It was an up-and-down week for Ryne Sandberg and his Philadelphia Phillies. Consecutive wins over Miami (6-2) and Atlanta (5-2), put the team in position to get its first winning streak of the season. However, the Fightins were also shut out twice, and outscored 31-19 overall, en route to a 2-4 record.
Ho hum. Business as usual.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore GM Ruben Amaro's blame in analyzing the skipper's performance each week, so we'll get there. But first, let's just focus on Sandberg. Ryno admitted prior to Sunday's victory over the Marlins that starter Severino Gonzalez was anxious in his previous outing– the one where Gonzalez, making his Major League debut, surrendered 7 runs in 2 2/3 innings, rendering his ERA forever unclean.
Without a doubt, Sandberg was in the rookie's ear prior to this start, and credit is certainly due to the manager for steadying Gonzalez, and also for pulling him after five solid innings. The result was a 6-2 win, and perhaps a boost of confidence for the rookie starter.
Also, Sandberg moved Chase Utley to second in the batting order for this game. He went 0-4. Utley then went 0-5 from the 3-hole in Monday's 5-2 win over the Braves. With Utley benched on Tuesday, the club was shut out by Atlanta (9-0), mustering just three hits, as the entire team (clearly in a show of solidarity) did it's best to impersonate the second baseman's woeful 2015 season. I am not big on lineup-shuffling.
Outside of the first inning, there are no guarantees that the order is going to go in one's favor. Like with most of a manager's influence, this seems to be more psychological. Switching up the order is really just a challenge from coach to player. But, no matter what combination Sandberg has tried so far this season, the mix seems to always turn out sour.
The Phillies are dead-last in the league in runs scored (82), and second only to Milwaukee (.224) in batting average (.227). There have been no signs of improvement, nor drastic signs of any philosophical changes in approach. With hits hard to come by, it doesn't even look as though the Phillies are being coached to be more patient at the plate. The team collected just eight walks in its last four losses.
For comparison's sake, Phils reliever Dustin McGowan surrendered four walks all by himself in just one-third of an inning on Tuesday. At 10-19, the Phillies have the second worst record in baseball. Sandberg is doing very little to improve the situation, and his presence at this point reminds me of that awkward "I have people skills!" scene in Office Space.
I'm just not sure what he does. He needs to go.
But so does Amaro. Amaro hired Sandberg. Amaro's figure prints are all over this roster. He's already admitted to his previous contract mistakes and to being, perhaps, too loyal. The results have been disastrous. Baseball is a business. When the GM puts a bad product on the field, and the manager fails to get the most out of that product, everything, and everyone, must go.
