You can’t ignore it now. Last night, after the Phillies third straight win to make is five of their last six, starter Cole Hamels made it clear (sort of) he was upset with manager Ryne Sandberg‘s decision to pull him in the eighth inning after Hamels allowed a lead off home run.
He dodged questions on whether he was upset with Sandberg.
Hamels is now the fourth player to appear to have an issue with some of Sandberg’s decisions. The other three were Kyle Kendrick, Dave Buchanan, and Domonic Brown.
Prior to Hamels, the players that were displeased weren’t super stars. They weren’t in the same class of player that Hamels is. Hamels led the team to a World Series title in 2008, and just got a big contract. And he’s one of the best left-handers in the game.
That’s why this cannot be ignored any longer. I know that it’s normal for players to want to stay in the game, get more playing time, etc. But it’s now a trend, and I don’t think it’s a good one.
There is apparent trouble in the locker room, and regardless of who you may think is at fault (I’m in no position to make a guess)–both Sandberg and the players need to address it with themselves and the media before it gets out of hand. The Phillies–and the fans–don’t want a Hall of Famer in his first year at manager to lose the team for any reason. That would just add on to the list of sub-optimal things that have happened in 2014 for the Phillies.
