Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
August 19, 2004
Bowing Out?

There's speculation today about how long Larry Bowa will be the manager of the Phillies. It's based on Ed Wade not giving Larry a ringing endorsement, although Ed is far from saying that Larry's days are numbered.


Phillies general manager Ed Wade is one person tired of talking about it. He said several times in a pregame meeting with reporters that Bowa is the Phillies manager but declined to guarantee that Bowa would finish the season or continue to manage the team next season.

"I understand when teams struggle, and the way we are struggling right now, fingers get pointed and people want to discuss the pros and cons of all kinds of issues," Wade said. "Job status. Effectiveness of the club. Over-evaluation of personnel. All that kind of stuff comes into play. So I understand that.

"But at the same time, I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to be out there just because it's sort of the topic du jour to have to put an official face on it all the time. My position hasn't changed. 'Bo' is our manager."


If Wade had given Bowa a complete vote of confidence, then I'd say he'd be gone by the end of the week. :-)

Jack McCaffery sees a different scenario; keeping Bowa around keeps Ed Wade's job secure.


But even as Bowa graciously engaged in job-security questions, something abnormal was beginning to take shape --- a strange-bedfellows dynamic that just might keep him employed into next season and beyond. In the oddest way, Ed Wade needs Larry Bowa now ..for protection. Just think about it: If Wade allows Bowa to play the injury card what else does it do? Why, it allows him, too, to play the injury card --- doesn’t it? More, it allows Wade to play the injury card while preserving the job of one of the most popular individuals --- still --- ever to wear a Phillies uniform.

"I’m not giving daily updates on Bo," Wade said. "He’s the manager. I’m not getting into the subject matter, with all due respect. I’m just not doing this every day."

During the Phillies’ most recent road trip, leaks from responsible media outlets gushed that Bowa’s firing was imminent. Then, the Phillies won five of their final six on the trip and Bowa survived. Now, the odd alliance: Wade and Bowa protected by the same injury shield, with both reciting a familiar talking point. Can this team win? Bowa: "The key word: If they play to their expectations." See?

While a convenient approach to the disappointing season, it is not altogether absurd. Frankly, the players did not play to their capabilities, and that was not just according to management, but to the national baseball media and, proof of all proof, Las Vegas, which predicted greatness for them in the National League. Why? Some players just dipped. Others were injured. Billy Wagner barely played at all, causing irreparable harm to the bullpen rotation. But Wade might get away with playing a similar roster hand next season --- with a quasi-cosmetic change or two --- if he also brings back the popular manager. And Bowa remains popular, if evidenced only by the response at the defeat-ALS carnival Monday, even if it is a captive audience of charity-minded Phillies fans in no mood to be critical.


Frankly, I thought Wade should have fired Bowa after the Rolen fiasco. The fact that he didn't leads me to think that both should go.

Update: Tom Goodman believes that Rolen would have left no matter what. He just didn't want to be in Philadelphia.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:04 AM | Management | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Tom G. and I have already had a back-and-forth on Rolen at his blog.

No one disagrees that at the end Rolen wanted to go. Certainly by spring training in 2002 when he issued a counter-offer to Phillies' management conditioned on the team's payroll -- which management rightly rejected -- it was clear that he wanted out. At the same time, I doubt that he was plotting to leave Philly when he joined the team in '96.

What we are disagreeing about is at what point Rolen's departure was a certainty. And we are disagreeing about the weight of responsibility that Bowa and Dallas Green had in bringing it about.

But the other thing that we disagree on is Tom's characterization of Rolen in his piece. In my view it's way over the top. If the worst thing you can say about someone is that he was decent, but not an extrovert, how terrible! And God help us if the son of two school teachers should take a book with him on the road instead of a Game Boy. And given the performance of this Phillies management for 20 years, I can hardly blame him for concluding that this group can't win. I don't hear LaRussa or Jocketty complaining about the person Rolen is.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 19, 2004 04:50 PM

Seems Rolen's "one star among many" in St. Louis, while he would've been expected to be "The Guy" in Philly. What's more, in Philly the measuring stick of whether he's succeeding as "The Guy" would've been Mike Schmidt - and Rolen's no Mike Schmidt.

Rolen wasn't going to measure up in Philly. Going to St. Louis, he got to be the Cardinals 3rd baseman, not "the guy who plays the position Mike Schmidt played - better."

Of course he wanted out - he also didn't want anyone saying he bailed, as opposed to being pushed.

Hence all the whining about the front office, etc.

Posted by: BradDad at August 19, 2004 05:16 PM

Re: Bowa, Rolen, Estrada and Schilling

I find myself agreeing with Der Webmeister's coments. McCaffrey's not always the best source, but his comments this time are of note.

However, Bowa has to be fired after this year if not now.

The problem is deeper than just this year.

This team has been expected to contend since 2001.

In that time, in 2002 and 2003, those teams won about 86 and 88 games, and fell short of the wild card and the division.

Last year, they were in control of the wild card, and faded to the Marlins.

This year, they were in front of the entire division at the All Star Break, and bizarrely collapsed into ruin afterwards going 9-17 with a staff ERA of more than 6.00.

What we see is a pattern of late season collapses.

The team doesn't finish strong with Bowa.

Why? Could it be he doen't know how to put together a bench, a bullpen or use his players correctly for the long haul of a season???

Or that every year he's outmanaged by Art Howe, Bobby Cox and Jack McKeon in head to head play, reflecting the Phils dismal Eastern Division record the past two years????

Finally, the personell moves of Wade and Bowa have been awful, losing Estrada, Rolen and Schilling since 2000 and gaining only Millwood, Polanco and Padilla in return at the end. Travis Lee is hardly in baseball anymore.

The Phils could have signed Schilling to a 3 year deal instead of tendering Millwood arbitration but Bowa nixed that because he didn't want Schilling on the team.

Schilling is a lights out first starter, and Millwood, while a solid starter, is not a lights out guy. He's a bit out of shape and loses leads in the 6th and 7th, and is notoriously ineffective against the Braves for some reason.

Estrada--All Star Game Rolen -- MVP Schilling -- All Star Game. Those Win Shares v. the Win Shares of Millwood, Polanco (down this year) and Padilla (hurt much of this year) account fully for why the Phillies are 60-62 at this stage of the year.

Bowa and Wade should both be fired.

--AJK

Posted by: Art Kyriazis at August 21, 2004 06:20 AM