The Zo Zone

Charlie Manuel called a team meeting before last night's 4-1 victory over Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park.

"We'll see what kind of effect it has on the team, if any," he said.

We've heard plenty lately about how Manuel should blow up at his players like Lou Piniella. But here's one thing I've learned since I started covering the Phillies in 2003: that act wears thin quickly. The perception that managers like Piniella and Larry Bowa are always chewing out their players in team meetings -- and how they're geniuses because they do -- is untrue. Bowa nagged constantly, but he had at most four major meltdowns in his four years with the Phillies. Four. Not every week. Not every time his team got on a losing streak. Four. Manuel said Friday afternoon that in his years of playing in the minors, majors and Japan, he had one manager get so upset that he flipped over a table.

One.

Manuel's meeting yesterday was described by Wes Helms as a "Thanksgiving dinner conversation."

Manuel didn't blow up yesterday, which could be smart because managers need to play that card carefully. Timing is key. Because players -- just like me or you -- tune out a boss who is always screaming or yelling or creating a negative atmosphere in the office.

Will Manuel's fireside chat work? We'll see.

Manuel blew up in the visitor's dugout at Dolphin Stadium last season and the Phillies won 12 of their next 13. Bowa had a blow up in Montreal in Aug. 2003 and the Phillies won 9 of their next 10, although some credit the "screw Bowa" players meeting afterward that really set the tone. But Bowa also held a meeting in July 2004 and the Phillies won just 7 of their next 21. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. But you have to pick your spots.

Yelling and flipping buffet tables every time a team stumbles sounds cool, but it's not the quick fix everybody thinks it is.

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No wonder the Mets beat up on the Phillies.