Teams may come calling Phillies for Sandberg

A couple of weeks from now, the regular season will be over. Some teams will be getting ready to start the playoffs. Others will be looking for new managers. That's just the way it works.

Down in Florida, 80-year-old Jack McKeon is expected to return to his role as a consultant. The Astros are in the middle of a protracted sale that could be bad news for Brad Mills. There's no guarantee Davey Johnson will be back in Washington. The Cubs have already fired general manager Jim Hendry and field manager Mike Quade could be next.

There has been loose talk in St. Louis the past few years that Tony La Russa could be ready to move on to his next challenge. The scuttlebutt in Baltimore is that Buck Showalter might move into the front office. Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox appear headed for a split. Bob Melvin, who took over in Oakland when Bob Geren was let go at midseason, hasn't been told whether he'll be back.

And, yes, the ripple effect from all this could reach the Phillies.

When Ryne Sandberg was hired to manage Triple A Lehigh Valley last offseason, some handicappers installed him as Charlie Manuel's heir apparent.

Now that the onetime Phillies farmhand who became a Hall of Famer after being traded to the Cubs before the 1982 season has taken an IronPigs franchise that never spent a day above .500 to the finals of the International League playoffs, it's fair to wonder if he still will be around when Manuel decides to call it quits.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said nobody has called to ask for permission to talk to Sandberg about a big-league opening, but noted that it's still very early in that process. "Obviously if there was a club that was interested in his services we certainly would applaud that and, as is our policy, we'd absolutely give him an opportunity to do that," Amaro said. "And I hope he does get that opportunity. If not with us, then certainly with another club.

"It's hard for me to think of enough superlatives when I talk about what he's done there."

Sandberg has paid his dues. He has been a spring-training instructor. He's in his fifth season as a minor league manager. He started at Class A Peoria in the Cubs system and worked his way up. He has ridden the buses, as they say. He has taken his team to the playoffs three times.