Saturday, March 26, 2016

2014 Phillies Team Issue 2 #45 Pete Mackanin

Phillies 4Blue Jays 4
Spring Training Game 24 - Friday Night, March 25th in Clearwater
Record - 14-7-3

One Sentence Summary:  Home runs from Maikel Franco and Peter Bourjos weren't enough to give the Phillies the win as they ended regulation tied with the Blue Jays.

What It Means:  The Grapefuit League season is winding down and the Phillies will find themselves traveling north in less than a week.

What Happened:  Jeremy Hellickson worked in and out of trouble through a shaky outing, allowing two runs on four hits (and three walks) in 4 2/3 innings.  Franco's home run was his league leading 8th of the spring.

Featured Card:  Prior to the game, the Phillies called a press conference to announce that Pete Mackanin's contract had been re-worked to guarantee him two years with the club.  The deal includes a club option for the 2018 season.

I'm very happy for Mackanin, and I think it's a good move to solidify his standing with the club to give him some more clout in the clubhouse.  It's still crazy to think that this time last year, Mackanin was the team's third base coach as Ryne Sandberg began the season at the helm.  With Sandberg's abrupt departure in June, Mackanin found himself first as the interim manager, then as the actual manager through at least 2016, and now as the actual manager through at least 2017.

Hopefully this is the start of another Charlie Manuel era, and not the start of another Terry Francona (or Sandberg) era.

Camp Head Count:  47

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