Philly Pharewell

Midway through his second full season as Phillies manager, Ryne Sandberg pulled the plug himself. With his team having the worst record in the majors, and rumors of Andy McPhail coming into take over the organization, the Hall of Fame second baseman stepped aside.
Phillies fans, who'll always think of Sandberg as "the one who got away" -- thanks to an ill-fated trade sending him and Larry Bowa to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus -- hoped that Sandberg's winning spirit would rub off on his rebuilding club. It didn't happen. Things actually got worse, with the Phils winning barely a third of their games. Just days ago, veteran Chase Utley's harsh criticism of pitching coach Bob McClure, and by inference, Sandberg, could have been the last straw. Of course, neither Dallas Green, or Connie Mack could have done much with the roster Sandberg was handed. And even with a pair of surprising wins this week at Yankee Stadium, the malaise, the sloppiness, and often, the listlessness of this ballclub was too much to ignore.
It wasn't Sandberg's fault -- he didn't make Ryan Howard a strikeout machine, cause Chase Utley's skills to erode, Carlos Ruiz to turn 36 or Domonic Brown to regress (his stellar six-week stretch that seemed to mark him a future star came while Ryno was still a coach), GM Ruben Amaro's nametag will also likely be removed soon -- but the man wearing #23 didn't do much to inspire confidence or a sense a turnaround might be imminent.

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