The Opener: World Series Game 1, Padres, Schumaker

What’s cooking in the baseball world as we near the end of October….

1. The World Series begins tonight:

Game 1 between the Rangers and Diamondbacks takes places tonight in Arlington, with Nathan Eovaldi on the hill for Texas and Zac Gallen getting the start for Arizona.  Seemingly an unlikely matchup when the playoffs began, the Rangers and D’Backs each pulled off upsets against higher-seeded opponents in every round, and overcame 3-2 deficits in the League Championship Series.  The D’Backs are in the World Series for the second time in franchise history, capturing the title in their first trip to the Fall Classic back in 2001.  Texas is still looking for its first championship after coming up short in two prior World Series appearances in 2010-11.

2. The Padres begin their managerial search:

Now that Bob Melvin is officially the Giants’ new manager, the Padres have a hole to fill in the dugout.  The early buzz is that bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt are the favorites to succeed Melvin, and Flaherty will inteview with the Padres today after Shildt spoke with the club Wednesday.  Pitching coach Ruben Niebla might also get an interview before San Diego moves on to explore any potential external candidates.  Even if Flaherty, Shildt, or Niebla indeed up with the manager’s job, it only makes sense that the Padres would do due diligence in lining up some other interviews, just in case an unexpected contender might emerge for the job….

3: Schumaker unhappy in Miami?:

…for instance, maybe another current MLB skipper?  Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is “upset over” the departure of general manager Kim Ng, who declined her end of the mutual option between her and the Marlins for the 2024 season.  Owner Bruce Sherman had planned to essentially demote Ng by hiring a president of baseball operations to work above her, and this naturally didn’t sit well with Ng — or with Schumaker, who was hired by Ng to manage the club just over a year ago.  Schumaker’s first season in Miami resulted in 84 wins and a wild card berth, and he’d surely get interest for other managerial jobs elsewhere, if his displeasure over Ng has led to a reconsideration of his own future with the Marlins.  However, Heyman doesn’t feel the Marlins would let Schumaker explore any other options, as he is under contract through the 2024 season (with a club option for 2025).