If you're waiting for Gabe Kapler to yell and scream about the current state of the Phillies, to kick over a chair or flip over a table, you'll be waiting a long time.
It's not his personality. It's not how he views leadership. It's not, in his opinion, the most effective way to send a message.
The topic came up again Tuesday after the Phillies' disgusting 16-2 loss to the Dodgers Monday night, a game that featured maybe their worst two innings of the season. In the fourth, the Phillies were out of position on a safety squeeze, allowed a steal of home and then forgot how many outs there were. In the eighth inning, they were forced to turn to Roman Quinn to pitch because the bullpen was so wretched that it turned a six-run deficit into a 13-run deficit.
Asked Tuesday if he thinks he needs to express more anger to his players, Kapler said, "I'm not f---ing Dallas Green."
"I think many people are looking for me to behave in a certain way," Kapler said. "Who are the managers who stand out through history who are respected in these situations? It's Lou Piniella, it's Dallas Green. Right? These are the guys who you expect to see handle these situations.
"It's not my personality. It's not who I am. I don't think it's the best way to motivate people. So I don't do it. But it doesn't mean that I don't have every possible conversation and it doesn't mean that I don't care deeply and passionately about making our players. It doesn't mean that I won't look under every stone to give them every opportunity and support to be the best versions of themselves. I'll continue to do that.
"I just don't do it in the way that many people think it should be done. I'm not going to apologize for that. I'm not going to say like, 'Man, I should be Dallas Green.' I'm not f---ing Dallas Green. I never will be."
MLB
Two ways to look at this. On the one hand, Kapler deserves some credit for remaining true to himself and not caving to media or fan pressure to act in a manner he doesn't feel will work. On the other hand ... maybe it will work? How can you know until you try? So far, attempting to push and motivate this team through constant support, harmony and looseness has not worked. It has not stopped the losing.
"It's something that I think about a lot. I think there's more than one way to motivate," Kapler said. "If you have 25 different personalities in a room, some of them are going to respond to some styles of leadership and others are going to respond to other styles of leadership. It's not every person in the room is the same way. That's not baseball. That's human behavior."
Kapler and his staff will continue to look for ways to motivate this Phillies team, that is somehow, someway still tied for the second wild-card spot despite losing 24 of its last 39 games.
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