Honestly, Ruben Amaro is just trolling all of us.
The imbecilic Phillies general manager, who saddled departed manager Charlie Manuel with a roster incapable of winning at the major league level and stocked the farm system with players incapable of winning at the minor league level, either, is ready to make his most inexplicable move yet.
Larry Bowa is going back to Philadelphia.
Yup, the combative former Phils shortstop whose arrogance and belligerent demeanor held the Phillies back for so long before he was finally replaced as manager by Manuel in 2005 may soon bring his toxic attitude back to the Citizens Bank Park dugout. The Phillies are close to bringing Bowa back as their bench coach, CSNPhilly reports.
While Phillies stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard only played under Bowa briefly as young players, rising stars like Domonic Brown were never exposed to Bowa’s fire-breathing nonsense. In the early days of Manuel’s tenure, players were diplomatic is discussing the contrast between their new and old manager. But there was little doubt the relaxed atmosphere Manuel created in the clubhouse contributed to the players feeling free and comfortable en route to five straight NL East titles, two World Series appearances and one championship.
Some portion of Phillies fans will cheer Bowa, because they loved him as a scrappy shortstop and will always see him that way. Bowa’s return is not good news for the organization, though. Amaro’s moves over the last several years have revealed an executive dead-set on killing a onetime contender. Bringing back Bowa is another nail in the coffin.
Photo via Flickr/Robbie
