After less than two full seasons at the helm, Ryne Sandberg has resigned as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Sandberg made the announcement at a press conference on Friday. The Phillies said Pete Mackanin will serve as the interim manager.
Sandberg took over late in the 2013 season after the Phillies fired longtime manager Charlie Manuel. Sandberg was third base coach at the time and also had stints as a minor-league manager with the Cubs and Phillies.
There was already some speculation that Sandberg would be fired during, or after, this season, though general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied that as recently as last week. He said he expected Sandberg to finish out the season. Instead, Sandberg is cutting bait on a team that is on pace to lose more than 100 games. Sandberg had a 119-159 record with the Phillies, who have the worst record in baseball so far this season. Sandberg said the on-field struggles were a major part of his decision.
Sandberg was put in something of a no-win situation from the beginning. The Phillies have an aging, expensive core group of players led by Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Cliff Lee. The Phillies are trying to go young and rebuild but still have the eighth highest payroll in the majors at more than $143 million. Trade rumours involving Hamels -- at 31, the youngest and still most effective of the expensive veterans -- have picked up steam lately.
It all left Sandberg with a mess of a roster, a mix injury-prone veterans on the decline and not-ready-for-primtime prospects. There wasn't a lot of help on the way either as Baseball America ranked the Phillies as having the 21st best farm system in baseball. It must have become too much for Sandberg to take.
Mackanin is a former Phillies player and coach. He spent this season and last as the third-base coach and was the bench coach from 2009 to 2012 under Manuel. He has two previous short-lived stints as an interim manager, in 2005 with the Pirates and 2007 with the Reds.
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