McLaren announces coaching staff
If you haven’t heard by now, John McLaren’s announced 80% of his coaching staff for the 2008 season – Jim Riggleman as bench coach, Eddie Rodriguez as first base coach, Mel Stottlemyre as pitching coach, Norm Charlton as bullpen coach, and Larry Bowa as the candidate-of-choice to be the third base coach.
I’m sure they’ll get offended by this, but by and large, major league coaches don’t really matter. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, these guys real job title is John McLaren’s Drinking Buddy. They’re around to make McLaren more comfortable, and their impact on the players on-field actions is going to be minimal.
However, it’s nearly impossible to not see the obvious trend here. We rode McLaren pretty hard in the second half for his ridiculous love of veteran players, and it’s not hard to see that McLaren went back to the experience well when picking these guys. Clearly, he values track record above almost anything else in decision making, and he’s far more comfortable with someone who has experience than someone who doesn’t.
Considering he’s Lou Piniella’s understudy, that shouldn’t come as any real surprise. Piniella hated young players, especially young pitchers, during his early years in Seattle. He mellowed as the years went on, but McLaren certainly has Piniella-ish tendencies when it comes to the experience bias.
If the coaching staff he chose is any indication, I’d expect another year of Rick White type inexplicable decisions, with old guys getting the longest leash imaginable and unproven players sitting around watching.
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107 Responses to “McLaren announces coaching staff”
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Man, this new Mariner coaching staff certainly seems to be missing that gritty, veteran presence that is required for any baseball successful. I insist that McLaren re-stock the positions with these obvious candidates:
Bench coach – Connie Mack
Hitting coach – Ty Cobb
Pitching coach – Christy Matthewson
First Base coach – Frank Chance
Third Base coach – John McGraw
Bullpen coach – Hoyt Wilhelm (to add some new, modern ideas into the mix)
With a brain trust like that, we can guarantee victory!!!
(I know, I know, I added an extra “t” in Mathewson)
#102
Are Honus Wagner, Branch Rickey, and Sparky Anderson not available?
oh, Sparky is waaaaaay too busy.
101 -But…but…what about Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown???
And also, Sparky is still kicking around.
I vote Satchel Paige for bullpen coach. 😮
Lots of talk out there about Bowa joining Torre & Mattingly in Chavez Ravine. Was this the “personal matter” that was holding up Larry officially announcing with the M’s?
I like Bowa at third. I won’t say he’s got grit–but he’s sure got spit and fire. Having him as a counterpoint to “Get-Along Mac” would seem to be a good idea.
If Bowa is going to bleed Dodger blue next year…who’s next in line?
And please tell me its not the coach who held Lofton on third base…I really couldn’t take MORE poor decisions out of the 3B base coach box this coming year…