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October 29, 2008

On the Beat

Fold Up the Umbrellas and Play Ball?

by John Perrotto

PHILADELPHIA—Charlie Manuel is usually media-friendly, accessible, and easy-going, but the Phillies manager refused to talk to reporters Monday night after Game Five of the World Series was suspended due to rain with the score tied 2-2 in the middle of sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Word was that Manuel was upset about the way the whole situation was handled, and he did not completely deny that on Tuesday while talking to reporters after MLB decided to delay the resumption of the game until Wednesday in a series the Phillies lead 3-1.

"At that time, I felt like there was no sense in me coming down there and answering questions," Manuel said in response to questions about his declining to participate in the Monday night post-game press conference that included commissioner Bud Selig, umpires Tim Welke and Tim Tschida, Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, and Rays president Matt Silverman and manager Joe Maddon. "There were some things that went on through the game, with the pitcher and things like that, which are part of the game. I was upset with some of the things that went on, but I definitely agreed with everything that happened and I also agreed the game definitely had to be stopped. The conditions were definitely unplayable."

Manuel declined to discuss specifics about what bothered him. "I don't like to talk about those things," he said. Clearly, though, Manuel was disappointed that he had to burn left-hander Cole Hamels, his best pitcher, only one win away from the franchise's first title since 1980. Hamels gave up two runs in six innings, and now has a 4-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in five starts during the postseason. Manuel also seemed bothered that Hamels had to pitch in an increasingly heavy rain in the top of the sixth, giving up the tying run on Carlos Pena's RBI single, while Rays reliever Grant Balfour was not asked to take the mound in the bottom of the inning. "It was hard for my pitcher to grip the ball in the sixth inning," Manuel said. "He definitely didn't have good command of his fastball, so, therefore he couldn't put a lot into it or put enough on it to throw 88-92 mph. With his changeup, the ball was slick. It was wet and damp, and he had a hard time getting a feel for it. I think the weather definitely comes into play there."

Manuel was asked if the game should have been stopped after the fifth inning with the Phillies leading 2-1, which under normal circumstances would have given them the victory and the series win with the game already official. "Well, everybody's got an opinion, and from a manager's standpoint I'm biased I guess, because I want the best for my team," Manuel said. "At the same time, two teams are playing and there are a lot of people who make decisions that are going to come into play. I wasn't the one to make the decision, and I'm sure [Rays manager] Joe Maddon feels the same way—that you've got to cooperate and kind of go along with things that happen." Commissioner Bud Selig had said on Monday night that he would have invoked his "best interest of baseball" powers to ensure a full nine innings were played; no World Series game has ever been called before the ninth.

Hamels is still technically in the game and is due to lead off in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Manuel has ruled out trying to squeeze another inning or two out of Hamels tonight. He threw just 75 pitches on Monday, had a day off Tuesday, and this would be the day he would normally through between starts. Manuel did sound as if he might be tempted to stick with Hamels though, if the weather were to push the resumption of the game to Thursday night. "He's not coming back to pitch in this game," Manuel said. "There's no way. I can tell you that. At the same time, we haven't discussed what we're going to do for the future. We're totally focused on what we're going to do in [Game Five]. We'll talk about some of things we want to do at some point but right now we're just thinking about this game.