The Red Sox officially dismissed Bobby Valentine yesterday, ending months of speculation about his job security. Of course that hasn’t put an end to rumors about managerial openings and potential openings around MLB. Here are today’s managerial notes…
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that there will be no decision made about Jim Tracy's future with the Rockies tonight (Twitter link). The team's front office will continue to discuss things, however.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told James Schmehl of mLive.com that they will address manager Jim Leyland's contract "at the appropriate time." Leyland's deal expires after the season.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe lists some off-the-grid candidates the Red Sox could consider for their managerial opening.
- Dusty Baker hinted he'll return as the Reds' manager in 2013, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports. Baker said “this is my team, you know,” when asked about his future with the Reds.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan explained to manager Ron Gardenhire that a contract extension for Gardenhire doesn't make sense right now, Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN reports (on Twitter). Gardenhire is signed through 2013.
- The Indians announced that Terry Francona arrived in Cleveland for his job interview today. The former Red Sox manager is a leading candidate for the position along with longtime MLB catcher and current Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr.
- It’d be a surprise if Francona doesn’t accept the Indians job and name Brad Mills his bench coach, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes (on Twitter). The Astros dismissed Mills, Francona’s former bench coach in Boston, toward the end of the 2012 season.
- People who know Francona well say the Indians are a "slam dunk" for him, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). Francona knows he can work with Indians executives such as Chris Antonetti, Abraham notes.
- The Rangers won't fire manager Ron Washington even if they lose today's play-in game against the Orioles, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Washington is under contract with Texas through 2014.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is mulling whether to fire manager Ozzie Guillen, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. The owner has kept front office executives “out of the loop” on the decision, which will be entirely his own call. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported yesterday that the Marlins are aggressively seeking a replacement for Guillen.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Washington brought the Rangers to back-to-back World Series, something very few managers have achieved, add to that he’s the only manager in the history of the Rangers to even get the team to the playoffs. The Rangers losing the division had less to do with them and more to do with the fact that the A’s were on fire. So firing Washington if they lose today would just be a baffling move.
I’m pretty sure they’ve been to the playoffs before Washington.
Apologies. Correction: Washington is the only Rangers manager to get the team to the World Series.
Rangers fans might remember off hand.. But i don’t recall them ever and am positive the Senators never made the PO. ’69 Senators came close (ted Williams club) but they faded in August.
1996, 1998, and 1999 the Rangers were in the playoffs. However in each case they lost in the LDS. He was correct, I was wrong.
I wasn’t sure, *thought* maybe had been once back in the 90’s, but 3 times is a shocker to me! Never went and looked obviously :-(
Thanks :-)
Yes, they won three division titles under Johnny Oates who now has his number retired in Arlington. If memory serves me correctly, the Rangers not named Juan Gonzalez didn’t hit a lick in the postseason and they were made quick work of.
washington went with the rangers to back-to-back world series*
You say potato… and I’m aware this expression doesn’t work online.
one of those potatoes gives him a ton more credit than the other. and since the subject here is his value, pronunciation matters
There is always a way:
pəteɪtoʊ / pətɑtoʊ
some would say the rangers went back to back despite washington
Bobby V. or Kevin Millar or Andre Dawson Marlins Manager?
Nice to hear that Baker is coming back. He’s really to me an underrated manager, and he’s clearly a good fit with the Reds.
Leyland is 67 – I think that he will be back, but I can’t see him getting more than a 2-year contract. As for Baker, just in case, there should be an adequate replacement in the ready if his health forces him to step aside.
As for Gardenhire, I imagine that Terry Ryan doesn’t want to fire him, but he cannot lose so many games next season.
Leyland is going to retire because of health issues. Also, if you know anything about Leyland he works on year to year deals.
Baker’s got very competent staff members in Chris Spier and Bryin Price. Either one of them could step in at a moments notice. Chris in fact was the acting manager while Baker was away-and he handled the team admirably, and much like Dusty would have.
I could see Speier being the next manager if Baker has to step aside from the dugout for good.
Mueller is very intriguing to me. Not sure why, but he was such a scrappy player and worked so hard. He played the game right.
If I were running things, I’d remove a lot of the Rockies on field and office personnel. The team was put together poorly, many of their ‘prospects’ turned into suspects, and I really want to know who honestly thought that Jeremy Guthrie would be a better pitcher in Colorado, being he’s a fly ball pitcher and thought that he was worth the loss of Jason Hammel.
Time to clean house in Colorado.
I’m also laughing at the Indians making a big deal about bringing in Francona for an interview. That franchise will never spend the coin necessary to bring him in. Enjoying being used for PR purposes, Mr. Francona.
Oh really?
I responded on another article about the Indians comment. I am shocked and stunned that they hired Francona-I really am. I really did think they called him in for PR purposes and would NEVER pay the salary he would require.
Oops! My bad. My wrong.
Would like to see Francona with the Indians. He played there, his dad played there, and I think Alomar Jr. stays on staff for a year or two if you hire him, while I dont think Francona would join Alomar’s staff.
Why would Francona take the opening with the Indians without waiting to see if the Tigers are going to be looking for a new manager? Surely the Tigers would be a more attractive team to manage, no?
Apparently not, sorry Tigers fans (not really) . Hey Manny Acta is available.
Congrats on a good pickup. I’ve been hoping Francona would be our next manager for quite a while now.