Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
At wit’s end over few hits, Mackanin invokes bench rule
PHILADELPHIA » Already having tried being supportive, critical, indifferent and patient, Pete Mackanin went to the ultimate managerial move Tuesday to try to prod the Phillies out of a demoralizing slump.
He started motioning players to the bench.
“I’m the captain of the ship,” he said.
With that, Mackanin kept Maikel Franco, Michael Saunders and Cameron Rupp out of his starting lineup for a game against the Colorado Rockies, then made no promises that any of them would play any time soon.
Odubel Herrera, whose plummet from All-Star to .232 hitter could crystallize the Phillies’ rough season, was spared such a fate, but that may only be because Daniel Nava went on the disabled list with a hamstring strain, limiting Mackanin’s outfield options.
But Andres Blanco replaced Franco at third, Ty Kelly was in the outfield at Saunders’ expense, and Andrew Knapp was the catcher … and Mackanin refused to declare the moves temporary.
With the disappointing Saunders on a one-year deal, and with Knapp more likely than Rupp to be a longterm catching option, that left the benching of Franco as the most telling of Mackanin’s moves. Assumed to be a franchise building piece, the 24-year-old was hitting .221 and had made five errors. He had, however, been 5-for-18 with a home run, a .278 flicker, over his previous five games.
“I can’t,” Franco said, when asked for a response, as he bolted for the batting cage. “I have things to do.”
Starting the game at third base was not one of them, and chances are, it will not be one Wednesday, when again the Phils host Colorado at 7:05. Mackanin was asked if the move might be a simple effort to, as he was asked, clear Franco’s head.
“Partially,” the manager said. “We’ll see what transpires from here.” Will it be more than one night? “Don’t know yet.” Mackanin said. “I’ll just go day-by-day.”
All Mackanin would acknowledge is that he is surprised Franco has appeared so lost at the plate, including an 0-for-3, two-strikeout performance in an 8-1 loss to Colorado Monday.
“I’m befuddled,” Mackanin said. “That’s a good word. As much as he works in the cage and out on the field, and does it right, when he gets in the game, his head is still flying and the bat’s coming out of the zone.”
So because Franco is not producing, he is sitting. Mackanin has no hidden motive other than to find ways for the Phillies to resume winning games.
“It’s not a punishment,” he said. “But at this level, you have to produce. If you want to play, you have to hit. They have to understand that. No one is here on scholarship.”
That includes Saunders, a 2016 All-Star for Toronto making $11 million on a one-year Phillies deal to provide power. The left-handedhitting right fielder was hitting .227 with four home runs and had gone hitless in his last four games. Tuesday, Aaron Altherr played right, with Kelly in left. The outfield situation will grow even more crowded when Howie Kendrick (oblique) and Nava escape the disabled list.
Notable, too, was that Knapp replaced Rupp, who was hitting .248. Knapp, 25, once was considered a farm-system gem likely to battle with Jorge Alfaro for status as the Phils’ No. 1 catcher. Knapp was hitting .256.
“I want to look at Knapp,” Mackanin said. “It’s just to see Knapp a little bit more. Not that I am down on Rupp, but Knapp has given me a good impression of what he can do and I want to see a little bit more.”
He wants to see more power, more situational hitting, more consistency and more victories. And he’s not prepared to simply wait for it to arrive.
“Just because I am patient,” he said, “it doesn’t mean I like being patient.” His lineup Tuesday proved as much. “It’s a conundrum and it isn’t any fun for any of us,” Mackanin said. “I have to keep the guys motivated and pushing hard and try to snap out of it.
“I am winging it right now, just seeing what happens today. I feel like I have to do something to get some offense into the lineup. There comes a point where you have to try different things. I’m trying different things.”