The Philadelphia Phillies made a change at manager earlier in the campaign and it worked out.
Philadelphia moved on from former manager Rob Thomson and turned the reins over to Don Mattingly, who has done nothing short of impress. Sure, there have been rumors out there left and right about the possibility of bringing Alex Cora in. The Phillies even offered Cora the job after firing Thomson. But it didn't work out then and Mattingly has impressed since.
The Phillies are 54-43 on the season and have pulled themselves out of the mud and now are just two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings. It's been a dramatic turnaround, to say the least.
While some have made it seem like Cora coming to town is inevitable, USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted that Mattingly would "love" to stick around, if the Phillies are interested.
"Don Mattingly: Mattingly was hired to be the Phillies' interim manager after Alex Cora rejected the job when Rob Thomson was fired," Nightengale wrote. "It was supposed to last only until the end of the season, but Philadelphia has performed so well under Mattingly that he might win NL manager of the year. And now he says that he’d love to stay if given the opportunity."
At this point, Mattingly arguably should at least have a shot to take the role beyond this season.