Voila_Capture124Like Saul Goodman, I’m hesitant to say “I told you so,” but…this is what I wrote on this site on August 30:

But oh, wait, what’s that? Sandberg is our manager now and Bowa is going to be his assistant next year?* Looks like the joke’s on you, Chicagolandtownlandcitybatmanland.

*I’m speculating.

And last night, Jim Salisbury reports:

Larry Bowa’s long speculated return to the Phillies organization is moving closer to becoming a reality.

A baseball source tells CSNPhilly.com that Bowa is nearing an agreement to become the club’s new bench coach.

The 67-year-old Bowa is a close friend and confidant of new Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. They were traded together from the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs in 1982 and played side-by-side in the Cubs’ infield. Sandberg has long credited Bowa for being a positive mentor as he learned to play second base — and become a Hall of Famer — in Chicago.

Hardly a surprise, but indeed a strange move for a team looking to rebuild, move forward and embrace analytics (supposedly).

Bill Bear of Crashburn Alley, who I positively can’t stand, made a good point:

Though Bowa won’t be managing, going back to that well — with memories of his managerial days still vivid and only recently having been separated from Manuel — seems peculiar. The Phillies are a veteran-laden bunch. It’s hard to imagine Bowa’s screaming tirades will help motivate Jimmy Rollins to run out that routine pop-up. Could Bowa’s nature eventually dissuade Domonic Brown from signing an extension to buy out some or all of his arbitration years? Will the flipping over of the cold cuts table motivate a youthful bullpen to throw strikes more often?

GM Ruben Amaro recently told the media that the Phillies are “going to make some changes” about the way they evaluate players. He said, “I think we owe it to ourselves to look at some other ways to evaluate. We’re going to build more analytics into it.” As one of the last remaining teams to embrace the use of modern methods of baseball analysis, it would send a mixed message to then hire someone — Bowa — who represents an attitude and approach reminiscent of the early 20th century.

Can’t disagree. Bowa’s lunacy probably got him fired a year or two early, paving the way for Charlie Manuel– essentially the anti-Bowa. That young Phillies team, at the time, couldn’t stand Bowa’s in-your-face style, but excelled under Manuel’s steadiness.

Now the Phils are pulling a Flyers and reaching back into the past in an attempt to move forward. Not sure Amaro, Sandberg and Bowa are the three best guys to be involved in implementing a progressive approach.

That said, Bowa is pure entertainment. And we like to have fun here.

UPDATE: It’s official. Bowa is bench coach. Pete Mackanin is back as third base coach.