LOS ANGELES — When Pete Mackanin took over the Philadelphia Phillies on an interim basis following the resignation of manager Ryne Sandberg, he inherited a team going nowhere fast, trying to accomplish two things at once.
On the one hand, the Phillies are trying to find trade partners and get the best return possible for veterans like Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon. And at the same time, they are trying to sift through the young players currently on the team, trying to determine which ones are going to be important pieces going forward.
The first chore lies in the hands of the front office. But Mackanin finds himself dealing with it on a personal level as well.
“I always joked around with these guys, but I never really talked to them on a one-on-one basis,” Mackanin said. “So I wanted to find out, ‘Tell me what you’re thinking about? What’s on your mind?’
“Certainly, the trade and the whole situation is on (Hamels’) mind. These guys that are used to winning — it’s tough to deal with. It’s tough for me, too. It’s tough for the guys who aren’t used to winning. Nobody likes to lose. It was just a nice one-on-one chat.”
Hamels is not expected to be with the Phillies once the July 31 trade deadline has passed. In the meantime, Mackanin said he wanted to remind Hamels to “remember who you are — you’re a premier pitcher in the National League.”
“‘Go out and pitch like it. Don’t worry about that other stuff,’” Mackanin said he told Hamels.
“Everybody needs to be reminded. I understand Papelbon. I understand Cole. You get to the point where it’s a different feeling. When I was here earlier (on the coaching staff) when the team was really good, you knew you had a chance to win every night. And now here it’s like … we’ve overmatched right now, but that’s the whole purpose of playing these young guys.”