 in there.
Neither do I. Its just an eyesore
Run on sentences are not.
Periods are also your friend. That might be readable if it didn’t have a glut of run on sentences.
Hahahaha
Doesn’t matter if it was analytical or the culture in the clubhouse. It wasn’t good enough
I see you have English 101 with Antonio Brown
Joe Maddon to the Phillies.
You heard it here first.
Puts him closer to his Pa. roots.
Scioscia is closer
Remember that Klentak was the Asst. GM to Dipoto in Anaheim when Sciocsia was manager. That ended badly when Dipoto couldn’t take Scioscia having so much say on personnel. Klentak isn’t going to want to go through that again. Scioscia uses some analytics but not when it comes to pitching. His problem was leaving pitchers in too long.
I have heard that many times before you
The Pirates should give Kapler a shot.
A humbled, less experimental Kapler learning from his first job could be a good hire.
They need someone with energy. As lethargic a team as one could ever see.
If he will take a huge pay cut.
They are already paying Hurdle for next year so not much left in the budget for managers.
Energy Kapler has.
He relies too much on analytics.
Like Hurdle,there was not enough discipline in the ranks.
He was not straight up enough with the media as everything was rosy with him.Too much of that and the manger cannot be critical of his players.
I thought that Kapler would learn and he may but I do not really think that he is a natural as a manager.
It is a shame because the Phillies did not have pitching this year and that was not Kapler’s fault.
I would be hesitant to say that the Pirates should give him the job.I think that Showalter could do well but he may get a higher paying one with so many openings,
Plus, if all else fails, the Pirates can try to convince fans that Kapler is actually John Cena. That might get some people to come to their ballpark, right?
Ditch Klentak!!
he was just extendes before the season. he is not going anywhere.
paging Buck
Joe Maddon would make a fantastic fit in Philly
U fire him because he’s terrible and you spend all sorts of money in the wrong places. Kinda comical
Like the first inning of yesterday’s game with the Cardinals
What a nice situation for Joe Maddon. 15 years ago, his chief lot in life was keeping Angel players from lynching Mike Soscia on a nightly basis (an old-schooler, “my way or the highway” is Mike) as his bench coach. Then he interviews 100 times for a manger’s job, finally landing in Tampa for minimum wage and a weekly bottle of ripple.
Now he’s got two well-healed teams interested in him. He fits in Philly; local boy done good, and Lord knows he’s more media friendly (his biggest asset) than Kapler;( OTOH, most corpses are more media friendly than Kapler). So he’s got both the afore-mentioned Angels and Phils as potential landing spots.
Joe’s a master at kissing the bums in the FO, and handling the media. As a manager? Meh. He grew a bit in Tampa; when he started, he couldn’t make a decision to save his life. Eventually he got to where Cash is now; the heck with it, I’m never going to get rich here anyway, might as well let it fly. (And to be fair, Neander treats Cash better than the boys used to treat Maddon).
For a guy who, as noted, is pretty average, it’s a good place to be.
Kapler? Not all the smart guys make good managers. John Farrell, Jon Gibbons, Jeff Banister, Brad Asmus are all universally recognized as being bright guys. It takes more than that.
mickey callaway
Absolutely the correct move!
Uh oh, back to being a mannequin in Macy’s window…
Sandy Alomar Jr is due to get a managerial job. Might fit here.
As a managers compensation as compared to the team total shrinks, it simply becomes easier to fire him than ever before. Therefore this offseason is probably the new normal.
Padres!
How long was he manager? I think it’s ridiculous to hire a guy on and fire him after one or two years unless he’s just completely lost the clubhouse. These gms are just firing guys at will when truth be told the issues lie at their own feet. Managers are becoming fall guys for poorly constructed rosters in my opinion
Managers have always been fall guys for poor performance. It is important for a manager to keep players loose and trying their best. It is important to know how they control the clubhouse. These are the things that we are not privy to.
But who will remind players to suntan their balls?
Phillies need a real baseball man not a computer generated manager,Dusty Wathan was my choice last time,he brought a lot of these guys up thru LHV Iron Pigs.
Ummmmm reassuring you that the drafting and player development has been straight garbage?
Very happy that Krapler era is over. Too much “it wasn’t his fault it was injuries” talk. Sure they happened, happens to every team every year. You could see his annoying ways two years ago when they brought him in. Just the way he conversates, the BS that convulates everything he says. These players don’t need a buddy , they need discipline and accountability, two thing this loon couldn’t and wouldn’t teach. I’d like to see Madden maybe, but I lean towards Scioscia or Showalter, just because they would counter the analytics with experience and the ability to think off the spreadsheet This team has talent. It was led poorly and needs someone tough enough to undo all the bad habits that it was allowed to develop….they need the 2020 version of Dallas Green to crack some heads…
Phillies fans were talking about a dynasty after last offseason.
You’re the 1st person that ever uttered that. They acquired Zero pitching. We aren’t delusional.
Happy Thursday…
Yes, injuries played a role..started off with a good pen and then they fell apart…still, they collapsed 2 years in a row after the All Sham game..
My issues with Gabe were his in game moves..
1- Late in a game trailing by a run..Mikel Franco leads off the 8th inning with a single and Gabe does not pinch run for him…result, a double play..2 outs
2- This was a real head scratcher..In a one run game, runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and first base open..due up in Freddie Freeman..Gabe pitches to him with the base open..result, a 2 run single…game over..
Gabe Kapler made G_D awful in game decisions…
My first choices would be Girardi or someone like him, but if they go to a newbe, then I like Dusty
Upper management’s failure to acquire significant additions for the starting rotation, the glut of injuries, failure to assemble a decent bench and underperforming players easily outweigh any of Kapler’s decision making.
I don’t believe any manager would have gotten this team close to the post season.
I think the Phillies should get Joe Madden or Dusty Baker or Buck Showalter. If all else fails Clint Hurdle.
The Phillies waited 161 games too long to make this move. It was clear from Game 1 in 2018 that Kapler was a product of the computer when he pulled Nola after 69 pitches and brought in Hoby Milner,. There is no way that type of “thinking”, if a computer printout can think, is going to be successful.
Kapler’s biggest failure was how he used the bullpen. He regularly used 5 and 6 pitchers per game, many times with less than 10 pitches…EVERY day.
Wow big time explanation from the owner. Klentak can’t be happy or secure he isn’t next out the door. Love an owner with that type of passion.
Well aware I’m in the minority that thinks he’s a good manager but what I don’t understand is what he did wrong? The team president comes out at the deadline and says “If we don’t, we don’t,” in regards to making the postseason. Well, they didn’t. So where’s the issue? They said it was ok to not make the postseason but then when they actually don’t make the postseason it’s all of the sudden not ok and the manager gets fired? Middleton just doesn’t have the guts to man up and admit he made a mistake and clean house. Because then he looks like a fool. The irony is he looks like an even bigger fool for how he has handled this year. It’s going to be a lonnnnnnnng time before this organization is a legitimate contender again.
Maybe the owner is playing it close to the vest to see what his alternatives are.I think that they want Showalter but he has been available.It seems to me that Middleton thinks that there are better options out there and that is why Kapler was fired.
He may also be losing patience with MacPhail and Klentak.
I’m not a big Kapler fan. In post-game press conferences, always felt he was p*ssing on my shoes and telling me it was raining.
The real culprit here is Klentak. The guy has been on the job for more than four years and he still can’t identify pitching quality in starters and relievers. How else does on explain letting Charlie Morton walk while giving Hellickson an $17.5 million QO?
This Ivy League nerd must have really snowed Middleton this past spring because he got an under-the-radar three-year contract extension last March. Thus, we are stuck with this inept clown as our GM for the foreseeable future.
Middleton should hire Scioscia and force Klentak to quit. If he doesn’t resign right away, it would be great seeing Mike go at him all season. Scioscia would be very popular in Philly and is the anti-krapler needed to wash away the stain of the last two seasons…….
… Bo Porter was recognized nationally during the Astros World Series victory for developing that team. With experience coaching Bryce Harper with the Nationals and 8 yrs in NL East, I am looking forward to the Phillies making the obvious best choice in Bo Porter.
Do you really think that Middleton is going to hire someone who went 110-190 during his two year stay as a Major League manager?
The Phillies are looking for an experienced manager who has proven to be a winner and they have the money to pay for him.
Klentak is not going to get a young analytics driven manager this time.
Reasonable albeit incomplete:
The HOUSTON Astros were in a total rebuild and tanked the seasons. Show me a Manager who could have won with the rosters given to Bo Porter in Houston in 2013 and 2014.
I am not saying that he could not be a good manager.
And you are right.No one could have won with that team.
I am saying that there is no way that the Phillies will hire him.Maybe two years ago,but not now.