The Phillies have played better since Pete Mackanin has taken over the helm following the resignation of Ryne Sandberg. Mackanin, currently the interim manager, is being evaluated for the full-time position and his connection to his players, most notably the young ones, has caught the attention of plenty of people. He's earned the respect of the veterans, something Ryne Sandberg never seemed to have, and gets the best out of the young guys fighting for a place in the Phillies future.
While Mackanin hasn't made too many head scratching managerial decisions in his short tenure, one decision he made last night may have cost the Phillies the game. The Mets have won 14 out of 16 this season against the Phillies and they jumped out to a 6-0 lead in Wednesday's game, chasing rookie starter Aaron Nola from the game after four innings. The Phillies began to chip away and cut the deficit to 7-4 in the seventh inning. Darnell Sweeney homered and then Cesar Hernandez walked. After the Mets called a lefty from the bullpen, Odubel Herrera singled to put runners on the corners for the Phils with just one down.
With Ryan Howard due up, Pete Mackanin opted not to pinch-hit for the former MVP, but rather have him face left-hander, Sean Gilmartin. Though Darin Ruf had been used earlier in the game, the skipper could have gone with rookie extra-base hit machine Aaron Altherr or even Jeff Francoeur, who has been very effective in pinch-hit roles. Howard ended up grounding out into an inning-ending double play.
According to CSNPhilly.com, Pete Mackanin and Ryan Howard had a one-on-one meeting last month, when Pete told Ryan that he was going to start playing Darin Ruf when the team faces a left-handed starter. Also mentioned during the meeting was that Mackanin said he would not pinch-hit for Howard if a left-hander came into the game. There's the answer as to why there was no move made.
“I told him I wasn’t going to pinch-hit for him when we had our discussion,” Mackanin said. “I’m not going to play him against lefties, but I’m not going to pinch-hit for him.”
When pressed, Mackanin said it was a respect thing.
“Pretty much. He’s been hitting against lefties for a long time and I’m not going to be the one to pinch-hit for him,” Mackanin said.
Having a mutual respect for your players is one thing, but the smart decision there, no matter what, is to match up as best as possible against the left-hander. Ryan Howard was not the best option there for the team to win. This season, Howard is hitting just .137 (13-for-95) against left handers, striking out 37 times and tallying just five extra-base hits.
Over his career, Ryan Howard has a .220 average against lefties compared to his .284 line against right-handers. Last night, he went 0-for-4, leaving three men on base in the Phillies 9-4 loss.
