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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
When Ryne Sandberg was named Manager of the Phillies, I was furious. I was furious about the fate of his predecessor, and just as furious about the fate he was going to see. Ryne Sandberg was taking on a really rough situation, and a team that isn't really winning any games. That's not an ideal situation to take on.
If Sandberg's team plays roughly .400 ball the rest of the way, does that mean Sandberg failed? I would say not. The problem is, how else do you judge him? Do you judge it on arbitrary evaluations like "effort?" Or maybe "chemistry?" What do you judge a team on besides wins and losses that is in any way both real and measurable?
I'm not sure what the standard is to take off the "interim" tag? Is it just the opinion of Ruben Amaro Jr.? David Montgomery? Somebody else? No one seems to know. How do you judge a manager who has a team with Michael Martinez, B.J. Rosenberg, and Casper Wells? Hopefully for Sandberg he has a better idea than the rest of us.
