Charlie Manuel Not Going Any Damn Place, so Help Him God

There are plenty of Phillies who may not be here next season.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Some of them are ancillary characters in the team’s over arcing narrative; Delmon Young is no long term solution, Michael Young is holding  a place until (hopefully) the prospects get here, no one really cares what happens to Michael Martinez, Laynce Nix, John Mayberry, John Lannan, etc.

Some are filling important roles without touching our hearts, like Kyle Kendrick; or playing with frayed consistency that, if achieved elsewhere, would make them a loss, like Antonio Bastardo.

Then there are those that we try not to think about slipping away: Chase and Chooch.

And finally, sitting on top of this whole mess is Charlie Manuel, who already told you he’s done talking about his contract.  But he is willing to talk about his feelings, despite them apparently being probably directly related to his contract.

"“I’m not ready for somebody to tell me to go home. I’m not ready to quit managing. I’m not ready to get out of the game.”—Charlie Manuel"

Yes, Charlie told the Associated Press that he’ll be damned if he’s going to get dragged out of here before he’s ready, and even then he’s going to give them his dead weight and stare his oppressors dead in the eye as they do their jobs, sobbing.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” they’ll say.  “This is my first day.”

And still he’ll say nothing, his arms folded as they pull him by the legs, wordlessly knocking into table legs and gym bags, his players nodding in solidarity at the completely normal actions of their former manager.