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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
Change is terrible. We all dread change. When the Phillies fired Charlie Manuel and made Ryne Sandberg the manager, the fan base was very unhappy. People were blaming Ruben Amaro for the team's demise. That was probably fair. What has happened since though has been surprising.
The Phillies were 5-19 out of the All-Star break, and are 13-10 since Sandberg took over. They were a team that had never been really better than a game or so over .500 at any point all year, that saw the wheels fall off of the car after the break. They were a team in steep decline. Since the change, they are hardly a great team, but they are an improving one.
The improvement is largely from their changes. Darin Ruf hit his 13th homer in Sunday's win. Cody Asche is hitting a solid .266, even after a 1-for-17 start. Freddy Galvis had four hits on Saturday and hit a walk-off. Cesar Hernandez has his average up to .280. The young guys are playing hard in games that aren't necessarily "important" for their results, but they are showing something for the future and trying to earn full-time status on this team.
This team is 66-77, and they are going nowhere. The good news though is that they are giving it a full effort still. If you're spending the money to go to the park, you want the players to try to win. They are. That is a good thing for this season, and it's a good thing going forward to next one. There's reason to hope again, and perhaps even a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps.
