The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best ERA's in the National League at 3.96, and that's a good thing because they've really needed it lately. As the Phils fight with the Mets and Marlins for control of the NL East, their bats have gone dormant over the last month.Since July 13th the Phillies are hitting .236 as a team and as you'd expect, they're having trouble putting up runs consistently. All of which leaves their manager Charlie Manuel utterly confused. He has no idea what to do to fix things, and if you have any ideas for him, he'd love to hear them.
"I'm puzzled. I stay up late at night thinking about how we can get our offense going," Manuel said, before his team beat San Diego, 2-1, at PETCO Park on Sunday. "I'll listen to what anybody's got to say. Fans. Cab drivers. President Bush, anybody."I don't know if you really want to listen to President Bush when it comes to this. Sure, he'll tell your hitters how to get in the batter's box and make solid contact, but he has no idea how to get out of it. You'll just be left with Chase Utley standing at the plate looking confused as his line drive sails into the gap.
(Via Walkoff Walk)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-18-2008 @ 4:16PM
RDY said...
I have been a Phillies fan since 1947, so I have been through Sawyer, Ozark, Mauch, Owens, Green, Bowa, Francona, et al. All of the aforementioned managers would bunt runners into scoring position on most occasions, and let one or two guys try to knock them in with something less than the home run ball. I rarely see that from you, Charlie, unless it is the pitcher batting. Let's try that for a change. Also, why not change the lineup (again), only this time go lefty/righty all the way down to the pitcher, even if you have to drop Howard to 5th, behind Burrell. Finally, let's have our batting coach try getting Howard to hit more to left, even bunt occasionally, to get the oposition to stop putting on the shift when he bats. His home runs are exciting, but I think 5 strikeouts for every one home run is a bit ineffective.
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8-18-2008 @ 11:02PM
mdk said...
CHARLIE,
CHASE IS BURN OUT. HE CANNOT PLAY 162 GAMES. GIVE HIM A REST AND PLAY THE JAPANESE KID. PUT DOBBS IN AT THIRD BASE. HE IS HAVING A CAREER SEASON AS A CLUTCH HITTER. TAKE AVANTAGE OF IT. DOBBS COULD LIGHT A FIRE IN THIS TEAM. JUST BELIEVE IN HIM THAT HE CAN DO IT.
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8-19-2008 @ 9:35AM
t1mmae said...
Rollins shouldn't be leading off. He isnt the same player he was last year, he should hit second behind victorino who is a better small ball player. How about not having Howard bat 4th...he kills us with the strikeouts constantly...its not a crime to move him to 6th, it will just allow more people to get on in front of him....
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8-21-2008 @ 9:08AM
Tom said...
To the writer. Hold off your gay little comments on the President. Lets stand together in this time of war and not take cheap shots at the President of the United States. Lets not forget the lives lost so that you can be free.
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8-23-2008 @ 11:42PM
Bob said...
Do not try and pull the outside corner pitches, hit the ball to the oppisite field. Many times you will have a double down the line or some of your power hitters can hit the ball out of the park to the opposite field. When a hitter can handle the outside corner pitches he will see more pitches on the inside that he can pull.
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8-29-2008 @ 5:25PM
sharon said...
Manuel,
Do you and your team a favor and let your pitchers pitch when they are doing good. Also stop taking Burrell out for Taguchi because Taguchi isn't worth it. The only person messing up the team is you.
from,
Philly fan for years
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8-31-2008 @ 2:30AM
tim said...
some good points, if you all are really into some good writing about why Manuel kills his team you should check out this site I found. www.charliesmanuel.com
Tim
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10-23-2008 @ 12:12PM
Michael Fox said...
I am not trying second guess Charlie Manuel but why not put Dobbs at first base and Howard as DH. The fielding would improve and Howard would still be in the line up.
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