Grand Imperial Poobah: Has Sandberg 'Lost The Room'?
By Stan "The Grand Imperial Poobah" Hochman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- (Editor's Note) Stan Hochman, a Daily News sports columnist for 55 years, has been appearing on 94WIP's morning show for over a year now, settling disputes (and starting new ones) as the "Grand Imperial Poobah." He brings that persona to CBSPhilly.com/poobah on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we welcome input on which issues you want the Poobah to take a good, hard look at. Send requests and ideas for The Poobah to WIPpoobah@gmail.com.
Without further ado, here's The Poobah.
Phil E. Phan: Cole Hamels became the latest Phillies player to squawk about Ryne Sandberg's managing, doing it with a disrespectful pantomime when yanked out of a 3-3 game. Has Sandberg "lost the room" as they say in hockey?
Poobah: Before you can "lose the room", you have to own it. The Poobah has the feeling that the old guys never bought into Sandberg's managerial style and that the young guys sniff blood in the water, hearing one approach to the final 30 games from Ruben Amaro Jr. and another approach from Sandberg.
There is a protocol involved in handing the ball to the manager. You wait until he gets to the mound, you put the baseball in his palm, you look him in the eye, and you walk to the dugout. Kyle Kendrick , who can't seem to cure his first inning jitters, broke the code in his last start. Buchanan, who has been around for about 15 minutes, bellyached after his last start. And Dominic Brown, who ought to wear a mask when he collects his big league paycheck each month, moaned about playing time after butchering another routine fly ball. Those players ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Hamels is another story. He has been pitching his eyebrows off and felt he deserved the chance to finish a meaningless game in late August. Maybe Sandberg can add a clinic on leaving a game respectfully to his pre-game drills?
You can hear Stan "The Grand Imperial Poobah" Hochman on the 94WIP Morning Show every Thursday at 7:20am E.T. Send the Philadelphia sports issues you want The Poobah to tackle to WIPpoobah@gmail.com
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