Our pal Matt Veasey at ThatBallsOuttaHere.com caught up with former Phillies closer Mitch Williams in his newest piece on the Fansided network website where he serves as editor. Williams spoke to Veasey about a variety of topics, including the fact he cannot speak about his pending lawsuit, Lenny Dykstra, and Curt Schilling and his Hall of Fame candidacy. But most notable about the interview were Williams' comments about former Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee.
Dubee was relieved of his duties as Phillies pitching coach at the end of 2013, after Charlie Manuel was dismissed as manager. Dubee does have to his credit a World Championship. But Dubee clashed with Williams over both current reliever Jake Diekman and former ace Roy Halladay.
Williams occasionally served as a friend of the Phillies organization, offering his services here and there. When Williams offered to work with Diekman, Manuel felt it to be okay.
I asked Charlie Manuel 3 years ago if he minded me calling Jake to work with him. That I could spend 30 minutes with him and he would be able to repeat his mechanics, and he would be throwing as hard as Aroldis Chapman. Charlie wanted me to work with him. So I called Jake and offered to pay for his flight to come here to New Jersey, and I could show him a couple of things that would simplify his mechanics and he would throw even harder.
However, pitching coach Rich Dubee took issue with that:
But Rich Dubee got offended and wouldn’t let Jake come. I saw Dubee that spring and he yelled at me in the clubhouse in front of the team, that he knew what he was doing, and I should never talk to his pitchers again. So I looked at him and just said “Okay Rich.” Then I went into Charlie’s office and told Charlie to tell Dubee if he ever yelled at me in front of anyone again, I would knock him out in front of those same people.
But the bad blood with Dubee did not end there. Williams blamed Dubee for Roy Halladay's career-ending injuries:
Then I did a breakdown on Roy Halladay on MLB Network, on why he was struggling. It was so simple to see on film, and he would be throwin’ 100. But Dubee and his sub .500 record in AA ball chose his ego over Halladay’s health. He went from winning the Cy Young in ’10 and 2nd in ’11 to his career being over in ’13 because Dubee wouldn’t listen to someone that saw something he couldn’t begin to understand. So he got fired, and Roy’s career ended 5 years before it should have.
Those are harsh words.
Williams, who recently began hosting a show on Wildfire Radio called "Unleashed", currently is in the midst of a lawsuit against MLB Network and Fox Sports over his dismissal. With the pending litigation, it is unlikely Williams will be considered for the Phillies' open broadcasting job. That, and Williams is not afraid to speak out about (and threaten to fight) Phillies employees, makes him not a good match.
Again, read Veasey's full interview here.
