More from Team Turmoil ...on Saturday the Phils waived Tyler Houston despite his being a top pinch-hitter in the league. The spin that was going on is that Houston became unhappy with his role and wanted to play more, and as a result was becoming a bad influence in the clubhouse--and particularly on Pat Burrell.

Houston: "Everybody feels the same way about Bo," Houston said. "He doesn't give a crap about anybody in there. He doesn't give a crap about his players. Bo only cares about himself. You see it in the negativity and disrespect that he has for his players, the way he speaks to his players. He's the first one to slam you, embarrass you, throw stuff in the dugout, throw his hands up in the air...Bo can't handle his own clubhouse. Now they're finding out what's going on. They had to make an example of me because of big, bad Bo."

Bowa: "He's a loser," Bowa said. "That was not the reason. He was an extra guy who causes problems. I had 15 guys [players] doing backflips when we let him go...He'd better hope no manager calls me and asks about him. There's a reason he's with a different team every year."

Oh...and if all of this makes you think the Phils are dead, well, read this article about 1980. This may just be a case of history repeating...

[ September 01, 2003, 06:57 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

Can't say either of these men is looking good in this situation. Tyler Houston had a reputation of being rather difficult earlier in his career, so maybe what Bowa said had some truth to it, but still ...

It's not a good thing for a manager to be attacking any player like that, especially not on September 1, with just a few weeks left in the season, and especially not for a team that's been underachieving lately (if not longer). The classy thing would have been a simple "no comment" from Bowa.

Houston's also handling this poorly if he wants to hook on with another team. He used to be a Dodger and they could use anyone capable of swinging a bat right now, but if he's going to poison the attitude in the clubhouse, it may not be a risk worth taking.

Looks to me like both are probably close to 100 percent right in what they said, and 100 percent wrong in saying it.

I read the story but I have been away this weekend and must have missed something. What specifically did Tyler do or say that caused Bowa to get rid of him. Tyler's comments seemed to come after he was let go. Did he mouth off during the team meeting like Myers?

Very interesting quote from Jim Thome in the ESPN article - \"Fallout from Saturday's release continues\": Ouch.

From the Thome non-remark ... and Thome definitely has never been a troublemaker ever in his career ... it's looking like, maybe, Bowa's lost control of this team.

Phillyrunner: the story that seems to be emerging is that Bowa blamed Tyler Houston for Pat Burrell's problems this year. In the ESPN article, Houston indicates that Bowa blamed him for Burrell visibly and deliberately snubbing Bowa in the dugout after Burrell hit a home run during the Mets series. Burrell is, of course, untouchable. Houston was not.

From the ESPN article, it looks like Houston is completely justified in his remarks against Bowa, which were made publicly after his release. In order to justify the controversial release of Houston, Bowa and Ed Wade spun a tale that the move was due to the fact that Houston was unhappy in his role with the team. Houston's got the right to defend himself against a slander.

Professional managers don't release a player in the final weeks of a pennant race due to a personality conflict. This isn't the same thing as Dallas Green launching into a general tirade late in 1980 season. Bowa's lost control. But the Phillies have enough talent that they just still might win the wild card despite him.

[ September 01, 2003, 07:57 PM: Message edited by: Charlie in the Trees ]

Or maybe a no-comment is just a no-comment. Thome seems to be a very plain-spoken, straightforward type. He doesn't seem to be one to say things that have hidden messages or double meanings.

It strikes me as odd that Houston goes out of his way to say Bowa's throwing his hands up in the air, throwing stuff in the dugout, etc. when everything that's been reported this year and everything that's been shown on TV replays has been the exact opposite. Every time I've seen something bad happen and they cut to the dugout for a reaction (as they very often do) Bowa's just sitting there.

Burrell keeps saying he didn't deliberately snub Bowa after his home run. Houston said that in the players-only meeting they decided that there would be some sort of public display against Bowa. So one of them, Burrell or Houston, is lying.