As with many other places, we have been fairly critical of Charlie and his management of the Phillies. I never liked when people comment on how he talks, because that has no effect on his decision making. His decision making is rather poor and, despite a recent move, I tend to think he is more focused on his players than winning.
I have commented a few times that Pat should be splitting Howard and Utley and for the life of me, I have no idea why it is never brought up to Charlie, and if it has, why I haven't seen any press on it. What bothers me about Manuel is the fact that he has little to decide and does a poor job doing it.
Putting your players in the best position to perform well is a manager's #1 priority. You put egos aside and do what is best for the team. Charlie made a move that was in this nature a couple of days ago by pinch hitting Victorino for Rowand. What amazes me is that he fails to do the right thing on defensive substitutions. Let's ignore the fact that replacing Burrell is usually a losing cause (though, in a large stadium like in Florida or New York, I have less of a problem with it).
The issue is where to put the defensive substitute. Why is Bourne going to left field. He is the best defender of the 3 outfielders and played center field in the minors. I am not sure about his arm, but we all know Rowand is playing with a wet noodle out there. If Charlie REALLY wanted to make use of his defensive substitutions, then Bourne (or even Victorino) would be going to center and Rowand in left.
But, I think Charlie is more afraid of telling Rowand he is awful in the field than behind the plate. Charlie, I am sure, sticks behind the idea that Aaron is my centerfielder and that is where he plays. Not that this may even have any impact, but it highlights a curious nature about our manager. Why can't he just do what is best for the team? Is it REALLY that hard?