New Managers Look to Make a Strong Impression
Stan McNeal - SportingNews.com
Nov 19, 2010
Although major league teams aren't hesitant to change managers -- 12 will have switched skippers between opening day 2010 and opening day 2011 -- the process isn't taken lightly. Searches take weeks as general managers reach far outside their buddy system to find their man.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik says he considered 59 candidates before settling on Eric Wedge. "He met a lot of the criteria," Zduriencik says. The spoken criteria: "It's very important that we have a relationship (and) function well together," Zduriencik says. Unspoken: Win, or else.
The Cubs, Marlins and Diamondbacks opted to retain their interim managers from this past season, but seven teams (the Mets have yet to make a hire) will begin next season with new managers.
Rating their chances of first-year success:
1. Braves
Chosen one: Atlanta wasted no time anointing Fredi Gonzalez, fired by Florida this past summer, as Bobby Cox's successor. The Braves are confident in Gonzalez's ability to squeeze the most out of a young roster. Gonzalez coached third base in Atlanta for four seasons before the Marlins hired him.
Challenge No. 1: Gonzalez must replace a future Hall of Fame manager, while handling a potentially touchy comeback by another Braves icon, third baseman Chipper Jones.
2. Dodgers
Chosen one: Don Mattingly has no major league managerial experience but spent the past seven years coaching under Joe Torre. Mattingly was passed over by the Yankees but not by the Dodgers, who promoted him when Torre wearied of managing a soap opera.
Challenge No. 1: Mattingly must right a proud franchise that has made headlines for the wrong reasons (on-field underachievement, off-field divorce drama). He sharpened his skills by managing in the Arizona Fall League.
3. Blue Jays
Chosen one: John Farrell joins Bud Black as the majors' second pitching coach-turned-manager. After four seasons as Boston's pitching coach, John Farrell is familiar with baseball's toughest division. "It was part of it," Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos admits. "But the person was more important."
Challenge No. 1: To catch the AL East's elite, Farrell must take Toronto's talented young pitching staff to the next level. Cito Gaston won 85 games in his final season before retiring, and the Blue Jays still finished 11 games behind first-place Tampa Bay.
4. Brewers
Chosen one: Ron Roenicke is the third Mike Scioscia lieutenant to graduate to a head job, joining Bud Black and Joe Maddon -- both of whom have been named manager of the year.
Challenge No. 1: General manager Doug Melvin likes that Roenicke "endorses an attacking style of play," but it's Milwaukee's pitching that must improve for Roenicke to succeed.
5. Pirates
Chosen one: Clint Hurdle had only one winning season in his eight years with the Rockies, but that one ended with the franchise's only trip to the World Series. He earned high marks as the Rangers' hitting coach in 2010.
Challenge No. 1: Hurdle won't be expected to end the Pirates' pro-sports' record of 18 consecutive losing seasons. But with young talent, 2012 should be different.
6. Mariners
Chosen one: Eric Wedge's "hard-nosed" ways are what Zduriencik sought after the clubhouse went awry under Don Wakamatsu. Wedge, a major league manager at 35, finished 12 games under .500 and made the playoffs once in seven seasons with the Indians.
Challenge No. 1: Revitalizing the AL's lowest-scoring offense since the implementation of the DH will take more than a new manager. However, Wedge can start the process by keeping one of his former Indians, Milton Bradley, out of trouble.
This story first appeared in the Nov. 22 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.
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