What’s Taking The Phillies So Long To Decide On Kapler?
As of this writing, the Phillies have yet to make an official decision on the future of manager Gabe Kapler despite signs of his imminent departure.
I am not expecting any announcement or resolution to Phillies personnel matters today. The intrigue continues.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) October 2, 2019
The saga that has been going for 3 days now will likely continue on as two of the Phillies division rivals battle in the National League Division Series.
What’s the strategy behind this while other managerial spots have been open?
The long anticipated Joe Maddon sweepstakes seems to have already ended by the Angels. The more-attractive Cubs job remains open, and any moment now the New York Mets could open their managerial door as they too decide the fate of Mickey Callaway. So what’s taking Matt Klentak, John Middleton and Andy MacPhail so long to determine Kapler’s future?
It’s clear that if their intentions were to keep the manager, they would have publicly announced it as soon as the season is over. As soon as the Sixers season ended, Brett Brown was back to work like none of those bull shit rumors happened. It’s never good when a franchise appears indecisive on important decisions, and this will only look worse the longer they wait.
Kapler’s fit in the organization and his relationship with Philadelphia has felt odd since day one. For a generation that was used to seeing the team managed by a crusty old baseball lifer, Gabe was the ultimate outside-the-box selection as the skipper when hired two years ago.
His bulky bodybuilder appearance, monotone and intellectual style of speaking made him difficult to relate to, but at least he came off sounding smart at times. Unconventional ways of presenting oneself and managing can work sometimes, sometimes not. When they higher ups leave you with a barren farm system, it’s usually the latter.
The Eagles have experienced both extremes of that. Chip Kelly arrived as a hot commodity whose new ways of coaching looked liked they had potential to revolutionize the game. By year three it sent the Eagles to rock bottom. When hiring Doug Pederson, whose ways of motivating players and play-calling weren’t always the norm, it led to their 57 year title drought ending in dramatic fashion.
After two seasons in the dugout, it looks like Gabe leans more to the Chip side than Doug. His constant positive reinforcement might’ve been helpful in the beginning of seasons, but it’s fallen flat in the months that mattered most in August and September. In each of the past two seasons, the Phils have spent Spring teasing their fans of the return of Red October only to be completely dead the moment the Autumn leaves arrive. The Eagles playing three road games in October looks hilarious now.
Despite our conventional thinking of experienced managers, we have noticed that most new managers have been younger former players who are pretty much puppets of the general manager. David Ross is a rumored candidate to lead the Cubs as skipper, so why not the Phils get a former player guy like Raul Ibanez?
So while we sit back and think about how everybody else in our division has a brighter future than the Phils, lets hope management makes a decision quick on Kapler or else it’s gonna drive the franchise to even lower pits of discontent.