I’m thinking that Nick Castellanos and Rob Thomson won’t be exchanging Christmas cards this year. After all, that would be communicating, right? Their situation almost sounded like a scene from a bad movie in a marriage counseling session. Castellanos says Thomson doesn’t communicate. Thomson says if he doesn’t communicate then Castellanos should tell him he’s not communicating. In those bad movies, it usually takes something tragic – a zombie apocalypse, irradiated cats that eat humans, something – to get the couple to communicate and live happily ever after.

Barring an apocalypse or irradiation, Castellanos and Thomson probably should shake hands at the end of the season and wish each other the best. Honestly, neither of them look great after all of this.

While the situation has been brewing for a couple of months, it hit another milestone Friday night when Castellanos was polite enough during a live TV post-game interview after hitting his 250th career home run. Then, he walked into the clubhouse and pulled out his attitude for all to see. When Castellanos was asked if he understands why he has not been playing every day, the claws came out: “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often. So that’s just – I play whenever he tells me to play. Then I sit whenever he tells me to sit. Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience. But also, I grew up communicating with somebody like my father, who is very blunt, direct and consistent.”

Castellanos went on to talk about the media creating a narrative. A reporter remarked that “you seem unhappy.” Castellanos replied “that would be creating a narrative.” When the reporter asked directly if Castellanos was unhappy he never completely answered the question: “I’m here. We won a baseball game. You know, I hit my 250th. I have a good relationship with the guys in this clubhouse,” said Castellanos. It was shortly after that when a Phillies rep looked to end the interview and the “good stuff” ended.

On Saturday, Thomson had to know what he was walking into when he had his pre-game sit down with the media. He and Castellanos had met privately earlier in the day and the details of that meeting were not disclosed – darn it! – but Thomson did talk in general terms about the subject of communication.

As far as the communication part of it, not only Nick, but if anybody else in that clubhouse doesn’t think I am communicating enough with them, I’m probably not; I’ve got to do a better job at it. It’s just being accountable, but there’s two ways of communicating. And that door’s always open. And I’m not a mind reader. I can’t tell the future. So, you know, I urge players; I want players to communicate and tell me what’s on their mind. Obviously, I have to do a better job,” said Thomson.

While I’m not a psychologist, Thomson’s answer seems somewhat passive-aggressive. He seems to take responsibility but then backs off and throws a little back at Castellanos, or any other player who thinks Thomson is not communicating. The role of a manager has changed. When Dallas Green managed he would lock up the clubhouse doors and yell and scream at everybody, calling some of the players out by name. These days, you can’t do that. You have to be a psychiatrist to 26 players – and more as players come and go – and know how to handle each and every player in that clubhouse. Some you can scream at or call out in the media and they take it well. Others have to have their hand held and their ego stroked and it’s the manager’s job to know what to do with each personality.

The bottom line… If the team does win a World Series, perhaps, all will be forgiven. If they fall short – and especially if they make an unexpected early exit – then somebody has to go. Dave Dombrowski and Sam Fuld need to figure out who the “cancer in the clubhouse” is and remove them. Castellanos on Friday seemed to hint that other players feel like he does, but just haven’t said it. A reporter noted to Castellanos that a number of players feel Thomson’s strength is in communicating, Castellanos seemed to doubt the remark. “Who says that?” asked Castellanos. The reporter didn’t respond and Castellanos didn’t push the question. It does, however, make you wonder if thee are deeper issues. If there are, they need to either come out now and get straightened out or be kept under the rug until after the World Series.

What if the Phillies do make an early exit from the playoffs? Could Rob Thomson be replaced? Would Castellanos be traded? While he only has one season left on his contract, the Phillies likely can’t afford to keep both around and Castellanos would be the likely one to go. Unless of course, the pair fight off zombies and killer cats – played by every other NL playoff team – and walk away singing Kumbaya!

The true bottom line is that Castellanos did not accept that his role with the team changed, even though his statistics pointed to definite reasons on why it should change. For a guy who professes to be such a team player and is there to do whatever it takes to win a World Series, me thinks he doth protest too much! Besides, Castellanos doesn’t carry enough juice to get a manager fired. Look for Castellanos to be dealt during the offseason with the Phillies eating a bunch of his contract and don’t expect too much in exchange.