At first glance, Ryne Sandberg might have the easiest job in baseball. He is given a roster with the highest payroll in Philadelphia Phillies history and has no pressure whatsoever to do well.
After going 20-22 last season, he was handed something Charlie Manuel, the greatest manager in Phillies history, never received: a three-year contract, which has an option for a fourth. Yet he is expected to finish closer to the bottom than the top of the National League. In fact, one prognosticator expects the Sandberg-led Phills to lose close to 100 games and be the worst team in the National League.
He’s already expected to fail in his second season (first full one), but that’s just alright. Sounds like a sweet gig.
Actually, it’s not that simple. His job really is not that easy, despite the low expectations.
Putting wins and loses aside, the primary item he would likely be evaluated on is giving the Phillies a new identity. Under Charlie Manuel, the lazy way of summarizing his style was he would “wait for the three-run home run.” Jimmy Rollins echoed that upon his arrival at camp Sunday.
“Charlie was a man who loved the long ball, and it worked for him and it worked for us,” Rollins said in a FOX 29 interview. “Guys were swinging the bat well at that time that we really didn’t have to do too much but sit back and wait.”
The public’s criticism of Manuel aside, his team did come inspired and ready to play every day. Players and coaches around the league feared the Phillies because of their “never say die” attitude, best showcased down the stretch in 2007.
What is a Ryne Sandberg-led team like?
Last season, Sandberg showed he is not exactly the greatest in-game manager—you probably recall that time in a tie game and none out he sacrificed a runner over with Michael Martinez due up next. That’s okay, not every manager is as strategically shrewd strategist like Tony La Russa. But those who are not, like Manuel, usually make up for it in another way. Manuel’s people skills did the trick for many years.
That eventually wore off as losing destroyed the clubhouse moral. Instead of talking about the game, focus was shifted to Cliff Lee and Mike Adams trying to keep it loose by tossing seeds at rookie Jonathan Pettibone during an in-game interview. Cole Hamels said instead of high fives it was pointing fingers.
Jonathan Papelbon pointed out that the motivation went out the window. Papelbon, who grinded through a hip injury for the second half of the season, pointed out that the losing brought down the team’s ability to get up for games. The motivation was barren.
“When it’s a day game in New York and you’re 12 games behind, that dial ain’t really turned up,” Papelbon explained. “That’s not really how I go.”
Sandberg’s job now becomes being the one to turn that dial backup, regardless of the circumstances. Manuel losing his touch in doing so is what ultimately got him canned after the team was decimated with injuries, and frankly, an undermanned roster.
While the lack of motivation Papelbon alluded to is understandable, that does not make it acceptable. In Major League Baseball, players get paid a lot to play hard when called upon. Sandberg needs to get the most out of his $189 million team.
If the Phillies are going to lose a lot this year, which many expect, then the way Sandberg handles it, keeps losing streaks minimal and keeping everyone motivated will be what everyone keeps an eye on. He will need to be the one confronting players and not have the players point fingers at each other.
Eventually, if he gets players motivated for those dog day games in the summer when the team is 12 (or more) games out of first place, it will say a lot if he gets Papelbon to pump 95 mph fastballs in the ninth inning. That would lay the foundation for the rest of his tenure in Philadelphia.
It will also lead to the Phillies re-developing an identity instead of being a collection of guys that just point fingers at each other and mope around when struggling times come.
That will be the primary thing Ryne Sandberg needs to get under control if the Phillies are going to struggle. Since he is not on the field playing, judge him on what he actually can control, and getting his team ready to play is at the top of that list.
