MLB insider deflects blame off Rob Thomson for Phillies mess with defiant quote

The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday, but not everyone in the world of baseball media is on board with the decision. Take MLB insider Joel Sherman, for instance. Sherman called the Thomson decision -- along with the Boston Red Sox's firing of Alex Cora -- "wrong", pointing to the subpar rosters assembled by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

"It's their fault," Sherman said. "They've put together bad teams, and then turned to managers and said, 'Well, you should win with these (rosters).'"

Then came the haymaker quote from Sherman: "Would Casey Stengel and Joe McCarthy as his bench coach win with (these rosters)?"

Rob Thomson's Phillies fate may have been a casualty of failed roster construction

Sherman's point was clear: Even Hall of Fame-level managers can't win with inadequate rosters. And while Thomson may not have the seven World Series rings as a manager that Stengel won, he is a (Canadian Baseball) Hall of Famer, and he did lead Philadelphia to its first World Series in 13 years back in 2022 as an interim manager. He's also had the Phillies in the playoffs every season of his tenure, following a decade-long postseason drought for the franchise.

Thomson exited his position with supreme grace, meeting with the media head-on and declaring that he holds no ill will toward Dombrowski or the organization. Certain MLB analysts in recent days foreshadowed a "shock-value" move coming from Dombrowski designed to awaken a sleeping Phillies team, but the timing of Thomson's ousting still felt abrupt. We learned why this week, as reports surfaced that Dombrowski offered Thomson's job to Cora on Sunday (which Cora declined).

When Thomson was asked by reporters if he felt betrayed by Dombrowski for going behind his back and talking to Cora while Thomson was still managing the Phillies, Thomson once again reiterated his positive stance on Dombrowski.

Don Mattingly is now burdened with the Phillies' problems that Thomson couldn't solve

MLB lifer Don Mattingly now steps into Thomson's shoes, which won't be a breeze to fill. While Mattingly isn't expected to manage the club beyond this season, he'll still feel the slings and arrows of discontent from Philadelphia's fanbase if he fails to turn things around -- it's a standard that Dombrowski has now established with the firing of Thomson. But it's up to Mattingly -- not Dombrowski -- to meet that bar. Unfair? Probably. Sherman would certainly say so.

The good news for Mattingly is that things can't get much worse from here on out. He took over a club that has arguably been the worst team in baseball so far in 2026, and he started 1-0 out of the gate with a win on Tuesday. Mattingly doesn't have to turn into Casey Stengel. He's not Rob Thomson, which is all that mattered to Dombrowski on Tuesday.

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