Pete Mackanin on Managing

Pete Mackanin had the “interim” tag removed yesterday from his job title. The rebuilding Phillies extended the 64-year-old skipper’s contract through next season, with a club option for 2017. Mackanin has been at the helm since Ryne Sandberg unexpectedly stepped down in late June. The team has gone 30-46 under his leadership.

This is Mackanin’s first full-time managerial job at the big-league level. Prior to Philadelphia, he served in an interim capacity in Pittsburgh (2005) and Cincinnati (2007). He previously interviewed for openings in Houston, Boston and Chicago (Cubs), only to be bypassed.

Earlier this month, Mackanin sat down to share some of his thoughts on running a ball club. Our conversation was by no means comprehensive – we only touched on a few of his philosophies – but it does offer a snapshot of Mackanin’s mindset.

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Mackanin on playing the kids: “When I make out a lineup here, I don’t necessarily make out a lineup that I feel gives us the best chance to win. I have to play players we want to get a look at. It’s part of the job right now. With the team we have, we need to find out about players – we have to see what some of these guys are capable of. For instance, Darnell Sweeney joined us recently and I knew nothing about him. If I’m playing for a division title, I probably wouldn’t have put him in the lineup, but under these circumstances, he’s playing. And he’s made a good impression.”

On lineup construction: “Optimally speaking, you want to have a set lineup. Everybody knows what their role is – everybody is familiar with who is in front of them and who is behind them. If possible, I like to have lefties and righties staggered. You don’t want to make it easy for the other manager to bring in a lefty because you have three lefties in a row.

“You have to formulate your lineup according to what you have. Sometimes you don’t have a bona fide number-two or number-three hitter. Some managers put a guy in the two-hole because he can handle a bat, even though he’s a .240-.250 hitter. I prefer not to do that. I’d rather have my best hitters – my best on-base percentage, my best batting average – as close to the front as possible. The farther you put a guy down in the lineup, the chances that he comes to the plate will decrease.

“I like to have speed at the top, but again, you like to have your best hitters close to the front of the lineup. Most of the time, your number-three hitter is the kind of guy who can hit, hit for power, and can run. He’s your best all-around hitter. If there are two outs in the ninth and your number-three hitter is up, you’d like him to have the ability to hit a home run. Your clean-up hitter is a guy who knows how to drive in runs. Four, five and six are RBI spots – guys who know how to in drive runs.

“In the National League, you’d prefer to have a guy with at least usable speed in the eight-hole. When the pitcher is asked to bunt him over, you don’t want a slug, a base-clogger, out there. That makes it more difficult to move him into scoring position.”

On platoons, match-ups and double-switches: “We don’t want to develop platoon players. Sometimes you’re forced to use a platoon scenario, but the ideal situation is to have guys who can hit both lefties and righties. Of course, if you have a team that’s better with a platoon scenario, then it makes sense. I don’t have anything against platooning.

“At times it can depend on who is swinging the bat well. You might want to make an adjustment according to match-ups. For instance, if someone is 2 for 21 off a certain pitcher, you might want to use that opportunity to give one of your bench players a chance to get some at bats. One of the many things that goes into your decisions is who’s hot and who’s not.

“In the National League, you have to think about double-switches and where you’ll put those guys in the lineup. Your first five hitters are guys that you usually don’t want to take out of the game, because they’re up there for a reason. The guys toward the bottom are the ones you’d prefer to switch out, because they might be more replaceable.”

On bullpen leverage: “We’ve brought in our closer with two out in the eighth inning. I’m willing to use my eighth-inning pitcher in the seventh inning if I think the game is on the line. If he’s best-suited to get me out of the jam, then I’d be willing to go with him and take my chances in the eighth.

“One of the biggest things about that whole dynamic is that you can’t use your closer every night you want to. You have to manage your bullpen in a way that your closer is available more often. Ideally, your eighth-inning guy is as good, or nearly as good, as your closer. You like to have bullpen depth.”

On defensive shifts: “I think it’s overdone. For all the times I’ve seen our players hit into the shift, I’ve also seen ground-ball base hits that would normally be outs if they weren’t shifting. It probably works, but I’m a little uncomfortable with it. I’m more traditional in some respects.”

On the manager-general manager relationship: “To me, the GM provides the players with the manager’s input, and the manager runs the game with the GM’s input. Basically, the GM makes the decisions on what players you’re going to get, and you decide how you’re going to use them. There’s a back and forth, but the GM shouldn’t dictate who you play. He’s provided the players for you to use as you see fit.”

On managing egos: “I think it’s much different managing now than it was when I played. I played for guys like Billy Martin, Bobby Cox and Dick Williams. It used to be, ‘I’m the manager; do what I tell you, or you’re not going to play.’ Today, there are other circumstances you have to be aware of. You have to be more of a psychologist.

“You’re not just managing the players; you’re managing your coaches, the grounds crew – everyone around you – and you have to be aware of their concerns. You’ve got a whole bag full of people to manage.”