Gabe Kapler ‘is not going to manage scared’ with Phillies clinging to life

Say what you want about Gabe Kapler, but the Phillies’ manager is self-aware.

After the organization made the decision to move on from hitting coach John Mallee and bring in former legendary manager Charlie Manuel, there were plenty of whispers. Could Kapler be next? Could his current hitting coach become his replacement?

The most telling part of the weekly hit with 94WIP’s morning show Wednesday was when host Angelo Cataldi asked Kapler if he felt like his job would be on the line if the Phillies don’t end their seven-year playoff drought.

Kapler didn’t shrink in his response.

I don’t know, Angelo. You know this as good as anybody, you've been around the game forever. The life of a baseball manager is that you manage until the day that you get fired and almost everyone gets fired at some point. I guess I'd say this: I'm not going to manage scared. I didn't play scared. I fought and gave everything I had every single day. I’m going to manage in the same way. So, if I get fired, I do, and it'll be a hard day for me to deal with, but I'm not going to waste a single ounce of my mental or emotional energy thinking about myself when I could be thinking about how I could help us win tonight's game. The players, those 25 men battling out there, those are the ones that matter.

Kapler was comfortable with the notion of Manuel joining him in the dugout and expressed so during the 10-minute interview.

I understand why some fans may see it that way. I’m really not worried about that in any way. Charlie is the most popular, the most beloved manager in Phillies history and I’m looking forward to being able to learn from his experience and hear his voice. The Phillies, all of us, are better when we have as much information and as much understanding in the coaches’ room as possible and having Charlie on our team something I see only as a benefit.

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The Phillies are 61-58 and two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot with 43 games to play.

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