Feb. 13 -- MORE FROM CHUCK

So, let me get this straight: It hardly snows all winter long, and today, when I'm supposed to be traveling to Clearwater for spring training, we get just enough snow, sleet and freezing rain to cause my flight to be cancelled.

How's that for bad luck?

Anyway, while I wait for the weather to clear and AirTran to take me away to sunny Florida, I wanted to share some more from my recent interview with Charlie Manuel, the lame-duck Phillies manager who, fairly or not, will find himself on the hot seat if his team has a third straight 10-14 April.

A few weeks ago, Manuel and I sat down in his office at Citizens Bank Park. It's a small room, decorated with pictures of many current players. There's an exercise bike in the corner, and the Phillies' 2007 schedule is prominent on a wall near his desk.

In last Saturday's News Journal, you read about Manuel's thoughts on going into the last year of his contract without a vote of confidence from the Phillies. He also talked about his managerial philosophy, his enthusiasm about this season, and his belief that Pat Burrell will have a rebound year.

Here, then, is some more from Manuel that didn't make it's way into the paper.

Q: You're going into spring training with six starters. Is that a positive or a negative?
A: I'm excited about the fact that we went out and beefed up our pitching rotation. I know we've got six starters and I know we're going to have five in our rotation, but I like that in some ways we've got six because that gives us a rotation that gives us more depth, that gives us a lot of things. If we can work the back end of the bullpen out, whether that's in-house or whether we have to go somewhere and get it, I don't care. As long as we can start the season with the best starting pitching and the best bullpen we can get, then I'm happy with that. If Ryan Madson steps up or even if we have to do something with a starter or whatever or go get somebody, it doesn't matter to me. I'm happy about the six starters. It's not a problem. It's something that I think, in the long run, may pay big dividends to us.

Q: You talked to No. 6 starter Jon Lieber last month about his role. What was that conversation like?
A: I told him if we leave camp with six guys, evidently, one of them would go to the bullpen. I think the thinking there would be between the organization and my staff and I, what makes up the strongest staff, starting-wise and bullpen. If we have to go that route and put somebody back in the bullpen.

Q: How concerned are you about the stability, or lack thereof, of your bullpen?
A: I hear [GM] Pat GIllick talk about the [need for a] left-hand hitter. First of all, I think the left-hand hitter will fall into place off the bench. And, if not, that might not be the worst thing in the world because Jayson Werth's got some big upside and we've got [Chris] Coste who we know he can hit. To balance off our bench, I think when Pat talks about that left-hand hitter, he talks about someone who we can stick in the lineup every now and then. But the concern of mine, is I want to be strong in the back [of the bullpen]. I want to give Gordon the rest he's going to need. I want to have depth from the sixth inning on. If we get that together, I look for us to be right there.

Q: Going back to last season, what were you thinking at the trade deadline when GM Pat Gillick held a fire sale? Were you concerned the organization was throwing in the towel on 2006 and entering a rebuilding phase?
A: I stood up right in front of [reporters] after the [July 30] game, and what I said was, 'Hey, I don't care what went on, from this point on, we're going to try to win, we're going to try to improve.' We felt like we were still in the hunt. I remember saying that, and I meant that. Because I've been in the game a long time, and the years I've managed, when a team is struggling and they'd be down, you have to stay in the right frame of mind. That's where personnel and attitude and everything come into play from the players in the clubhouse. When you've got guys like [Chase] Utley and [Ryan] Howard and Jimmy Rollins, and they're young, and they've got energy like [Shane] Victorino and [Aaron] Rowand, and they love to play, that's a good attitude to have. When you get down, they won't let up, and they won't pack it in. When I said that, I knew we were going to win some games. When we installed Victorino in the lineup, offensively, look, I thought our team could come together. We played real good. We realized how good we could play, and we took off.

Q: The Phillies won more games than the Cardinals last season. When you saw the Cardinals win the World Series, did you think, that could've been us?
A: When we played them over there [in August], and I followed them after we played them, they were having trouble with their starting pitching and the bullpen. All of a sudden at the end, when they really had to, [Jeff] Weaver and [Jeff] Suppan stepped up and won big games when they had to. That's basically what put them in there. For two years, I felt like, if we had only gotten in. I think if we would've gotten in, it would've been interesting because I think we could've done something. I think we were in a good position last year, probably more than the year before, because our rotation set up better.