Removing the "interim" from Thomson's title

[PhillyFan32]

Has he done enough to earn the right to manage this team moving forward?

[phillychuck]

Yes, but they won't extend him until he actually makes the playoffs (I think). They don't want to be perceived as reacting too soon.

[zambonir]

It's against MLB rules. I'm assuming they will ultimately be able to get permission from MLB to just hire him without having to go through a search/hiring process, which is meant to allow opportunities for minority candidates. Because at this point anyone who came in for an interview would have to know they probably aren't getting it.

That said, merely being considered could still have value for both the candidate (gets your name out there) and the front office (maybe they find someone to join the coaching staff or learn something about their organization).

[bkeich]

It should be a no-brained to hire him at this point and it is ridiculously there is a rule against it. This is clearly something that should be fixed

[zambonir]

I don't think it's especially ridiculous because baseball's horrible track record with minority hiring is far more important than this one job. It should be easy enough to work out.

And probably the Phillies are content with the status quo because they would actually have to negotiate his contract (and pay him better than what probably makes now) in the middle of the season. Thomson might be quite content with the situation as well (i.e. he stands to make more $ this minute than he would have had he been named manager at the time, and even more if he's not hired until after making the posteason. And even more again if he wins a series or two).

The only reason I'd even do it at this point is for the PR value and maybe it pumps up the clubhouse even more going into September.

But what if they actually do miss the playoffs? Heck, what if they fall apart in September?

[allentown]

Given the history of the Philadelphia franchise during the whole of my lifetime, we are exactly the sort of franchise for which this rule was created. The rule needs to be enforced and if an exception were made for interim managers, the rule would become worthless.

[phillychuck]

I agree with Allentown here--no reason to void the rule in this instance. Interview some folks and listen to what they have to say.

[zambonir]

I don't think it will actually come to that. The Cardinals were able to promote Shildt in 2018. The rule doesn't even actually require interviews I don't think, just consideration (in other words the rule is already somewhat worthless). And MLB apparently has some steps teams can take if they do make an internal promotion to pursure other diversity initiatives. In the Phillies' case they could lock up Thomson but still hire a new bench coach.

If memory serves the Phillies interviewed Velandia the year they hired Kapler and that has proven to be good for both him and the Phillies.

[julio]

I don't think it's especially ridiculous because baseball's horrible track record with minority hiring is far more important than this one job. It should be easy enough to work out.

Given the history of the Philadelphia franchise during the whole of my lifetime, we are exactly the sort of franchise for which this rule was created. The rule needs to be enforced and if an exception were made for interim managers, the rule would become worthless.

I agree with Allentown here--no reason to void the rule in this instance. Interview some folks and listen to what they have to say.

If Rob Thomson gets this club into the post-season, and he's not brought back as manager next year, there will be a fan revolt - and quite possibly a player revolt as well.

Everybody - in the clubhouse, in the front office, in the pressbox - knows this.

Yeah, the Phillies can "follow the rule." But it would be a complete sham, and everybody would understand that was a sham. I'm supportive of the intent of the rule - when there is a vacancy. But I don't consider a position with an "interim" incumbent who has outperformed a list of predecessors as "vacant" - and IMHO no senior manager in pretty much any business would consider such a position to be "vacant."

What would it say to your other management staff, in any business, if the guy you promoted from within to bail out the company, and who did, in fact, bail out the company, were summarily kicked aside in favor of somebody else — almost anybody else — for nothing but appearances? I know that I would not continue working for such a company.

So, they either go through the motions, with everybody knowing that it's all a sham – or they demote (or dismiss) they guy who bailed them out, and destroy organizational morale.

I don't like it. At all.

[bkeich]

The problem with these types of Sham manager searches is exactly why the NFL is going a different way (rewarding minority hires) is that you end up with a group of minority coaches that get interviews but never really serious consideration to meet the requirement (in the NFL it is the Rooney Rule and Eric Bienenimi and Duce Staley have all but stopped interviewing because of this).

I am not sure rewarding will work better, but the NFL is clearly further down this path than MLB and if they were smart they would "jump forward" to that point.

[zambonir]

But he hasn't gotten the club back into the post-season yet.

There are clearly paths the Phillies could take to move forward if and when they want to... and without conducting any other interviews, whether before the season ends (it's not clear what the Cardinals had to do in 2018) or after. The revised rules this year, while still flawed, are specifically meant to make it easier to promote from within (in the front office too) and end the sham considerations.

[LoneStarPhan]

Meanwhile, I don't think Thomson being an "interim" manager matters much to the fans, the players, or to Thomson himself. As pointed out above, the team performing significantly better after he takes the reins just enhances his value when the time to negotiate a new contract comes around. In fact, I had totally forgotten that he was still an interim manager.