Topper bottoms out | Sports Daily Newsletter
And the Sixers stay alive by beating the Celtics.
Rob Thomson chose to keep things light Tuesday after the Phillies dismissed him, installing bench coach Don Mattingly as interim manager.
The low-key Thomson, 62, showed up for a news conference the day the Phillies let him go after 3½ seasons at the helm. “I’ve never spent a summer in 42 years at home,” he said. “Thank God my wife put a pool in a couple of years ago. Maybe I’ll go for a swim or something.”
Thomson led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances and two straight NL East titles, but something had to give after they started the season 9-19. His .568 winning percentage is the highest of any Phillies manager who lasted at least 300 games, and Marcus Hayes writes that the fans should thank Thomson. But it was Topper’s job to make the most of this roster, no matter how flawed it might be.
Here are some other takeaways from the firing of Rob Thomson:
He had much more to say about his time with the Phillies, including this: “I love this organization.”
Here’s what to know about Mattingly, who has spent 12 years as a major league manager.
Dave Dombrowski talked to fired Red Sox manager Alex Cora about taking over here. Cora is opting to take a break.
Here’s the reaction to Topper’s dismissal from fans, the media, and a former Phillies general manager.
We left plenty of space at the end of this newsletter for the reaction from you, our readers.
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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❓Do you have any advice for Don Mattingly as he takes over as Phillies interim manager? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.
The Sixers are not dead yet. Fresh off a horrible effort in Game 4, they turned the tables on the Celtics, staying alive in their series by posting a 113-97 victory Tuesday in Boston. After an uneven first half, the Sixers played like the contender they were once supposed to be, David Murphy writes.
In his second game back after an appendectomy, Joel Embiid finished with 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 12-of-18 from two-point range. “Give him a lot of credit,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “He worked very hard to get back through this procedure that he had and he played a lot of minutes.”
Quentin Grimes also emerged for the Sixers, scoring 18 points and playing fierce defense on Boston star Jaylen Brown.
More coverage from Game 5 and its aftermath can be found here.
The Flyers head into tonight’s Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30, TNT, NBCSP) with a 3-2 series lead, but pressure is mounting as the series shifts back to South Philly.
One player who can hold his head high after his Game 4 performance despite the loss is Alex Bump. The rookie, who replaced Matvei Michkov in the lineup, was everywhere and even scored in his playoff debut.
Jackie Spiegel laid out some lessons that the Flyers should heed from their Game 5 loss.
J.T. Realmuto talked about Rob Thomson’s firing before the Phillies played the Giants in Game 1 of the Mattingly era.
“It’s tough,” Realmuto said. “It’s never easy on players when their manager gets let go. I’ve been part of three of them now. And it’s never a good feeling. As a player, you always take accountability. We all feel responsible for what happened to him. We know that we’re the ones on the field not doing our job.”
They did their job against the Giants as Jesús Luzardo went seven strong innings in a 7-0 victory.
The Eagles announced that assistant general manager Alec Halaby is leaving the organization. Halaby, 39, first joined the Eagles as an intern in 2007, the same way that Howie Roseman started with the club. The news came one day after Eagles senior vice president Bryce Johnston — a salary-cap space guru — left to join the Atlanta Falcons.
Sports snapshot
Big 5 awards: Coaching honors go to St. Joseph’s Steve Donahue and Villanova’s Denise Dillon.
Local NFL rookies: We round up players from the area who were drafted or signed as free agents, including Downingtown West’s Drew Shelton, selected in the fourth round by the Cowboys.
The Flyers lost Game 5 against the Penguins in the first 30 minutes of Game 4, and now they’re in danger of becoming the fifth victim of a reverse sweep in Stanley Cup playoff history.
The first scapegoat: incandescent second-year wing Matvei Michkov, who was clearly overwhelmed and outclassed in the first four games, despite the Flyers winning three of them.
Now, with the Penguins making a charge, coach Rick Tocchet said the Flyers will consider other lineup changes. It seems nobody is sacred, and the Flyers are nervous, and they are right to be so. More from Marcus Hayes.
🧠 Trivia time answer
Name the Eagles first-round draft pick who never started a game for them.
Answer: B) Marcus Smith, a defensive end who was drafted 26th overall in 2014. John W. was first with the correct answer.
What you’re saying about Rob Thomson
We asked on Tuesday: Does Rob Thomson deserve to be fired by the Phillies? … and he was fired that morning. Among your responses:
Yes, it’s time for a change. … Watching the games and seeing his demeanor in the dugout, it’s hard to believe he’s inspiring in the clubhouse. Plus his handling of the lineup is just bad. I hope Dombrowski goes with him — just terrible deals. — Bill C.
Yes, It’s time to pull the plug on Topper. During the playoffs over the past three years he consistently made poor pitching decisions resulting in their elimination. … Why didn’t the Yankees ever hire him as the manager after being the assistant manager for 20 years? Also, Dombrowski has made many poor player decisions. — Vincent M.
I think back to 1979 when Dallas Green was bought in to replace Danny Ozark. Ozark had done a good job but just couldn’t get the team “over the hump” Dallas Green made history. In their current predicament something had to change (just announced firing) so someone’s head had to roll and you can’t fire the whole team! — Dave S.
Firing Thomson would indicate a lack of seriousness and belief in the roster, as it would be a placating, distracting bit of performative fan service — with a mumbled hail Mary to be sure. At worst, he’s lost the clubhouse, but we’ve got veterans who should be attending more to maximizing the flow of the team than maintaining their individual image and stats. Harper especially needs to stop chasing and swinging so early. Can nobody explain to him that wearing down pitchers is valuable? — D.W.S.
The Phillies really need a shake-up in the front office. Thomson as well as Dombrowski need to be sent packing. I know if I cost my company $40 million there would be no way I would still have an office there. Think about this. They cut two players, just cut them and goodbye and still having to pay them $20 million each. Plus one of the worst signings in the history of the team was extending Nola. Plus whoever is their talent evaluation team gotta go. Outfielders that can’t hit, pitchers that can’t pitch and managers that have not a clue in moving the runner. This should’ve been done three years ago when he blew the World Series. — Ronald R.
The ship is sinking and the Captain goes down with the ship. The pitching and hitting are below subpar. Rob does not hit, field, or pitch, but a change is needed and quickly. … Dombrowski needs to go as well. The Phillies outfield would fail to match up with some AAA teams. — Everett S.
Does Thompson deserve to be fired? Absolutely not. — Carole G.
Do not fire the Phillies manager. — Frank S.
I think it is premature to fire the manager at this point. The one who should be fired is Dombrowski. If this year looks bad, it may become the norm for years down the road. The Phillies are burdened with far too many long-term contracts with players who will start declining if they haven’t already. Also, the farm system not only hasn’t improved, it may have regressed under Dombrowski. — Tom E.
The players deserve to be fired for sure, unfortunately that’s not the way the system works. While Rob has a hand in the team’s poor performance, he can only play the hand he was dealt by his boss, the real culprit in this charade. — Bill B.
I never understood why Thomson — with virtually no managerial experience — replaced Girardi. There were better candidates available. He has underperformed in the postseason each year. It’s still a very good team. This awful start is inexcusable. Time to go. — Dick D.
No, he doesn’t deserve to be fired. … Dump Dombrowski and get a new perspective on how to fix this mismatched collection of Hall of Famers, Mendoza-line hitters, starters who can’t go six innings, and horrible middle relievers. I hope the players can turn it around, but it certainly seems that riding the horse for another year was a terrible mistake. — Joel G.
Why should Dombrowski not be fired? He negotiated all these contracts. None seem any good. — Bill M.
He doesn’t deserve to be fired but he will be. … If hitters don’t hit, pitchers are ineffective, and fielding is way below par is it the manager’s fault? More likely the cause is the team he has been given by Dombrowski and no minor league talent to help. With the big names locked into huge money long-term contracts this isn’t going to quickly change. And Cora, just fired by Boston, is not the answer. Losing coach replaced by already fired coach and you expect improvement. Ridiculous. — Edward K.
Tough spot for Rob Thompson. Will a new manager change the approach? The Red Sox did not wait. Do we hold Rob accountable for the poor decisions in the past two playoffs? Yes! A bold move would be to hire Cora! — Bob C.
People who never wore jock straps are clamoring for Topper’s head yet they are all clueless. He doesn’t pitch which can be said of the overwhelming majority of the pitching staff. He doesn’t bat, run the bases or field the ball. He didn’t pick this team. … Is Dave the problem or the underperforming players? — Nick S.
No he doesn’t deserve to be fired. The players themselves own this losing streak. The Phillies paid BIG money for these guys as you point out. It’s well past time for them to step up and start hitting. — Theresa B.
Sloppy defense, careless base running, and repetitive mental errors are all the result of a management style that places little emphasis on anything but hitting home runs. The results speak for themselves . … It’s time for a different presence and voice. — Dennis J.
Yes. He has to go. This is not all his fault but you cannot just ignore this train wreck. I would replace him and Dombrowski. One built this mess and the other just keeps telling us that “these guys will hit.” Do something to try to wake up this collection of underperformers. If that does not work, it is going to be a very long season. — Bill H.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Marcus Hayes, Ariel Simpson, Mia Messina, Conor Smith, DeAntae Prince, David Murphy, Devin Jackson, Ryan Novozinsky, Gabriela Carroll, and Jackie Spiegel.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Thanks for reading. Kerith will bring you the newsletter on Thursday. — Jim