Phillies manager Charlie Manuel took some time away from talking about his Nutrisystem diet to discuss the hitting riches at his disposal next season.
Manuel quickly cleared up where in the batting order he plans on using new third baseman Placido Polanco during his second tour of duty with the Phightins.
He sees Polanco batting second, the Phillies skipper said.
“He’s a solid contact hitting guy -- hit’s a lot of balls to the opposite field,” said Manuel.
Manuel knows a thing or two about power hitting but he is just impressed with how many hits Polanco racks up each year.
He likes using Polanco at the top of the order because he has tallied hundreds of hits over the last three seasons, he said. Charlie said Polanco tallied about 600 hits -- it was actually 554 -- close enough.
So is Polanco is No. 2 in the lineup what would happen to last seasons’ No. 2 guy -- All-Star center fielder Shane Victorino?
Victorino could hit in the six or seven hole, said Manuel.
By moving Victorino down Manuel could give the team more flexibility to make other moves, he claimed.
And, by adding Polanco with bench guys like Ross Gload and others to the lineup the team also added more -- the ability to get regulars like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins a rest here or there.
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“One of the biggest things we did this winter was get better off our bench as far as situational play and be able to use our guys and put them into games,” Manuel said.
The slimmer Phils skipper (he lost more than 50 pounds thanks to Nutrisystem) also said he loves the Jose Contreras signing calling the big Cuban righty a “dark horse” with a “big arm.”
He also explained we he was a no show at Victorino’s and Rollins’ off-season weddings.
“They see enough of me during the summer,” he joked.
He will see the guys soon because the off-season is quickly coming to a close. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Clearwater on Feb. 18.
