The Wit And Wisdom Of Charlie Manuel

Charlie Manuel is the manager of the Phillies, a thankless job to be sure, and one in which he has not garnered excessive praise on almost any level. But yesterday he enjoyed perhaps his finest hour.

First, a righteous display of anger against a deserving target:

. . . Manuel . . . confronted Dallas Green near the dugout about 90 minutes before the Phillies played the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies had just concluded batting practice when Manuel, the current and frequently criticized manager, wagged his index finger and gave the former manager a tongue-lashing.

. . .

Now an adviser to general manager Pat Gillick, Green criticized Manuel's job performance during a radio interview several weeks ago. It got back to Manuel, and people close to him say he has seethed about it ever since.

. . .

The whole thing lasted about 60 seconds and Manuel, 62, appeared to do all the talking. At one point, he angrily jabbed his index finger in front of Green, still robust at age 72. Other than that, Manuel kept his cool while delivering his message.

Green, a noted hothead, did nothing. Had the confrontation occurred in private, it might have been a different story. When Manuel finished talking, Green walked away.

Second, a Stengelesque touch of low comedy:

[Jose] Reyes tied a Mets record with three homers. Two were to left and center righthanded, one to right-center lefthanded. "At least we kept him off the bases," Manuel deadpanned.

(The punchline is that Reyes leads the majors in stolen bases.)

Oh, and they won 11-4.

Good on ya, Charlie!