The news from Clearwater late last week jarred my memory. In five short months, without seeing him manage a single game that counted, Matt Klentak decided he wanted to see more of Pete Mackanin.
Klentak, the Phillies' 35-year-old general manager, sat next to Mackanin, the 64-year-old Chicago native who had waited a lifetime for the opportunity to become a big-league manager without an interim label, as the team revealed its biggest news of spring training. The Phillies tore up the contract that did not guarantee Mackanin anything beyond this season and gave him one that takes him through next season with a club option for 2018.