Phillies manager Charlie Manuel dismissed hitting coach Milt Thompson on Friday and says his team simply needs to focus at the plate. Philadelphia's offense has been struggled for the better part of two months. "I looked at our hitting and thought something had to be done," said Manuel. "If you would have told me we would have hit this way, I would have argued with you forever." Thompson had been Philadelphia's hitting coach since 2005. "Milt didn't swing a bat for us, didn't chase those balls in the dirt or take fastballs down the middle. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made," Manuel said. "He's a good friend of mine, but at the same time, I felt we had to try something." Philadelphia ranks just 12th in the NL in batting (.254) and on-base percentage (.322) and sixth in runs, and have been held to one or less 23 times in 95 games.