Phillies pitching coach McClure has more to work with

ON THE LAST day of my two-week tour/trip/junket through Clearwater last month, I suggested to Bob McClure that he had the least enviable job in baseball last year. He responded with a quizzical squint. Fortunately, I am used to such looks, so I was ready with an explanation of what I actually meant, which was that being the guy in charge of the Phillies' pitching staff last year was like being the guy in charge of Martin O'Malley's presidential campaign.

Sometimes it's the fiddler, sometimes it's the fiddle, but every now and then it's the instrument supplier who mistakenly shipped you a trailer full of bassoons.

Now, I know what you are thinking, so:

1) Yes, Martin O'Malley had a presidential…