NL Executive: Manuel wasn’t Phillies problem

Charlie Manuel takes the ball from Cole Hamels after another rough outing Sunday.
Credit: Getty Images

Charlie Manuel continues to make more news than the team he once managed. While on The Chris Stigall Show on 1210-AM, Manuel noted that he believes Ruben Amaro made the decision to let him go. He also said that he watched every pitch of the weekend series against the Dodgers.

“Charlie Manuel is a special guy,” a NL executive said. “He doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s special.”

How special? When Jerry Manuel was managing the Mets, he laughed when asked about how Philadelphia’s vocal minority questioned his longtime friend.

“They don’t know baseball and they don’t know Charlie,” Jerry Manuel said. “Charlie is the kind of guy, with his accent, that they think he doesn’t know what he’s doing. But the funny thing is that when they think he’s lost, he’s actually two or three moves ahead of everybody else.”

Manuel was like the old TV detective “Columbo,” who seemed like a buffoon but was way ahead of the pack.

“Exactly,” Jerry Manuel said. “He’s the kind of guy that won’t get all of the credit in Philly until he’s gone.”

Manuel and his 780 wins are gone. After the Phils went on a 4-19 run, the skids were greased for Manuel to be fired.

“When you lose like that a manager can be fired,” MLB analyst Larry Bowa said. “That’s not surprising.”

Bowa went on to note how the Phillies have been playing without urgency and failing to execute.

“I won’t argue Bowa about that but Charlie was not the problem with the Phillies,” a NL scout said. “It’s deeper than that. I really don’t know if they’ll play much better for [interim skipper Ryne] Sandberg.”

Jimmy Rollins noted it’s not Manuel’s fault.

“It’s not the coaches or manager out there playing,” Rollins said. “We weren’t getting it done. He took the fall for it. It doesn’t feel good.”