REWIND 2009 (Phillies Nov 12)

November 12, 2009   ·   philliesmania   ·   Jump to comments

  2009

The season that was and the performance of management.

 

Reuben Amaro Jr -  Gets an A

• Kept a World Series team focused and pulled off a meaningful trade. Just getting in on the Halliday talks for real is more than Ed Wade would have ever done. And when the price was determined to be too high he did not come away empty handed. He used the price tag of Halliday to leverage and broker a deal with Cleveland for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco. Which was impressive in that Lee is not that far off the value and impact of Halliday. And Reuben got a 4th outfielder, right handed bat, and a solid bench player in Ben Francisco.
• Wasn’t afraid to investigate the state of Pedro Martinez and do the home work to estimate the level of risk and reward.
• Didn’t bury guys like Kendrick but gives people an honest assessment if what the organization thinks and wants. then gives the player a reasonable shot to react.
• Leaves Charlie Manuel plenty of latitude to manage the club.
• Trusts the people under him to do their job. I assume those he hires he is looking for someone he knows will do the job.

Charlie Manuel – Gets an A

• Oh sure Manuel makes his share of mistakes. But I never liked a strictly by the book guy. You need gut feelings sometimes.
• He has gotten away from the HR only philosophy. Although this season the team had troubles scoring at times without the HR.
• He trusts his assistants.
• He is honest with his players. He will give them plenty of rope to hang themselves but he will also tell them where they stand. If he needs to make a change, he does.
• His love for the game of baseball is infectious and contagious!

Davey Lopes – Gets and A

• Great 1st base Coach
• His stealing success percentage says it all
• Gets players to listen
• The man is loyal! He was part of some great Dodgers history. And during the playoffs when the Dodgers honored some of their past players he refused to take part and wear his old Dodgers jersey!

Milt Thompson – Gets a B

• On one hand the Phillies are an explosive offense so credit some their hitting coach.
• On the other hand some of the players repeat the same mistakes too long telling me Milt is not getting to them.
• It’s hard to determine what impact a hitting coach should have. I think it is more than others do.
• You got to love Milt and his smile though.

Sam Perlozzo – Gets and A

• Perlozzo is instrumental on the infield and hey the infield is great
• He is credited with helping Howard improve
• Also helps players in conditioning that come to him. Howard lost 23 pds and got in great shape with Sam’s help.
• Good 3rd base coach also.

Rich Dubee (Pitching Coach) - Gets a C

• I just don’t see his impact. Although many claim he knows what he is doing.
• Hamels digressed from the start. Dubee did nothing that helped him over a 162 games.
• Blanton however did show a marked improvement so I will credit Rich with that.
• I think his pitchers need more conditioning.
• I’m sick of pitch counts. On every team that is.

Pete Mackanin (Bench Coach) - Gets a A

• Pete has MLB manager experience and MLB scout experience
• He seems to be contributing with good advice as far as I can decipher.
• Young and old appear to respect him.
• Honestly I do not know exactly how much input he has over all, but from interviews people comment as if he is vocal and involved.

Mick Bellmeyer (Bullpen Coach) – Gets a B-

• The bullpen was very erratic.
• I don’t know exactly how much say he has but he could get into some peoples grill and help them out of a funk.
• Push the boys for excellence seems to lack. He appears to laid back. Not that I want to see him yelling and screaming. I want to see him talking to the boys as they are warming up. I always see him sitting there with a bored stare. (LOL)
• I have no idea how involved he is at practice so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

The Trainers and Medical Crew-  Gets a B 

	Dr. Michael Ciccotti, M.D.	Director of Medical Services
	Scott Sheridan	Athletic Trainer
	Mark Andersen, ATC	Assistant Athletic Trainer
	Dong Lien	Conditioning Coordinator

The Phillies staff cannot be blamed for injuries per say but I do believe conditioning helps. I saw a tired team in September and October. Are all teams tired? Somewhat, yes. But I think you can improve on that with a in season program as well as an off season program.