2012 Who will be our manager?

[Trillz808]

Hearing a lot of names floating around out there any one have inside news as to who Ben feels would be a good coach to whip this team back into championship form?

[mvp 78]

Jimmy Williams

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Johnny Pesky

[jung]

Pesky....

[VA Sox Fan]

Buckner

[jung]

Buckner

 

Now that is funny VA. Suddenly NESN will wonder why their ratings for the start of the telecast are up as we watch to see if Buckner drops the line up card between his legs.

[VA Sox Fan]

Now that is funny VA. Suddenly NESN will wonder why their ratings for the start of the telecast are up as we watch to see if Buckner drops the line up card between his legs.

 

Just as funny as Williams or Pesky!

[SoxSport]

What are they working on right now-- getting a manager, or the Epstein compensation?

 

Maddon is supposed to be unavailable, yet there are stories the Cubs might interview him for manager.

 

Wake up, Cherington.

[Dojji]

The next time we need a manager is sometime after Truck Day.

 

Patience, people.

[Gringo]

Kevin Millar

[Laser Show]

Kevin Millar

 

Now that's a name I could get behind.

 

and while we're at it:

Dave Roberts - 3rd Base Coach

Schilling - Pitching Coach

[jacksonianmarch]

The next time we need a manager is sometime after Truck Day.

 

Patience, people.

 

Lots of teams havent had their end of year org meetings. Other openings will come up and other candidates will be taken. The time to get the best manager is now. I still think Don Wakamatsu will be a finalist. He's everything the FO wants. A pawn to the GM but a hard ass in the dugout.

[SoxSport]

Francona is out there--in case Cherington runs out of names.

 

Seriously, I'm reading no way Maddon is leaving Tampa Bay, but Dave Martinez is another story.

These are the two main guys who can fix CC. Tampa's a nice place to live, so that has to be an attraction for Maddon to stay. Plus they have a good farm system.

 

Maddon plays a modified version of moneyball. Guys like him and LaRussa are known to bunt to move runners into scoring position in crucial situations. LaRussa was talking about that this morning. I agree.

[User Name]

From Scott Lauber, Boston Herald:

 

Another name to keep in mind: Mike Maddux. The Texas Rangers’ pitching coach is interested in becoming a manager. Cherington comes from a pitching background during his playing days, and with the hirings of Bud Black in San Diego and Farrell in Toronto, it’s no longer considered “outside the box” to hire a pitching coach as a manager.

 

Do it.

[Dojji]

Not that Black or Farrell have exactly excelled thus far. Still it's a thought worth thinking.

 

I still have this fantasy that it might be Tek.

[User Name]

Not that Black or Farrell have exactly excelled thus far. Still it's a thought worth thinking.

 

I still have this fantasy that it might be Tek.

 

What does this mean exactly?

[Dojji]

They haven't sucked, but have either the Jays or the Padres reached the next level as a team anytime recently?

 

If you're going to say pitching coach as manager has had some ground broken recently on its behalf, I'd like to see some groundbreaking results, that's all.

[User Name]

A manager can only take his team as far as the talent level allows them to. The Padres are, as of right now, a AAAA squad, and the Blue Jays are a decent club, but they play in the AL East.

 

Let's keep it objective.

[Laser Show]

We need a serious disciplinarian with a passion for "25 players, 1 bus" (or whatever the saying is).

 

Maddon would be my #1 choice, bar none. There is not a single manager in the majors that encompasses all aspects of the game. He is great at smallball, keeping problem players in line, maintaining the clubhouse, not letting stories about fried chicken and beer get out there, having a sense of humor, and making the team a family.

 

After him, I'm not sure, there's a plethora of top-tier managerial talent out there, but we need to find someone who is successful and can also mold the clubhouse around him, not the other way around.

 

Also, we need someone that's fairly young. The Cox's, LaRussa's, Torre's, Piniella's need not apply. I'd prefer someone in their early 40's, but anything under 60 is fine. We need someone who will be there for a long time, and bring stability and order.

[Dojji]

If it wasn't for the fact that he's probably effectively blacklisted after his stunt with the Nats, I'd say that might be a call for Jim Riggleman.

[Trillz808]

Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale, Cleveland Guardians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez and Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin.

 

These are all names mentioned in a article from ESPN and I think all but Hale would be a good choice dot get me wrong I like Hale but we need new if he was part if management letting the team slack off i dont think he would have much control over the team as manager

[Cask N Flagon 76]

Could you imagine Sandberg as our next manager?. I think it's a pipe dream but it would be cool. Besides he is a decent manager.

[Trillz808]

I dont think its that much of a pipe dream and it could be a reality... Ben knows Theo really wants him next year as a coach for the Cubs so why not go after him the year before throw some big figures at him and we got ourselves a good manager, I would like to see either Sandberg, Alomar, or Martinez... If it was a few years back when the phillies looked to be in their unstoppable phase i would think Mackanin would have more weight but with the way phillies have finished over the last two seasons Im not as keen on him taking over

[SoxSport]

I still think Martinez has the advantage over the others, because turning Crawford around is a top priority next year. They also need a manager who will run, because this team is going to be loaded with base-stealers next year.

 

Watching that WS game tonite, the Rangers had Andrus on 1B, a steal threat, which forced Pujols to hold him. The LHd batter Hamilton hit a grounder right through the spot Pujols normally plays. The steal threat caused the hit.

Stolen bases, even the threat of them, have value, probably more than sabermetrics calculates.

[jung]

I can't tell you why but I just have a bad feeling about this whole manager thing. Everything this year is going to be about what makes JH and LL happy and I am not sure that will translate into something we all think makes much sense.

[Trillz808]

i couldnt agree with you more jung and i dont think lucchino has the greatest baseball mindset ever which is not a good thing

[a700hitter]

We need a serious disciplinarian with a passion for "25 players, 1 bus" (or whatever the saying is).

 

Maddon would be my #1 choice, bar none. There is not a single manager in the majors that encompasses all aspects of the game. He is great at smallball, keeping problem players in line, maintaining the clubhouse, not letting stories about fried chicken and beer get out there, having a sense of humor, and making the team a family.

He has trouble making out a lineup card. He lost the DH one time because he handed in a lineup card with 2 third basemen. He has never been able to motivate BJ Upton to play hard. As for clubhouse scandals and stories, the reason why no stories about Tampa get out there is because they have very little press covering the team.

[mvp 78]

Tampa is good because of their pitching, not because of Maddon.

[jung]

I am not sure Madden would be right for the mix of players that the Sox have either. Frankly the Sox are in a tough spot as far as this manager gig goes and there really isn't a magic bullet.

 

Somehow the Sox have to get hold of a manager that can instill a better work ethic with this group of players while making it look like it is their idea. They need something of a hypnotist, salesman that can play enough with a computer keyboard to keep JH happy. He needs to get what he wants out of this bunch of players without being a drill sergeant. I know we think we want a drill sergeant but there is no real reason to think that will work with this bunch.

 

Of course, we could try to turn over a bunch of these players and get enough of like minded guys on the team to make the job of manager more....well....manageable but you really can't flip a team that fast without getting hurt in the process. I see some sort of caretaker coming in until the FO figures out how to extricate itself from the current financial corner they have boxed themselves into. Here again, we could as fans want JH to loosen the purse strings but that's not going to happen either.

 

The more I think about it the more Valentine might appeal to JH and LL but not because he would be holding anybody's feet to any fire. Whoever comes in next I don't see another eight year run in the works, not yet anyway. I really don't know all or even half the options out there but I guess I still would like Martinez. He's been my favorite option from the start. I think Martinez would represent an effort to truly bring in a manager that would have a shot at staying awhile.

[SoxSport]

He has trouble making out a lineup card. He lost the DH one time because he handed in a lineup card with 2 third basemen. He has never been able to motivate BJ Upton to play hard. As for clubhouse scandals and stories' date=' the reason why no stories about Tampa get out there is because they have very little press covering the team.[/quote']

 

Some good points. Tampa is an easy place to play--out of the media spotlight.

 

Managers are probably overrated--especially in the moneyball era. Beane used to micromanage the game from the clubhouse, even changing pitchers. I suspect Epstein was doing a lot of the same with Tito. You don't know how much. There is a lot here on interrelationships with the Red Sox we don't know. Somebody has to write a book like Moneyball for stuff to come out on what actually happens on a team.