Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that. Their [bleeping] home record is out of this world and they’re losing on the road. Sometimes that’s a good indicator of getting signs and [crap]. I see somebody setting there at (14-7) at home and (4-8) on the road, I’d get concerned about that. That kind of crosses my mind.
I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road. I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better.
– Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, as told to CSNPhilly.com.
OK, a lot of stuff here: First of all, who put “[bleeping]” in to replace the expletive there? I mean, I carefully dance around including curses on this blog as best I can, and I realize it probably looks stupid sometimes. But “[bleeping]”? Why not “[freaking]” or just straight up “[expletive]”?
Second, while it’s true that the Mets have a better home record than road record, a) that’s often true for lots of teams, b) it’s almost entirely fueled by the Mets’ 9-1 homestand against the then-struggling Cubs, Braves and Dodgers, and c) it’s just way, way too early in the season to suggest the Mets are playing to any sort of massive home-field advantage, especially since they’ve played so few games on the road.
Also, a pretty great way to accuse someone of something is to just flat-out deny that you’re doing so. Now, make no mistake: I’m not accusing Charlie Manuel of subterfuge or of haphazardly lashing out at the Mets because he’s defensive about his team getting caught stealing signs. That’s just something that crosses my mind.
For all I know, the Mets are breaking the rules to steal signs, and the Phillies were too. My stance on the matter is the same it has always been: It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.
Ask Leo Durocher. Baseball players are hard-wired to compete, and stealing signs is a way to gain a competitive advantage. This is why the game has written rules: It’s not the players’ or coaches’ responsibility to police themselves. That falls on opposing teams and, in cases like the Phillies’, the league.
If the story’s true, the Phillies thought they could get away with the binoculars-in-the-bullpen scheme. They didn’t, so the league made them stop. The system worked. There are plenty of things to fault the Phillies for without assuming some sort of moral high ground against sign-stealing.
To quote Manuel: “I’m sure if teams could steal signs they would, and if we can we will, too, if we can get them legally…. If you’re dumb enough to let us get them, it’s your fault. It’s been going on in the game a long time. If you’re dumb enough to let us get them, that’s your problem.”
Tedquarters 
Perhaps the Phillies should try a more subtle strategy of stealing signs than the binoculars. Like having Charlie Manuel walk out on the field and yell at the catcher, “HEY, WHAT DOES THAT SIGN MEAN?”
“I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road. I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better.”
I don’t quite understand how having an even home/road split is a good defense when you just got busted cheating on the road.
That last quote really illustrates your point when you compare it to this gem from from an espn.com article: “‘Absolutely not,’ Manuel said Wednesday, according to CSNPhilly.com. ‘Absolutely [bleeping] not. In no way were we stealing signs. We don’t do that.'”
When you think about it though, denial and subterfuge is a really classy reaction to being caught cheating by Phillies standards. I had my money on Manuel intentionally throwing up on league officials and chucking batteries at the reporters who asked him about it.
“Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that.”
I really hate when someone phrases that sentence like that. How about, “Somebody maybe ought to check if the Mets did that”. I was honestly confused by the way he said it.
Wait a minute — the story on AA said that his quote was “When I see somebody is 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road” — which is hilariously off.
Are the sportswriters covering for Manuel here, trying to make him sound less the fool than he sounds?
Why did Manuel feel it necessary to include the Mets in his rant? What do the Mets have to do with his team trying to steal signs? He could’ve referred to any other team.
Ah, another reason to hate the Phillies.
Someone should be stealing the signs that Charlie is about to eat and send them to Jenny Craig.
Shut up you fat bastard! Your as incompetent as your brother Jerry here in Queens but you got lucky in that your GM put together a good team. Shut up you fat bastard!