Mackanin keeping Phils focused with fines

March 25th, 2016
"What, are you going to complain about 50 cents?" said Pete Mackanin about his fining system. (AP)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Phillies are sweating the small stuff this spring, because they know they have little room for error. So Phillies manager Pete Mackanin is fining his players 50 cents at a time for those little mistakes on the field.
"If you don't get a bunt down, everyone pays 50 cents," Mackanin said before Thursday night's rained out Grapefruit League game against the Braves at Champion Stadium. "If you don't hustle, everyone pays 50 cents. If you miss a cutoff man, everyone pays 50 cents.
"It's a way to be picky about little things, like you made it into second base, but you should've slid. You hit a double, but you coasted into second when you should've come around hard in case the guy bobbles the ball. Fifty cents. It allows me to be a real [jerk] about things like that. What, are you going to complain about 50 cents?"
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So how much is in the pot at this point?
"We're closing in on $1,000," Mackanin said.
He said the proceeds likely will go to the Baseball Assistance Team.
"When I announce the fines and this week you have $2.50, a half-dozen players get on that guy," Mackanin said. "Not meanly, but like, 'Come on, don't do that anymore.'"
Odubel waits 
Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera has not played since March 12 because of a bruised left middle finger, but he made the trip Thursday because Mackanin hoped to have him pinch-hit at some point.

"We'd like to get him in as soon as I can," Mackanin said before the rainout. "He said he feels fine today. So I'll give him one more day, maybe one at-bat."
Herrera could be in the starting lineup Friday against the Blue Jays in Clearwater.
"He's a pretty natural hitter," Mackanin said. "Within a week, he should get that timing down, I think."