Truth About Charlie: Manuel Talks New-Look Phils
New look Charlie photo :
http://media.nbcphiladelphia.com/images/410*307/Charlie-slim.jpg (http://media.nbcphiladelphia.com/images/410*307/Charlie-slim.jpg)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
By Jim Salisbury
CSNPhilly.com
Charlie Manuel has spent the winter fishing, playing golf and finishing renovations on his home in Winter Haven, Fla.
He's recharged his baseball batteries and is ready for spring training to begin in the middle of next month.
Truth be told, he's been ready for a while.
"You know what?'' Manuel said on his cell phone Thursday. "I was ready to go five days after I got home. I like our team. I'm ready to go. But in the meantime, I'd like to catch some more crappies. I've already caught a bunch, but I'd like to get some more.''
Crappie is a fish.
Folks say they are good eatin'.
We'll just have to take their word on it.
Manuel was in the car, making the drive north from Florida to Philadelphia as he broke from a long wintertime media fast to speak with CSNPhilly.com. He planned to stop in High Point, N.C., to check out some furniture and in his boyhood hometown of Buena Vista, Va. to visit family before arriving in Philadelphia over the weekend to take part in some team promotional activities.
It's been a busy baseball winter in Philadelphia – and there's more action to come as the team tries to hammer out multiyear contracts with Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton and Carlos Ruiz – and Manuel has some thoughts on what the team has done. So let's get to it:
The starters
Manuel loves acquisition of Roy Halladay.
"I think it's tremendous,'' he said. "To me, from what I see and the way I hear people who know baseball talk, he's the best pitcher in the game. I was up at [Jim] Thome's charity event last week, and I was talking to him and [Paul] Konerko. They faced him a lot in the American League. Konerko said even when Halladay has a bad day, he's good. They say he has tremendous stuff, all the ingredients.
"He definitely makes us better. When we started last season, we didn't have a guy like Halladay. Now we do.''
Will Halladay be the Opening Day starter?
"I think you can safely say that,'' Manuel said with a laugh. "You know, I haven't talked to him yet. I left him a message around Christmas. But I guess I don't have to talk to him. All I have to do is hand him the ball. I'm looking forward to doing that. It's safe to say he'll pitch opening day.''
The downside to the acquisition of Halladay was that it resulted in Cliff Lee's departure to Seattle. The team said it dealt Lee because it wanted to add prospects to a minor-league system that had been hit hard by trades. It's also possible that finances played a part in the Phillies' thinking, though team officials have downplayed that.
Lee was due to make $9 million in 2010; Halladay $15.75. The Phils received $6 million from Toronto in the Halladay trade. All this will help the Phils keep their payroll at about $140 million, which will be one of the highest in the game.
Manuel would have loved to have kept Lee, but that doesn't make him unique. Phillies fans far and wide share the sentiment.
"I'm not necessarily disappointed because I understand the baseball aspect of it,'' Manuel said. "When I was a player-development guy, I was more of a long-range guy. But now I'm a major league manager and I'm more for the now, not three or four years down the road.
"As a manager in the big leagues, I look to put the best team on the field that's possible at that moment. That's where Lee comes into play. The financial part, I have nothing to do with that. I want to put the best possible team on the field. I don't know if that makes me selfish, but that's how you play the game. That's how the Yankees do it.
"I talked to Lee. He liked us and wanted to stay. If Halladay is the best pitcher in the game, Lee isn't too far behind. With Halladay and Lee – it's a no-brainer – we're better. Don't get me wrong, I like our pitching. I think [Cole] Hamels is going to turn it around. He's probably the biggest reason we won the World Series [in 2008], and he can be that guy again. But with Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Blanton and [J.A.] Happ, we're better.''
With Jamie Moyer recovering from groin and knee surgeries, Manuel said that Kyle Kendrick would get a long look for the No. 5 starter's job in spring training. The top four is set with Halladay, Hamels, Blanton and Happ.
The lineup
The major offseason change to the lineup was the addition of third baseman Placido Polanco, who replaces Pedro Feliz.
"I think [Polanco] had something like 600 hits the last three years,'' Manuel said. "He'll be a tremendous asset on our team. He's a contact hitter in a good lineup, but a lineup that strikes out a lot. From what I see, he can play third base well. Feliz had one of most true arms I've ever seen, but in fielding, I think these guys are close. We're picking up a better bat. Polly is a better all-around player.''
Where will Polanco hit in the lineup?
"Right now, he's a dead two-hole hitter, and that's where I plan on hitting him,'' Manuel said. "But I won't always have a set lineup. I look at [Jimmy] Rollins, Victorino, [Jayson]Werth ... We can maneuver our lineup. But Polanco is a two-hole hitter. He moves runners, can handle the bat, hits to right field.''
Where will Victorino hit?
"Vic more than likely will hit down in the lineup, sixth, seventh,'' Manuel said. "He'll have the chance to swing the bat and use his speed. But I'll also float him around. He'll have a chance to hit leadoff and second, too.''
Manuel reiterated that he will shuffle his lineup at times. He feels as if he has better weapons on his bench, and that will make him more open to getting regulars such as Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard some rest during the season. A day off here and there can preserve a player for the long haul.
Manuel conceded that it's sometimes difficult to sit an elite player like Rollins, Utley or Howard.
"It goes back to that Lee question. You want to try to put the best team on the field. At the same time, one of the biggest things I want to do [in 2010] is pick some days to rest Utley, Rollins, Victorino and Howard. Not two or three days, just a day here and there. We've got the kind of bench where I can do that now. I told [general manager Ruben Amaro] what kind of team I wanted, and he got those guys. They've always pressed me to get Utley and Jimmy a little rest and hopefully, with this team, I can do that now.''
Additions to the bench include catcher Brian Schneider, versatile infielder Juan Castro and outfielder/first baseman Ross Gload, who is a top pinch-hitter. Holdovers include outfielder Ben Francisco and infielder/outfielder Greg Dobbs, another accomplished pinch-hitter.
The bullpen
Manuel has a history with newcomer Danys Baez, who essentially takes Chan Ho Park's place in the bullpen. Manuel was Baez' first big-league manager, with Cleveland in 2001. The Phils tried to re-sign Park, but he balked at a one-year deal believed to be for $3 million, and the team moved on to Baez, a veteran who has pitched as a setup man and closer.
"I am a Baez guy,'' Manuel said. "I had him. I know the last couple of years he was hurt. Last year, when we saw him with Baltimore, he was just getting back from surgery. By the end of the year, our reports had him in the mid-90s. He's real gutty.
"He throws a lot of fastballs and sometimes gets hurt with that. If we can get him to mix in his breaking ball with his splitter, he'll be good for us. I'd like to see him handle the sixth and seventh, but he'll pitch in any situation. I liked his interview where he said if he pitched good, he'll pitch in bigger situations. He'll take the ball. He'll help us.''
Manuel offered some revealing comments on Park, who had a 2.52 ERA in 38 relief appearances in 2009.
"I think Chan Ho had good stuff,'' Manuel said. "He was good in that role. But it was hard for us to bring him back the next day. We had to pick when he could pitch. Baez, you can pitch him till his back breaks. You couldn't do that with Chan Ho. That was understandable because he'd only been relieving for a short time and was used to starting. But he didn't bounce back real quick. He had nagging stuff – sore knees and neck all year.''
Manuel believes Brad Lidge will bounce back from a difficult season once he's recovered from a pair of off-season surgeries. If Lidge is not ready, then Ryan Madson will close for the first week or so of the season.
Manuel is concerned about the team's left-handed relief situation, which has been impacted by the retirement of Scott Eyre. J.C. Romero is recovering from elbow surgery and might not be ready until close to May. In spring training Manuel will look closely at Antonio Bastardo, Sergio Escalona and Mike Zagurski. The front office remains on the hunt for another reliever and is likely to add an experienced arm in the coming weeks as prices for remaining free agents go down.
The manager
Manuel turned 66 this month. A cancer and heart attack survivor, he said he feels great after a Nutrisystem weight loss program and fitness regimen that began last spring. He topped out at 286 pounds last spring and said he now weighs 233, right about where he ended last season. His goal remains 225.
"I'm on the treadmill three times a week,'' he said. "I'm lifting some light weights and doing leg presses.''
There's a photograph of Manuel floating around the Internet that shows off his new look.
"Yeah, that's a real picture,'' he said. "That's what it looks like when they put good clothes on you.''
This will be Manuel's sixth season managing the Phillies.
He has led the club to three straight National League East titles and two straight World Series.
Are the Phils the team to beat in the NL again in 2010?
"I think our league is good,'' Manuel said. "Do I think we're the team to beat? I think we're the champs and until someone dethrones you, you're the champ. We've got enough hard players that we should hold our own. I know our players and how they play the game. We'll be OK. I feel good about the season – very good.''
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.