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Phillies news conference after firing Joe Girardi: Watch live

New Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson will be introduced to fans at 2 p.m.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi looking on from inside the dugout during an April game. Girardi was fired by the Phillies on Friday.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi looking on from inside the dugout during an April game. Girardi was fired by the Phillies on Friday.Read moreJose F. Moreno/ Staff Photographer
    by Rob Tornoe
    Published 

The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday following a disappointing season and widespread criticism from fans and pundits alike.

“We underperformed. That falls on me, so this is what happens,” Girardi said during an interview on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio shortly after news broke of his firing. Girardi said he was informed of the news Friday morning by Dave Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations.

Girardi, who was hired in 2019 after the team fired Gabe Kapler, led the Phillies to a 132-141 record. This season, despite having the fourth-highest payroll in the league, according to Spotrac, the Phillies are seven games below .500 and 12 games back from the National League East-leading New York Mets.

» READ MORE: Even though they fired Joe Girardi, the Phillies’ defense and bullpen remain their biggest issues

“In a town that adores fiery leaders — Larry Bowa, Charlie Manuel, Dallas Green — Girardi has endured two months of atrocious baseball with comatose aplomb,” columnist Marcus Hayes wrote this week. “The only time he lost his temper, it was at media provocateur Howard Eskin, and that doesn’t even count. The King could tick off the Queen.”

Bench coach Rob Thomson, who worked with Girardi with the Phillies and the New York Yankees, will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season.

“I would argue he’s the best coach I’ve ever been around,” Girardi said of Thomson. “He is more prepared than any coach I’ve ever been around... I believe he deserved an opportunity a long time ago. I think he’s a fantastic coach, and he’ll be fantastic for this group.”

The Phillies are scheduled to hold a news conference to discuss the move at 2 p.m. featuring Tompson and Dombrowski. You can stream the news conference live here, courtesy of NBC Sports Philadelphia: