Warszawa wrote:Why exactly is Howard trying to play thru this knee injury ? It's been bothering him since the start of the season and it hasn't gotten better with a cortisone shot. If he can't hit with power he's close to useless so just get the surgery now and fix it.

Eem wrote:My opinion of Rube would actually improve if he just totally dumped Howard, no matter how much the Phillies have to eat, and admitted a mistake

TheAAGuy wrote:Dom Brown named NL POTW.

Youseff wrote:

Warszawa wrote:Why exactly is Howard trying to play thru this knee injury ? It's been bothering him since the start of the season and it hasn't gotten better with a cortisone shot. If he can't hit with power he's close to useless so just get the surgery now and fix it.

my guess would be that he's a decent guy and wants to live up to his contract and not look soft in front of the phans.

Phan In Phlorida wrote:

Shore wrote:But... people shouldn't expect better, or even different, results from Sandberg.

A few months ago, when people were enthusiastic of a potential Sandberg skippership, I was curious so I googled and such for anything I can find (articles, quotes, etc.) that could give me some indication of his managerial style/philosophy. Some of what I found that tempered my enthusiasm were things like he's firey, has a strong preference for "gamers", very much tied to roles, and someone saying (with regard to his old-schooliness) he probably doesn't even know what OPS is yet alone anything more advanced (paraphrasing). I was left feeling there's a good possibility he'd be Larry Bowa redux.

If any of that is true, I can see the FO firing Manuel in favor of Sandberg to placate the WIP crowd if attendence/interest declines further.

Jim Duquette wrote:Charlie Manuel just told us at least 3 more weeks before Utley's return and Howard has an arthritic knee that is currently worse than usual

Grotewold wrote:

Jim Duquette wrote:Charlie Manuel just told us at least 3 more weeks before Utley's return and Howard has an arthritic knee that is currently worse than usual

Grotewold wrote:

Jim Duquette wrote:Charlie Manuel just told us at least 3 more weeks before Utley's return and Howard has an arthritic knee that is currently worse than usual

Soren wrote:PLAY DOMONIC BROWN FFS

The award, and the home run, lent a bit of weight to the argument that Manuel should move Brown up in the lineup - to third, to fifth or even, gulp, to Ryan Howard's sacred cleanup spot. He is officially (.348 average, .783 slugging percentage) the hottest hitter in the NL, so why is he batting sixth for a team in desperate need of a spark?

The answer: This is how Manuel handles young players. He is managing with his eye on Brown's career development. As much as this team needs some wins, it needs a young, homegrown star even more.

"He has a chance to be a tremendous big-league hitter and hit homers," Manuel said. "What does he have, 180 at-bats? The more consistent he gets, he'll move himself where he should be. He'll let me know when it's time for him to move."

When a young player is having some success in a particular role, it may be tempting to change and expand his role. But it may turn out that the role is contributing to the success, and that changing it sets the player back.

"I've developed a lot of players through the minor leagues and the big leagues," Manuel said. "I've had some of the best players who have ever been in baseball. They'll usually let you know where they're going to hit. Utley and Howard did that."

Howard usually hit in the No. 6 spot in 2005, when he was the NL rookie of the year. He started out in the 6 hole in 2006, then hit fifth for a long stretch before finally settling into the cleanup spot that summer. Howard was MVP that year.

Chase Utley platooned with Placido Polanco in 2004, often batting fifth or sixth. He hit in those spots as he assumed the everyday second baseman job in 2005. By '06, he was batting second or third.

Having Utley-Howard bat 3-4 is so familiar, it is easy to forget those formative, pre-playoff-run seasons. It is also easy to forget that fans were calling for that nitwit Manuel to move up Utley and Howard in the lineup sooner.

They turned out OK. There is a chance Brown will, too.

"You've got to earn it with Charlie," Brown said. "I grew up the same way. I totally understand where he's coming from, whereas a lot of guys might not. Nothing's going to be handed to you. You've got to go out and work hard. If you're putting up the numbers, then you're going to hit in the top of the lineup. If you don't, then he's going to put you down there in the seventh and eighth hole."

That's only partly true. Manuel is going to write Howard's name in the No. 4 spot until his marker runs out of ink. He believes in the big guy and has been rewarded for that faith in the past. As Manuel said, it's a little late to be sending Howard messages.

But Brown clearly is close to earning that next step in his development. Things are a little complicated by the need to balance the lefthanded hitters - Utley, Howard, Brown - with some righties. But still, Brown is earning his way up to fifth or, with Utley out, third.

"He's headed that way," Manuel said.

The manager's sixth sense will tell him when the time is right. Not the fans, not the media, and certainly not the NL player-of-the-week award.

The answer: This is how Manuel handles young players.

Napalm wrote:

The answer: This is how Manuel handles young players.

stopped reading there, because he did the same with chooch, so no

The B1G Piece wrote:

Napalm wrote:

The answer: This is how Manuel handles young players.

stopped reading there, because he did the same with chooch, so no

Pedro .

Eem wrote:I won't ever talk shit on Feliz

Dude was dirt cheap, had some big hits, and could fucking pick it