MLB Philadelphia Phillies

Ryne Sandberg’s Latest Admission of Philadelphia Phillies’ Clubhouse Woes Are Troubling

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By @papreps

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Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In the “you-could-have-knocked-me-over-with-a-feather” department comes the latest admission from Philadelphia Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg: the clubhouse was, to be kind, a less-than-harmonious place in 2014.

Sandberg noted during the team’s 21st Annual Winter Banquet in Lakewood, N.J., that he did not think the Phillies had a good clubhouse last year. Any fan sitting in the upper deck probably could surmise that from the way the team went through the motions all last season on the way to a last-place finish, but it was still troubling nonetheless. How did the Phillies go from a confident group of players in their prime who refused to lose, to a group satisfied with their slide into baseball’s abyss? It was a combination of declining skills and injuries that led to losses, and losses that led to a malaise.

In many cases, Sandberg cannot be blamed because this process started long before he took over with “Good Time” Charlie Manuel in charge. Once a disciplinarian, Manuel started looking the other way when players, particularly shortstop Jimmy Rollins, would jog to first base. He started to look the other way over bad leadership habits in the clubhouse, too.

Any reporter strolling through after losses got the message from the veterans that there was always another day, that they gave it their best shot and would play harder tomorrow. Then another loss followed and they would repeat the same mantra the next day. There was never a post-game buffet overturned, never a loud outburst that indicate someone cared.

Management never helped Sandberg, either. When he benched one of the malcontents, Ryan Howard, for three games in favor of someone who cares, Darin Ruf, he was reportedly ordered to re-insert Howard back into the lineup by GM Ruben Amaro Jr.. Management of the daily lineup should begin and end with the manager’s office and that’s the best way to fix the clubhouse now, but as long as Howard is there and Amaro orders Sandberg to play him, there will always be problems.

Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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