We have been here before. Not too long ago, in fact. It was a different sport and a different man, but essentially the message was the same.
"Get that guy out of here!"
"Fire him now!"*
They screamed it from the headlines, the radio airwaves and if there were accessible rooftops, surely they sounded those barbaric yalps from there, too.
To most around here, the knee-jerk reactions were not only expected but kind of warranted. Even some of the so-called "thoughtful" types agreed that it was time to go. Time for some new blood and a new face. A different accent or louder voice.
But Charlie is still here and will be until the day he decides to retire (or 2011, whichever comes first). And Andy seems to have a similar deal, only he gets to pick his players and tell them which way to move on the field.
Only now, very few people are complaining and the ones that are have been shouted down.
It's a funny thing how fortunes change in sports. It's almost as funny as Terry Francona winning the World Series twice in four seasons with the Boston Red Sox. You remember Terry Francona, right? Phillies manager... fired after four losing seasons with a roster made up of kids and has-beens. Yep, things worked out well for Francona.
It took Charlie Manuel winning seasons and two playoff berths to win the World Series for the Phillies. But if those calling for his head would have had their way it might have been just a little more than two winning seasons. In fact, nationally known broadcaster Keith Olbermann called for Manuel's head during that woeful April of 2007 when the manager had a dust-up with a radio guy in some sort of reality version of a reality TV show.
Or something like that.
Quoth Olbermann in April of 2007 of the 4-10 Phillies:
"I think Charlie Manuel is going to get fired. I think the Phillies have woefully mismanaged their pitching staff. They have starters who should be relieving and relievers who should be starting and it's a mess. The batting order is a mistake. Pat Burrell was not the guy to bat behind Ryan Howard and it's going to ruin Ryan Howard this season and it's even going to hurt Chase Utley ahead of him because they're going to pitch around Howard and Utley isn't going to have a chance to steal bases. Wes Helms at third base might be a good hitter, but they are just now noticing that he might not be the most mobile infielder. There are a lot of problems and I'm not really sure if Charlie Manuel is a good manager."
Five months later Manuel had the Phillies in the playoffs for the first time since grunge was cool and got a contract extension to boot. Eighteen months later he got the Phillies their first world title since Kool & the Gang topped the charts, landed the city's first championship since fo', fo', fo', and snagged another contract extension.
"That's pretty good," Charlie probably said.
Now that Appalachian twang of Charlie's is homey instead a source of amusement for Philly natives (as if the Philly accent is any better) and his in-game decisions are valued as cognizant and astute baseball moves instead of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decisions.
Better yet, he is in charge of the team. Just ask Jimmy Rollins about that.
"Every manager has their own specialty, and Charlie has a way of handling people. It's a little different than everybody else's, and he's been ridiculed over time about the way he talks or the way he acts, whatever it is," Jamie Moyer said after the World Series. "But you know what? We know Charlie in this room, and the fans have gotten to know Charlie and gotten to understand Charlie and respect him for who he is. And I think that's one thing Charlie gets in this clubhouse: He gets respect from the players."
That's the same deal with Andy Reid. Nobody feels as if they know the Eagles' coach the way they have come to know Manuel, but that really doesn't matter to Reid - or at least it seems that way. The important part is that his players know the drill with their coach.
Yeah, there was that time with Donovan McNabb going to the bench when Reid didn't personally inform his QB he had been lifted, but even that slip up now seems to be a motivator.
Still, Reid rarely wavers. Everything is consistent. His demeanor, sideline outfits, press conferences, play calling and won-lost record have been uncannily solid, minus the hiccups.
"When you have a coach who stays the course, it helps everyone stay the course," strong safety Quintin Mikell told The New York Times.
Had the course remained on the same course it was heading in November, either Reid or McNabb (or both) likely were going to land in new locales. But no more than two months later, the two look like they are heading off into the sunset together.
Who knows, maybe they'll win one finally, too.
Yes, we've been here before.
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* Isn't odd that given the state of the media business these days that media types would call for anyone's job? Really? They're still doing that?