Pete Mackanin: Phillies Showed Confidence In Me

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies have removed the interim tag from Manager Pete Mackanin's title and signed him to an extension to lead the team through next season.

Mackanin, speaking with Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, described the wild ride he took this year on the way to being named a full time Manager for the first time in his career.

"Originally, I was told, help get us through the weekend and then through the series and then finally, I was told that I would continue on through the end of the season. At the beginning, because I had gone through this a couple of times before, I thought, oh well, am I just going to do this again and then be told that they're going a different way? Fortunately for me, they showed me a lot of confidence and took the tag off and named me the manager."

He said taking the team away from the chaos surrounding his status and the upheaval in the front office was one of his primary missions.

"I try to put everything out of my mind and just worry about the daily task at hand and try to keep everybody pointed in the right direction, trying to make it as seamless as possible. Once something like that happens, a lot of things could go wrong. A lot of things could go haywire. I just wanted to make everything seamless and just worry about the daily chore."

Mackanin compared his managerial style to raising kids, being firm, but supportive at the same time.

"There's a way to run a tight ship without stepping on everybody's toes...There's a way to handle players, that you can keep them positive, that you can keep them focused but you can still let them know you're pulling for them. I compare it, basically, to parenting a child."