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Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
Managers To Watch In 2006
Christina Kahrl has some new or displaced managers to watch this year, and three of them are germane to this blog: Dodgers manager Grady Little, former Angels bench coach Joe Maddon (now managing the Devil Rays), and former Dodger manager Jim Tracy, now running the Pirates. Regarding Little:
I'll leave the rest to subscribers, but she avers as to how Maddon's biggest problem will be his "ulceriffic" piching staff, and whether Tracy can make a credible team out of a roster that looks like a list of guys who didn't make the Dodgers -- or any other credible team.
- The Past: We all remember the Pedro Game, right? Yankees fans have to hold onto something these days. But whatever the complaints about Little's failure to effectively manage a bullpen by committee or stand up to a veteran pitcher, he did manage two second-place finishes in the AL East in 2002 and 2003, no better and no worse than expected. Before that, Little coached for Bobby Cox in Atlanta. That sounds good, but keep in mind that Pat Corrales has coached for Cox for a long time, and nobody's itching to give him another shot.
- What He's Got: Not exactly an All-Star team, but not far short of that. It's a veteran club, and just about the only complicated significant choice to be made is in left field, where Little could safely stick with Jose Cruz Jr., or he could use Joel Guzman's spring to convince him to give the kid a shot. I wouldn't bet on it, though.
- Who Might Catch a Break: Ramon Martinez has already made the team, so he's one. Generally speaking, when you're expected to win, it takes a pretty bold manager (see Cox, Bobby) to keep a couple of rookies for anything from a key role to last man on the bench. Little's boldest surprise picks seem to be his sudden taste for Jason Repko, and the decision to keep Hong-Chih Kuo as the situational lefty. Also, if he's healthy enough, I wouldn't be surprised to see Eric Gagne flirt with breaking the saves record.
- What to Watch For: Pushbutton managing in a sense that's far more true to the term: scripted bullpen usage roles, scrupulous observation of veteran pecking order, and nothing resembling a tactical surprise being sprung on the other guys. But with a rotation that's relying on Brett Tomko and Aaron Sele, will he develop a quick hook this summer? Will the enthusiasm for Repko survive the return of veteran Jayson Werth from the DL?
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