It happened. Jim Salisbury first:

Rob Thomson is not the guy from Matchbox Twenty. That’s Rob Thomas. Thomson is a bench coach and will be the guy for now.

Girardi was hired prior to the 2020 season, after reigning NL Manager of the Year Gabe Kapler was fired. He’ll finish his Phils career with a 132-141 record.

Here’s the Phillies statement:

Bob wrote this recently:

Right now, Girardi is a man without any answers for what ails his team. Almost every button he (in collaboration with his staff and the club’s other decision-makers) has pressed in recent weeks has backfired and backfired spectacularly so. Whether it was failing to keep his foot on the gas by turning to reliever Nick Nelson for a second inning with a late lead last Tuesday in Atlanta, going to Bailey Falter for round one of a critical series with the Mets, or any of the head-scratchers in between, too many of his decisions have not panned out. But it’s more than picking apart questionable decisions. It’s that such decisions have become emblematic of what feels like a recurring multi-year absence of urgency or energy or something from this team. His team. And for that, he deserves plenty of criticism and blame.

Not much else to add. Girardi always seemed to be going through the motions. Didn’t seem to inspire a team with a high payroll and boatloads of talent. Didn’t seem to have a great feel for pitching changes and the minor details that are important in later innings. The Phillies brought in a World Series winner and ended up with a retread instead, kind of like Doc Rivers.