Phillies appear to turn a corner since rehiring Charlie Manuel

In the four games since the Phillies fired hitting coach John Mallee and rehired Charlie Manuel, they look like a new team.

Don’t look now, but the Phillies are looking like a brand-new team. True, it’s only four games, but the club finally looks like it has some life in it. What caused this? Apparently, bringing back Charlie Manuel as hitting coach did the trick.

After a dreadful weekend series loss to the Giants capping off a 4-7 start to August, the team finally had enough of hitting coach John Mallee. Mallee’s firing was announced Tuesday, possibly at the behest of owner John Middleton.

With just 44 games remaining, Philadelphia was going to hire an internal candidate to finish out the season. They catered to the fans, bringing back Manuel, the winningest manager in franchise history, to fill the role he started off his coaching career in with the Indians.

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Since Mallee’s exit and Manuel’s entrance, the Phils looking like a brand-new team with a month and a half left in the season. They have rattled off four straight wins, including a sweep of the Cubs capped off by Bryce Harper’s biggest home run as a Phillie yet.

Friday night’s win over the Padres was the third time in a row Philadelphia scored seven or more runs. All three of these wins were with Manuel in the dugout for the first time since he was fired.

Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters that Manuel has kept the team calm and loose with his presence. That’s right in line with how he handled his teams while coaching and managing for Cleveland and Philadelphia, and it certainly worked for him then.

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A key criticism of Mallee’s tenure was that hitters were often trying to do much at the plate. He and the other coaches were constantly feeding players gobs of information, and for many, namely Rhys Hoskins. With Manuel now on board, the hitters look much more relaxed at the plate.

Thanks to this new relaxed approach at the plate, Philadelphia could be gearing up for a run. They have now tied their longest winning streak of the season, winning four games in a row for the first time since June 24-27. The upcoming schedule puts them in a great position to make up lost ground as well.

After Friday night’s win, Philadelphia is back in a tie for the second wild card. With Manuel ushering in a changed offensive approach, they are finally starting to turn things around.