One of the major targets of criticism for the Phillies these past few seasons has been the manager, Rob Thomson. Thomson has pressed a lot of the right buttons on his journey as the manager of the team, leading them to increasingly better win totals in the regular season, yet coming up short of expectations once the lights get a bit brighter. When losses are accumulated on the field, ultimately, the responsibility falls on the players as they are the ones not getting the job done, yet with this coming season feeling
like something of the end of some kind of era, the spotlight on Thomson is going to be bigger.
In the past, when teams that are not doing what is expected of them, the manager is the one that sees a pink slip on the door thanks to that old saying “you can’t fire the players.” Yet even with some of the faulty decision making by Thomson in these past few playoff outings, the team and players have stuck firmly in Thomson’s corner (outside of one now fairly obvious ex-Phillie).
Yet if this team does not start putting up better playoff performances, does something need to be done in the manager’s office?
It’s never a guarantee that manager’s will be the one who falls, but again, if the team comes up short again, what happens then?
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