June 13, 2016
Pete Mackanin learned his first lesson about managing a baseball team from Ted Williams 44 years ago. The Phillies skipper figured out very quickly that even the best hitter in history is not going to keep the job for long if he doesn’t win.
Unfortunately for Mackanin, it took the geniuses in the game he loves four and a half decades to realize that his knowledge as a player, scout, coach and front-office executive was valuable enough to entrust with a big-league team.
At 64, Mackanin is the rookie manager of the Phillies, and so far he has been a revelation, despite their recent struggles. The baseball lifer has demonstrated the people skills of a Charlie Manuel with the strategic savvy of a Gene Mauch.
When Mackanin first referenced Williams during one of our weekly interviews on WIP radio, I doubled back to make sure he was referring to the Ted Williams of a long-ago era.
“You mean, the Ted Williams,” I asked him.
“Yes,” he replied. “I was 20 years old, and it was my first big-league spring training in Pompano Beach. I didn’t know anything, but I knew who he was.”
All I could think while the manager told the story was how insane it appears now that no one ever gave Mackanin a chance to run a major-league team. Look at it this way: Three years ago, the Phillies somehow thought Ryne Sandberg was more qualified to manage their ballclub than Pete Mackanin.
How horrific would the current Ryan Howard mess be in the hands of a tongue-tied, wooden leader like Sandberg? How many more games under .500 would this too-young (and too-old) roster be with Sandberg still in charge?
Mackanin’s handling of Howard has been a textbook case of crisis management for all managers and coaches working in Philadelphia. From the very beginning, he called Howard’s last season here “a delicate situation,” He didn’t hide his own concerns about the dual goal of developing young talent while honoring the slugger’s legacy.
When Tommy Joseph, the heir apparent at first base, arrived last month, Mackanin again chose honesty over spin, declaring that the kid was not promoted to sit on the bench. Joseph has been more than the Phils could have hoped for as a cleanup hitter. Howard’s.150 batting average is located in its proper place now, on the bench.
The fact that Mackanin has received no help from his bosses in his first crisis as a big-league manager only serves to prove just how qualified he has been – no doubt, for decades – without getting a chance. Not only has he protected Howard, but he has also rescued Matt Klentak from the new GM’s own glaring inexperience.
On the field, Mackanin has been equally remarkable, despite a losing record that included a brutal sweep over the weekend in Washington. The manager won a game last week against a far superior opponent, the Chicago Cubs, by using closer Jeanmar Gomez for a six-out save.
Six outs, from a pitcher trained to get three? Why?
“Because we had to win the game,” Mackanin said.
Imagine that. Forty-four years later, Pete Mackanin finally got a chance to use the lesson he learned from Ted Williams.
***
Fletcher Cox, the best player on the Eagles, ended months of suspense last week when he showed up for the mandatory minicamp, but by the time he departed four days later, many fans were wishing he had stayed home.
In the midst of a months-long contract dispute, Cox thought it was smart to arrive in Philadelphia and issue a terse statement, which included this: "Any discussion about my absence from the offseason program or my contract will be handled privately between me, my agent and the Eagles organization."
Yeah, sure it will. If Cox is really looking for $60-million or so in guaranteed money, he should learn right now that there’s more to the deal than stopping a runner or sacking a quarterback. The NFL didn’t become the richest sports in history by not talking to the fans. With stardom comes responsibility.
Of course, the very next day, Cox was besieged with questions about the negotiations, about his missing most of the early instruction in the new 4-3 defense, and about his plans for training camp. Again, the star defensive tackle chose his words poorly: “I’m here now. I’m not talking about the past.”
Huh? His new contract is about the future – not the past – isn’t it? What public-relations wizard came up with this public strategy, Mark McGwire? You may recall that the disgraced slugger used this “not talking about the past” strategy during a congressional hearing in 2009. Seven years later, McGwire is still not in the Hall of Fame.
During the three-day minicamp, Cox participated in none of the important drills because he was not familiar with Jim Schwartz’s defense. He said he would study the playbook before training camp opens next month, when he will be expected to anchor a line that promises to be the strength of the team, new contract or not.
Part of being a leader – the kind of player worthy of $60 million guaranteed – is to show the way for other, lesser teammates. Cox did just the opposite last week. He displayed to his fellow Eagles a petulance and stubbornness not worthy of him or his team.
***
They never really know. That’s the lesson of this spring in Philadelphia, a rare moment in time when three of our four professional sports teams have either the first or second pick in their respective drafts.
The Eagles, Phillies and Sixers have armies of scouts and stat crunchers combing through every nugget of information about the best young players in their sports. But in the end, there is no element of this process more important than luck.
For example, the Phillies named Mickey Moniak the No. 1 selection in last week’s baseball draft, and he fits the prototype of a future star. He is fast afoot, an accomplished hitter and a brilliant defender in center field. He also has a winning personality and a conviction to succeed.
But he is 18. Do you remember when you were 18? Would you have advised anyone to invest millions on the future you? Well, the Phillies will – and then they’ll hold their breath. Does anyone even remember last year’s top Phillies pick, an outfielder named Cornelius Randolph? He’s hitting .240 in Class A ball.
At least the Eagles have the advantage of watching Carson Wentz, 23, during an entire college career, but the quarterback faced Division 1AA opposition, a world away from the talent level in the NFL. The No. 2 pick, Wentz just completed a humbling minicamp that has already lowered expectations, at least for his rookie season.
And then there are the Sixers, who are expected to use their No. 1 selection on Ben Simmons, a 19-year-old enigma with enormous talent but a dubious commitment to the game. Is he the next LeBron James, or the next Johnny Manziel?
Seven years ago, a young centerfielder much like Mickey Moniak lasted until the 25th pick in the first round. Scouts liked his moxie, but some openly doubted whether he had what it took to be an everyday player. The kid turned out a lot better than anybody else in the draft. You may recognize the name: Mike Trout.
They never really know.
And finally ...
• The best shortstop in Phillies history has probably played his last game in the big leagues. Jimmy Rollins, 37, was designated for assignment by the White Sox over the weekend, after an abysmal 10 weeks in which he hit .221 and had only two homers. If he’s smart, he’ll quit now, with our fond memories of him still intact.
• Jayson Werth told Ed Condran in Philly Voice last weekend that he doesn’t care how Phillies fans remember him and that “I’m happy to be ignored.” The man is being paid $126 million – thanks to ex-GM Pat Gillick rescuing him from obscurity – and he feels no obligation to the fans. If Werth wanted to be ignored, he should have been a librarian.
• Darren Sproles, who still hasn’t divulged why he blew off all of the Eagles voluntary practices this off-season, is perplexed that fans have been speculating about the reason for his boycott. Hello? Sproles started the rumors himself by not showing up and not explaining why. Hey, Darren. If you don’t communicate, fans speculate. Got it?
• Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor is under investigation for a sexual assault at a strip club in Philadelphia last week, days after Denver cornerback Aqib Talib shot himself while at a strip club in Dallas. The moral of the stories? Nothing good ever happens when pro athletes go to strip clubs.
• The funeral for Muhammad Ali last Friday was almost as extraordinary as the man himself. If you want to witness one of the greatest eulogies ever delivered, check out Billy Crystal’s tribute to his “big brother.” Poignant, funny, reverential, dramatic – it was the ideal sendoff to a true hero.
