Manager merry-go-round
It seems like the big drama of the "hot stove" season so far is in the area of management. We've already seen Macha fired in Oakland, Showalter shown the door in Texas, Dusty Baker canned in Chicago, Filipe Alou gone from San Francisco, and Girardi shown the door by the Marlins.
So now the hiring season starts! Sweet Lou Piniella signed this week with the Chicago Cubs - intriguing. Bruce Bochy from San Diego might be looking at the Giants. Girardi looked like a shoo-in for the Cubs - there's now talk he might be bench coach for the Yankees (and likely Torre's replacement if Steinbrenner freaks out).
Bob Ryan had a great column in yesterday's Boston Globe about all these managerial changes. He talks about "friction" is given as the reason for Macha's firing, firing despite the fact that he led the A's to the ALCS. It seems like there can't have been too much friction if they were winning. Ryan talks to Tony LaRusso, probably one of the greatest managers working today. Even LaRusso only has one World Championship to show for all his years of excellent work. Yet he's found his fit in St. Louis.
I guess that's the point I was trying to make about Joe Torre the other day. He is a great manager - Hall of Fame, no doubt. But I'm not sure he's the right manager for THAT particular group of players in New York. He couldn't get them to bond as a team - heck, even Idiot Damon couldn't get them to bond. It's clear that their Front Office is giving Torre one last chance to pull that World Championship out of his hat...but one has wonder how patient they're going to be with him....
Edit: thanks to my friend Kelly for this link to an article by Bob Klapisch - written before Torre was taken out of the firing line. I add it - because of the anecdote about Damon trying to get the team to bond.
So now the hiring season starts! Sweet Lou Piniella signed this week with the Chicago Cubs - intriguing. Bruce Bochy from San Diego might be looking at the Giants. Girardi looked like a shoo-in for the Cubs - there's now talk he might be bench coach for the Yankees (and likely Torre's replacement if Steinbrenner freaks out).
Bob Ryan had a great column in yesterday's Boston Globe about all these managerial changes. He talks about "friction" is given as the reason for Macha's firing, firing despite the fact that he led the A's to the ALCS. It seems like there can't have been too much friction if they were winning. Ryan talks to Tony LaRusso, probably one of the greatest managers working today. Even LaRusso only has one World Championship to show for all his years of excellent work. Yet he's found his fit in St. Louis.
I guess that's the point I was trying to make about Joe Torre the other day. He is a great manager - Hall of Fame, no doubt. But I'm not sure he's the right manager for THAT particular group of players in New York. He couldn't get them to bond as a team - heck, even Idiot Damon couldn't get them to bond. It's clear that their Front Office is giving Torre one last chance to pull that World Championship out of his hat...but one has wonder how patient they're going to be with him....
Edit: thanks to my friend Kelly for this link to an article by Bob Klapisch - written before Torre was taken out of the firing line. I add it - because of the anecdote about Damon trying to get the team to bond.
posted by Beth at 7:43 PM
1 Comments:
I'm not sure ANYONE is the right manager for the current group of Yankees. To me it's analagous to what's happened in the NBA, where out-of-control salaries for players have all but negated the influence of the coaches. When everybody's an All-star, it's hard to get motivated as a group. (And I cut Jeter slack for that, too--I honestly think A-Rod was the final straw for him. I don't expect Jeter to get past A-Rod's level of dysfunction any more than I expect Tek to make Manny stop demanding trades!)
Post a Comment
<< Home