Phillies news & links — Phillies Phestival helps strike out ALS

Happy Friday, all! Let’s get right to the news.

The reviews are in on Pete Mackanin’s extension

Manager Pete Mackanin was extended yesterday, and the various beat writers have weighed in. And across the board, everyone is happy with it. Here are a few takes to satisfy your need for Pete Mackanin validation.

• Stephen Gross at The Morning Call thinks the extension was wise.
• Corey Seidman at CSNPhilly had good things to say about it
• Meghan Montemurro at The News Journal think it was the right decision.

And obviously Matt Klentak is on board.

Our own Paul Boyé wrote up the extension as it happened, and then John Stolnis asked the vital question: is Pete Mackanin the Phillies’ long term manager of the future?

Vital Aaron Nola update

Aaron Nola made his first rehab start on Wednesday, and it went well, but he didn’t throw a ton of pitches. (Just 52.) Matt Gelb of Philly.com said that Nola is likely to make one more start, and he got that info directly from shadowy figure Matt Klentak, the GM who is rarely seen in the sunlight, except for yesterday when he was everywhere for a few hours.

Joaquin Benoit and Pete Mackanin clear the air

After Joaquin Benoit’s pointed comments about the bullpen on Wednesday, Mackanin talked to him and the two of them came to an understanding. Here’s what he said, courtesy of CSNPhilly.

"I told him, I said, 'Look it, when a team's going through a losing streak I don't expect everybody to be happy,'" Mackanin said. "In fact, I expect everybody to be frustrated — from the players to the coaches to myself, nobody's happy. So I don't have an issue with that. I spoke to him and it's done with, it's all over."

I might have issues with Mack’s bullpen management, but his comments to Benoit, and his willingness to talk about them, are why he’s a good manager. You can watch Matt Klentak talk about the bullpen (and more) here.

Phillies strike out ALS

The Phillies Phestival was yesterday, and the Phillies raised quite a lot of money to support ALS research.

So to close out the week, let’s look at some tweets from the Phestival.

Odubel Herrera is adorable.

Cameron Rupp is such an outgoing dude.

This young woman got a lot of photos with awesome dudes.

These pictures are very bright and colorful!

Tweet of the day

I just really love this so much. Learning about sports is hard, especially when you’re older. And it warms my heart that someone so willing to learn managed to connect with someone so willing to teach.