Sandberg Named Phillies 3rd Base Coach

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At the end of the Lehigh Valley season, it was generally accepted in the press box that this was the last we would see of Ryne Sandberg in Lehigh Valley after two very successful seasons.  That sentiment proved accurate as Sandberg was named the Phillies 3rd base coach for the 2013 season.  This comes in the midst of a coaching shakeup that has seen Greg Gross, Pete Mackanin and Sam Perlozzo all relieved of their duties.  With Charlie Manuel’s contract set to expire at the end of the 2013 season, 2014 may very well put Ryno at the helm in Philadelphia.

39 thoughts on “Sandberg Named Phillies 3rd Base Coach”

  1. There seems to be some rumors coming out that the Phils will go without a bench coach next season with Dubee and Sandberg essentially sharing the role in addition to their other duties.

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    1. Matt, thanks for the information as it seems the Phillies are taking care of Ryne Sandberg and grooming him to be Manuel’s successor.

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    2. Not that I would expect it, but it would be pretty hilarious if they promoted Dubee to manager instead of Sandberg after next season. Just to see the fanbase go nutso.

      Anyway the rumor about them sharing the job makes sense since Dubee was pretty much a semi-bench coach last season too.

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      1. If you are right about Dubee having influence on the bench THIS year that should disqualify him.
        The batting situation is so muddy. Cholly is supposed to be a great batting coach and GG has a rep.but the preswing mechanics of Mayberry were so bad and obvious It makes you wonder. At the last minute JMjr would push his hands away from his body six inches or so. Since he finally stopped doing that it must of been his early problem. Remember it took years to straight out Chooch’s preswing

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        1. Even Sarge had suggestions for JMjr last week in Miami…get up there and use Giancarlo Stanton’s stance and approach.

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      2. Ugh, Dubee not only as pitching coach but partial bench coach? Maybe he can ruin Utley’s arm as well as Halladay’s now.

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  2. I’m pretty critical of a lot of things the Phillies FO has done the last couple years, but I like this move. I hope he is being groomed to replace Charlie.

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    1. I just hope the part about him having other responsibilities is accurate, as just being a third base coach might not be enough for him to stay in Philly. Hopefully a talk was had where he knows he is in the near future plans, since in my opinion what he did in LHV says he should be a good manager

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  3. With all the managerial openings why is it that Sanberg never gets an interview, never is mentioned as being considered by anyone?

    No point in noting this for the “Cholly” haters.

    Haters are ignorant, irational and just plain stupid.

    The same trash that hate Charlie call Howard “The Big Glove Spitter”, spew garbage about the Phillies 2013 CF Josh Hamilton before he is even signed, and either booed Mike Schmidt his whole career or are the sons of those who did.

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    1. ‘With all the managerial openings why is it that Sanberg never gets an interview, never is mentioned as being considered by anyone?’…because former Hall of Fame players intimidate GMs, and have reps for being poor managers.

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    2. And so continue the insane banterings of Free AEC disguised as anonymous. A point: Perhaps you should change your sentence formatting as to not so easily give yourself away.
      .

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    3. Haters is a harsh word for people who are stating the obvious. But is certainly fits you. WHAT IS YOU PROBLEM

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    4. He’s interviewed plenty of times.

      Theo didn’t hire him because he didn’t want to be the guy to fire Ryne Sandberg.

      The Red Sox were in love with Bobby Valentine.

      and the White Sox, Cardinals, etc felt there were better fits for their ball clubs. Just because somebody else doesn’t hire the guy doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at some point.

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  4. Sandberg at 3rd base…because Cholly would be uncomfortable sitting next to the heir apparent? Can’t wait until Sandberg takes over which would be part of a youth movement for this franchise.

    3rd base? Asche, unless he bombs in the AFL and ST. No other alternatives exist in the FA market nor in any trade for a multi-year contract guy with Asche so close and Franco 2-3 years away. If there are any shortcomings in Asche’s game they can be worked out over the season and result in the position well cared for over succeeding seasons. See the Oakland A’s as I’ve said before which seems to have worked out well, no? Youth, fire, hunger to replace secure well-paid people.

    The remaining holes (CF, righty OFer) need to be attended to. Removing dead wood from the roster is next with the pen developing from the young ones having auditioned in ’12.

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    1. That’s all well and good, but since Asche has like 250 AB’s at AA and above, the front office thinks he needs more seasoning. It’s not a bad thing.

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  5. Please suggest another realistic, sensible and viable alternative. The seasoning is being done in the AFL and ST. And, please let’s not give away our #15 (?) draft choice. The team NEEDS that pick, having given several away in recent years. 15 is MUCH better than #30 (around last year’s first pick) and more than #89 which would then be our first pick in ’13. Working from within, 3rd base goes to Asche who seems to rise to a challenge.

    Like considering Ruf as a starting LF-er AND fill-in 1st baseman and pinch hitter. Still working from within. And outside of the box.

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    1. This is moving beyond the scope of this thread but…

      Those two locations are not great for seasoning a player, I think Asche needs another half year at least in the minors if you want him to be a productive major league players. Some 3B options out there that could be interesting (I am not as bullish on Asche and wouldn’t really be too worried about blocking him, more worried about blocking Franco):
      – Keppinger (likely will be given a longer deal)
      – Chris Nelson (Colorado is looking for pitching so this could be a trade option, depends on what pitching)
      – Jack Hannahan (won’t provide offense but would be a good defensive placeholder)
      – Eric Chavez (would need a back up on hand at all times)
      – Frandsen (not that he is anything great but he is a low enough commitment that if he struggles you and Asche succeeds you can remove him for Asche)
      Asche just needs some more time, additionally there just isn’t enough of a sample on him and he isn’t a can’t miss guy to structure your offseason around him starting at 3B for the coming season.

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      1. Chavez was excellent for NYY this year. Possible problem for him and Youkilis is that they likely will wnat to stay in the AL.

        If Chavez is still above average fielding at 3B, then I’d like him on a 1yr plus easy vesting option (say $4M plus $4M option with 450 PAs), That’s want Wigginton was making. Not sure what he’d be looking for though.

        Frandsen would be the backup INF.
        Semi joking but Phillies should make Ruf a 3B, total of 3 games in the minors with 2 A and 1 E. He pitched some in blowouts so I have to assume he has a decent arm. He probably would be no worse than Cabrera who actually seemed to exceed expectations (which were very low) as a fielder at 3B.

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  6. Art, The Phils org has been on record saying they’d like to see Asche clean up his defense a pretty good deal before entrusting a major league 3B position on him. I also want to say I don’t believe the org is sold on his bat as they’ve repeatedly discussed him as having a “shot” to be a major leaguer, whereas they didn’t come out and say w/o a doubt he’ll be an impact player. What is wrong with giving the guy 500 more AB’s in the minors to fix the things the organization wants to know for sure? I’d rather them do it that way then bring him up, and have it blow up in their face.

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  7. I find it hard to believe the Sandberg/Manual thing is going to work. What happen when
    Cholly has one of his brain freezes or Rollins rounds second like he could care less?
    Player selection could be a stress point too. It will be interesting.

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    1. Nichols has been praised by many players for his approach. Not sure about Henderson. Phillies are also looking into bringing in an assistant hitting coach like Matt Stairs or Mike Sweeney, or Jim Thome if he retires.

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      1. If Thome retires and wants the job, its his. Otherwise, Sweeney would be awesome with his personality and good hitting mechanics. Hiring 2 new hitting coaches is great if someone listens… Nichols has helped lots of pitchers at AAA improve over the years he’s been there. Putting him in the bullpen to work with all the young relievers is a very interesting move and I like it. Dubee really only focuses on the starters anyway.

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  9. I’m on record in a previous post as wanting Mark Parent to be the next manager of the Phillies whenever Charlie goes. I won’t repeat why in this post. But there’s an article on espn about Valentine getting fired, and next to it an article about possible candidates for the job, along with thumbnail sketches. Read Sandberg’s. Just because Sandberg is the SUPPOSED organizational choice, doesn’t mean he is or should be. I actually hope Ruben is telling the truth when he says the job isn’t promised to him, even though all the puff piece writers on philly.com scoff at this possibility. Or maybe you think RAJ, the last organizational choice, is beyond debate as having been the best possible hire. I’m not a Ruben basher, but he’s not beyond debate. Any organization who would not hire a better candidate from the outside deserves to continue to sink. The Cards took a shot on an “unknown”, “unproven” guy, passing on Sandberg, and look where they are. And BTW, Parent was developed by the Phillies.

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    1. Hard to follow the logic of this comment. Where the Cardinals are is scraping into the playoffs as the second wildcard team a year after winning the World Series. i think the jury is still out on whether Matheny was the right hire. And Matheny was not an outsider. He played with the Cardinals and had been working for the organization for two years before he was named manager. And the article on ESPN offers zero insight into Ryne Sandberg. It mentions him as one of 15 people who “should” be considered by the Red Sox. It notes that he interviewed with the Cubs and Cards last year but didn’t get the jobs. Then it says, “Makes you think that the Sox feel there’s something missing.” So the front office that believed hiring Bobby Valentine was a good idea might think there’s something missing in Sandberg … if that’s part of your case for Mark Parent, you’re serving some mighty thin broth.

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    2. When a team is doing well and has developed a “way” to do things, hiring from within is the norm. When they’re not doing well, they always feel the need to go outside the organization, in essence to hire someone who worked for a team that was successful so he can bring the “way to get there” with him. I think RAJ has done a decent job. He’s made some good moves and made some bad moves. No one will confuse him with Gillick but Gillick went into the HOF so how is that a fair comparison. Having said that, I really like Parent and I think he’ll become a major league manager very soon. I know the Phils really liked him and it would surprise me if they didn’t interview him a year from now if he’s still a coach.

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      1. Are we really going to keep acting like Gillick was such a great GM of all time. His moves were so-so and basically the Phillies won a WS with a core he had nothing to do with and a good bit of luck. He got nothing for Abreu, He gave up Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for damaged goods in Freddy Garcia. He’s got as many trade losses and bad signings as trade wins and good signings. Sure Gillick found the little pieces, but none of that matters without the core and getting lucky on some of those guys.

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        3. Gillick, on a few individual trades, made mistakes. I think you take good with bad… Remember where things went well…

          1. Jim Thome trade
          2. Acquired Tom Gordon
          3. Acquired Greg Dobbs / Jayson Werth for next to nothing
          4. Charlie Manual at the helm
          5. Brad Lidge trade
          6. WFC

          He took a few risks along the way, but he kept the core of the Phillies together – Utley, Howard, Rollins, Madson, Hamels… sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make. He clearly recognized what he had.

          I mean you’re welcome to see it half empty, but I think you’re drinking the wrong cool aid.

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          1. My point is that if Ruben had a title to his name he’d be in the same boat as Gillick. To say that Ruben doesn’t live up to Gillick is setting Gillick on a pedestal that he doesn’t necessarily deserve when it comes to the Phillies. Gillick was fortunate enough to have things break the Phillies way so he could get that title. If anything you have to give Ruben credit for seeing how he needed to adapt the big league club to continue to improve. He certainly brought the Phillies from a fringe division winner and somewhat lucky WS champ to a WS favorite from 2009-2011. If the Phillies would have won the WS any of the years where Ruben built a team that had the best record he’d be a god.

            In my opinion they both have similar mixed records and it just seems a little silly to say Ruben’s no Gillick when it comes to what both have done with the Phillies.

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  10. Sandberg seems to have managed multiple minor league teams above their preseason expectations. That should count for something.
    Being a superstar player, but working through the low minors, should give him some credibility with Major League millionaires under guaranteed contracts.

    I am not sure what other data are used to evaluate managers other than how players like to play for them. I think bringing Sandberg to the Major League club is a good test run. If he and Charlie get along then Charlie moves into an executive position and Sandberg takes over with Charlie’s blessing.

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    1. Position players brought up from AAA have generally performed above expectations.. Ask the people of Allentown if Ryne is a good manager.

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