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On Wednesday, the Phillies' disappointing year finally ended and the organization took to making some changes in a very quick fashion.  Within hours of the end of the Phils' 81-81 season that marked an end to their run of five consecutive division titles, the team announced that three coaches, Sam Perlozzo (1st base), Greg Gross (hitting) and Pete Mackanin (bench), would not return next season. Within a day, the Phillies then announced some promotions from within to fill those voids. Hall of Fame player Ryne Sandberg (pictured), who has managed the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the past two seasons, will become the Phillies' third base coach, while Juan Samuel, who previously manned that position, has been asked to move to the first base coach's box.  It seems that Samuel may still be weighing his options. The Phillies are not expected to have a bench coach while an assistant hitting coach is expected to be hired. Additionally, Lehigh Valley's pitching...

Greg Gross was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1979-1988. In 1973, Gross began his career with the Houston Astros at the age of 20, appearing in 14 games. The following season, he finished 2nd in National League Rookie of the Year voting to the Cardinals' "Bake" McBride, when Gross batted .314 in 156 games. Gross's line drive swing did not produce a single homerun in almost 1,400 at bats in the Major Leagues to start his career. Following the 1976 season, Gross was traded to the Cubs for Julio Gonzalez. In 1977, Gross hit a career high 5 homeruns for Chicago. He also produced a .322 average that season, as the team's fourth outfielder. Prior to the 1979 season, Gross was traded to Philadelphia along with Dave Rader and Manny Trillo for 5 players. Gross quickly became a key contributor for the 3-straight division winning Phillies that season, when he posted a .333 batting average in 111 games. While the outfield was locked in with Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox a...

The coaching switch has proved successful thus far. Since replacing hitting coach Milt Thompson with Greg Gross last week, the Phillies have gone undefeated in 5 games. The defending National League champions had been struggling to score runs this season, but have averaged 6.8 runs per game since the change. The team averaged 4.49 runs per game through their first 95 contests this season. Also much improved is the overall team batting average. In the 5 games since Gross took over, the Phillies have posted a .320 batting average. Under the coach stylings of Milt Thompson the Phillies were batting just .254. Gross, who had more than 700 plate appearances as a pinch hitter in his career and is the Phillies all-time leader in pinch hits, with 117 (more than twice the next closest total), has also helped the team's pinch hitters as well. The Phillies are 4-for-8 (.500 avg) in pinch hit appearances since Gross was brought on as the hitting instructor. Under Thompson, Phillies pinch hitt...