Philadelphia Phillies: Pete Mackanin Fired but Will Move to the Front Office!

Yesterday afternoon, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that manager Pete Mackanin will not return next season in managerial role. However, he be moved to the front office as a Special Assistant to the General Manager Matt Klentak. Mackanin signed a two-year contract extension back in May so this was a bit of a shocker to here that he was basically fired.

Cameron Rupp and rookie First baseman/Left-Fielder, Rhys Hoskins were shocked by the firing of Pete Machanin.

Cameron Rupp:

"We've played really good baseball in the second half, "Rupp said. "We've had good pitching, offense has been there, and we're in the top of baseball in offense the last couple months. It's not something you expect. You don't come to the ballpark saying "Who's getting fired?' Or "Who's not going to return?' You come to the ballpark to get ready for the night and when you hear it, it's a little surprising."

Rhys Hoskins:

"To me, yeah [It's odd timing], "Hoskins said. But I've never gone through it. The organization did what they thought was best. We're still going to go out and play hard and try to win these last three games."

My thoughts on Pete Mackanin getting fired are that it was good decision because I don't believe Pete was the right guy for the job anymore. The team needs a new voice in the locker room. Even though the Phillies played better in the second half of the season this team still didn't play well in the first half. The Phillies took two steps back this season instead of one step forward. I also don't believe that Pete was going to help improve this moving forward, so why not get a new guy in next season while the the young players are still learning how to play in the majors. To me and many other fans Pete was not a good manager he was hardly even an average manager. The decisions he made on the field with lineups and pitching were questionable. I wasn't impress with him as a manager. I wish nothing but the best for Pete in his new role hopefully help Matt Klentak being in players via free agency and find talent via draft.

Finally, whoever Matt Klentak beings in will be his guy and if he fails then it all falls on Klentak. Klentak job should be on the line with the guy he beings in no questions asked. I hope whoever Klentak hires is successful and this team can improve with the young players we have now and that are coming up in the near future! All we want as Phillies fans his for this team to be making the playoffs again and winning championships. This might not be a "Baseball City" but they're some diehard fans that love this team. I'm a diehard baseball fan myself (it's my favorite sport) and what I miss most is October baseball in the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia). During the five year run from 2007-2011 the city of Philadelphia was alive again for baseball, CBP (Citizens Bank Park) was sold out every single night, it was great atmosphere one of the best in baseball at the time.

Thanks for Reading!

GO Phillies!