Phillies fire Charlie

In his first comments since Charlie Manuel was fired last week, Roy Halladay sounded like a man who believed it was time for the Phillies to change managers.

“I’ve exchanged texts with Charlie,” Halladay said after pitching six innings in a minor-league rehab game Tuesday night (see story). “Obviously, I loved him. He was great. But from what I’ve seen, Ryne [Sandberg] came in and made some changes and addressed some issues that I think were being overlooked. So from that standpoint, as much as I miss Charlie, I think that Ryne’s going to do a good job and I think he’s going to bring back a little more of the Phillie baseball style that we’ve had the last couple of years. You know, we really haven’t had that whole team effort and the whole team hustle that I think we’ve had in prior years.”

Halladay was asked what issues were being overlooked.

“Just different things,” he said. “Guys being in places on time. Being on the field on time. Taking ground balls, taking extra BP, and all those little things that nobody thinks makes a difference.

“So I think [Sandberg] has been very good so far. But, again, I don’t want to take anything away from Charlie. We all respected him tremendously. You know, I think he’s going to have the choice of what he wants to do at this point in his life, so I’m happy for him.”