Phillies management definitely has Cubs flavor

When Dallas Green came to Chicago from Philadelphia to run the Cubs more than three decades ago, he wound up bringing to Chicago several players from the Phillies. Included at various points were Larry Bowa, Keith Moreland, Gary Matthews and a kid named Ryne Sandberg.

The Phillies are in town playing the Cubs, and their management and coaching staffs have a Cubs flavor.

Team President Andy MacPhail held that job with the Cubs from late 1994 through 2006. Bowa is a member of the coaching staff as are former Cubs people Rick Kranitz, Mickey Morandini and Matt Stairs.

Kranitz coached with the Cubs while Morandini and Stairs, like Bowa, played for them.

"I loved my time here," said Morandini, the Phillies' first-base coach. "I loved the two years I was here. I loved the park, loved the fans. I loved playing day games. I lived an hour from here (in Indiana). You could play the day game, go home and have a nice night with the family."

Morandini played second base in 1998 and '99. The '98 club won the National League wild card.

"Ninety-eight was special for us," he said Tuesday. "Sammy (Sosa) doing what he did. Having Gracie (Mark Grace) out there and Kerry Wood and Shooter (Rod Beck). We had a good, veteran team. We had a few young players that played very well."

Morandi has managed in the minor leagues, and he said managing in the big leagues is a goal.

Stairs played for the 2001 Cubs, who led the NL Central for four months before fading. He hit 17 home runs and was part of a fun group that included current Cubs radio analyst Ron Coomer, Eric Young, Ricky Gutierrez and Kevin Tapani, among others. He is now hitting coach for the Phillies.

"We really enjoyed taking the field here in Chicago and playing hard in front of the fans," Stairs said. "I think what made us such a close group and a fun group was that everyone got along so great on and off the field. If you look at the team we had, we were just average Joes going out playing the ballgame that we loved and playing the way we played it. I think that's why the fans enjoyed watching us play that year."

A proud citizen:

Cubs catcher Miguel Montero has been beaming for two full days after becoming an American citizen Monday.

"I've been a resident for six years," said Montero, a native of Venezuela. "It was time for us to get the citizenship, to get the full privilege of the United States."

Montero and his wife, Vanessa, became citizens. Their children were born in the U.S.

He said he had fun with former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, a Canadian who is a member of the front office.

"I saw Dempster over here, and I said, 'Hey, get out of my country,'" he said.

But seriously, Montero said he is proud and excited. He also said he appreciated the fans, who cheered the announcement on the Wrigley Field videoboard.

"I know they're happy for me and my family," he said. "Yes, I'm so blessed in my career and life. Those are times that later on you can look back and appreciate how blessed you were."