"David Bell," he said.
"Not Brad Lidge?" he was asked.
"David Bell," he repeated.
When Charlie Manuel took over as Phillies manager in 2005, David Bell was his everyday third baseman. To hear Charlie tell it now, that wasn't his call then. Bell had come to the Phillies as a big free-agent signing in 2003, after a clutch season with the San Francisco Giants in which he won the team's Willie Mac award, a leadership and spirit award.
Bell was a bellwether of positive change for the Phillies, at least he was supposed to be. A seconddivision club for most of the previous decade, the Phillies were searching for that Terry Pendleton-type leader that Scott Rolen and Pat Burrell were incapable or unwilling to be. Later they would try Aaron Rowand, but Bell was supposed to be one of those guys as the 2003 season began.
Rolen was already gone, traded to St. Louis in July of 2002 for several players, most notably a steady, smart infielder named Placido Polanco. Polanco was installed at third when he came here, but Bell's arrival pushed him over to second base.
Manuel said yesterday that Bell was assured by someone upon signing his 4-year deal that he would be the team's regular third baseman. The deal preceded Manuel's appointment by a couple seasons, and back then Manuel did not have the clout he has now. Chase Utley was the homegrown star in the making who had to play second. Much to the chagrin of fans at the time, Polanco could not replace Bell at third.
So Polanco was traded to Detroit in June of 2005 for reliever Ugueth Urbina, who, in fairness, pitched well and helped the Phillies contend for the division title in Manuel's first season. In fairness, Polanco could have been a free agent at year's end. Still, when you ask Manuel about the cost of not doing what he would like to have done, he said, "I lost a very good player."
