Thursday, November 11, 2004

Jim Thome and Charlie Manuel, separated at birth?

Is it just me, or is Charlie Manuel, the Phillies new manager, just an older version of Jim Thome, the Phillies slugger-first baseman?

First, the visual evidence. On the left is Charlie Manuel, on the right is Jim Thome:

 


Add about 25 years to Thome and you get Manuel, right?

Manuel spent several years coaching and managing the Cleveland Indians before coming to the Phillies as, first, special assistant to GM Ed Wade and now as manager. Jim Thome played his entire career for the Cleveland Indians until 2003, when he came over to the Phillies as a free agent.

Then there's this description of Charlie Manuel by Inquirer columnist Bob Ford: "beneath the uncomplicated, countrified exterior of Charlie Manuel is an uncomplicated, countrified interior. What you see is what you get, and while the river is gentle and soothing, it ain't that deep." Replace "Charlie Manuel" with "Jim Thome" and that description rings just as true.

So I ask you... were Charlie Manuel and Jim Thome separated at birth? And, er, 25 years?

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