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PHILADELPHIA -- With Charlie Manuel seated to his left, Ruben Amaro Jr. broke down in tears after announcing he fired his manager. It was that emotional for the general manager and many associated with the Philadelphia Phillies. Manuel was let go Friday in the middle of a terrible second half, ending the most successful run in club history. Hall of Famer and former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, the Phillies third base coach, replaced Manuel for the start of a 10-game homestand. The Phillies didnt play any better for Sandberg and lost 4-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his debut. They have lost 20 of 24. It wasnt an easy night, or day, for anyone in the organization. "You people may not know the relationship Ive had with Charlie. Hes a special person. This is difficult for me. I hope he stays in our organization," said Amaro, who took over as GM after Manuel led the Phillies to the World Series title in 2008. The managerial change didnt help Friday night. Zack Greinke (11-3) pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning and Hanley Ramirez homered to lead the streaking Dodgers to a victory over Sandberg and the slumping Phillies. "It was a roller coaster of a day emotionally," Sandberg said. "It affected me and I think it affects the players. ... Tomorrow hopefully well get back to work and the game goes on." The 69-year-old Manuel, the winningest manager in club history, was in the final year of his contract and wanted to manage another two or three seasons. "I never quit nothing and I didnt resign," Manuel said, making it clear he was pushed out the door. Manuel had been a folksy presence in the Phillies dugout since the beginning of the 2005 season. He wasnt a popular choice in Philadelphia when former GM Ed Wade hired him to replace Larry Bowa, but he became a beloved figure in a tough city. "I think were all a little upset, a little sad," second baseman Chase Utley said. "Its not easy to see the guy you play for, for nine years, not behind the batting cage right now watching batting practice. Its difficult. "Charlie brought out the most in his players. He was a man you could walk up to and he was the same every day. He was always going to give that positive energy and a lot of times that translated to the field." "I definitely enjoyed Charlie and liked playing for him," added left-hander Cliff Lee said. "I thought he did a good job. Its definitely our fault. We werent getting it done." Lee (10-6) pitched well on Friday night, but the Phillies couldnt provide any offence, finishing with three hits while getting shut out for the 11th time this season. Philadelphia hopes to turn things around under Sandberg. "Hes a quiet guy, but when he speaks everybody listens," All-Star slugger Domonic Brown said. "Guys definitely know he knows what hes talking about." Sandberg managed the Phillies Triple-A team at Lehigh Valley the previous two seasons. He was part of one the most lopsided trades in baseball history when the Phillies traded him and Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus in 1982. "I must say that, for me, I recognize this day as Charlie Manuel Day," Sandberg said at his first news conference. "What hes meant to the Philadelphia Phillies organization, what hes meant to the fans, the championships, the World Series, hes tops in the organization for what he did here. I really enjoyed my nearly three years with him in spring training and being here in Septembers, and this year especially being with him on a daily basis. I wish Charlie the best with whatever he intends to do, and he left a big footprint here in Philadelphia." Amaro said Sandberg takes over on an interim basis and would be evaluated after the season. Sandberg inherits a team that dropped to 5-20 since the All-Star break and is 21 1/2 games out of first place. "These guys are professional players, theyre getting paid well," Sandberg said. "Sometimes players have to dig deeper, play with pride, play with heart and for the name on the front of the uniform." Manuel won his 1,000th game as manager on Monday in Atlanta. Two days later, he sat in the dugout knowing it would be his last game after Amaro informed him of the decision not to extend his contract. "I think sometimes people forget how much I love to win," Manuel said. "I think that goes unnoticed. I think sometimes I dont talk about it, because I push it to my team and how important it is. Every day, I say our No. 1 priority is to win the game. When we get away from that, we get into trouble. I love everything about managing, and I think for us, the last couple years to fall back, I get upset very much so. I want us to stay where we were at, I want to compete for a World Series every year." Manuel led Philadelphia to the franchises second World Series title in 2008 08 and brought the team back to the Series in 2009, when it lost to the Yankees in six games. Manuel was 780-636 with the Phillies and won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11. He also spent three years as manager with the Cleveland Indians, winning the AL Central in 2001. Even with an aging roster, the Phillies were expected to contend in the NL East this season, but the team has fallen apart. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay has missed most of the season with an injury. First baseman Ryan Howard also has been out with an injury. High-priced reliever Jonathan Papelbon has struggled to close, and apart from Utley and Brown, the Phillies havent hit much. "We let down not only him, we let down the organization, we let down the fans," said lefty Cole Hamels, who is 5-13. "But I think ultimately, we let each other down. We really have to get back up and discover who we are, and what were playing for. And go out there and do it." Manuels abrupt dismissal angered many fans, who called into talk-radio stations to express their bitterness. Most blame Amaro for the Phillies decline. Amaro has made several questionable moves since replacing Pat Gillick. His decision to give Howard a $125 million contract nearly two years before he was set to become a free agent has handcuffed the team financially along with other big-money deals. "This isnt a blame game," Amaro said. "Im not here to blame Charlie for our issues. We all have a part in it." New Balance Sale Canada . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. New Balance Shoes Canada . Vinci also beat Dulgheru last week in Bucharest en route to her first WTA final in a year. Vinci next faces sixth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan, who beat Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-2. No. http://www.newbalancesalecanada.com/ .com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre. New Balance Outlet Canada . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. Cheap New Balance Canada . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans.GREEN BAY, Wis. - Mike McCarthys scouting report was brief. In fact, it wasnt really a scouting report at all. It was just a statement. "Corey Linsley is our starting centre," the Green Bay Packers coach said. "So, obviously, we feel good about where is." That McCarthy didnt feel the need to give his rookie fifth-round pick a public vote of confidence before his NFL regular-season debut was telling, given what Linsley is up against. He is starting in place of injured JC Tretter without having had a single snap with quarterback Aaron Rodgers in preseason play. He will be playing in the loudest stadium in the NFL, CenturyLink Field. He is facing the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, who had the NFLs best defence a season ago. And he will do it on national television, in the NFL Kickoff game. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 on Thursday at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. But given his quiet, do-the-job approach, the feeling among Linsleys teammates is that he wont be fazed by any of it. "He doesnt seem to get rattled. Mentally, hes sharp. Hes not a real fired up guy, hes not a real hyper guy. Hes just kind of a calm, collected guy. Nothing seems to really get to him," said No. 2 quarterback Matt Flynn, who spent much of the preseason working with Linsley, including Thursdays preseason finale when they started together. "Thats been impressive, the way hes been able to just jump in. "(The coaches told him), All right, youre the starter, so he just quietly walked up there and started taking reps. Hes been impressive. JC was a big loss. We all felt comfortable with him. But Corey has done a great job." Linsley is so cool about his new gig that he was even able to crack a well-delivered joke to reporters around his locker earlier this week. As he faced a series of questions about the ooft-discussed noise in Seattle, he named Nebraska and Wisconsin as the two places where the crowds were the most challenging during his college career at Ohio State.dddddddddddd Then, he zinged the schools biggest rival. "Michigan is quiet, really quiet. Probably the quietest stadium in the Big Ten," he said to laughter. It wont be quiet on Thursday night, and itll be Linsleys job to get to the line of scrimmage quickly and make the initial declarations based on what he sees from the Seattle defence. "Its all about the preparation and the week leading up to it. Its week-by-week no matter what level of football youre in," Linsley said. "You cant go back and say, Thats what we did against Wisconsin last year. It isnt going to work at Green Bay. So its all about the preparation. "(The primary job is) just getting everybody on the same page as quickly as possible. If everybody knows where the starting point is and they dont like the starting point, they can adjust it from there." The Packers plan to use their no-huddle offence extensively against Seattle, having spent the off-season and training camp working on it. But during the preseason finale against Kansas City with Linsley at centre, they ran by unofficial count only three snaps of no-huddle with Linsley on the field. Not only will Rodgers not have had a single in-game snap with Linsley before, but they will never have operated in the no-huddle together, either. "Coreys a smart guy. Hes played a lot of centre in his time and hes going to be expected to play well. So we expect him to be able to keep up," Rodgers said. "Ive said it a lot, but hes got two incredible guards on both sides of him who are going to help him out with the calls and make sure that hes ready. But Corey is going to study hard, hes very well-coached and hes going to be ready to go." ' ' '