It’s Official: Welcome Don Wakamatsu
KING 5 either broke the story or guessed right this morning, depending on your point of view, but Baker et al confirm that there’s a press conference tomorrow to name Don Wakamatsu as the new manager of the Mariners.
As we’ve said hundreds of times here, the field manager matters a lot less in baseball than in most sports. For the most part, they’re all very similar – they basically all do the same things, so the difference from one to another is mostly minor. There are a few guys who definitely have an impact on their clubs one way or another, but the majority of them are all pretty much the same.
However, I still think we should be encouraged by this hiring. Not necessarily because we have any reason to think that Wakamatsu will be one of those few that make a significant positive impact, but because of the way this entire process was handled. I know a lot of you were concerned when Zduriencik was hired that this was just going to be more of the same, with huge amounts of micro-managing from Armstrong and Lincoln, and a perpetuation of old school, 20th century ways of running an organization.
Instead, we’ve seen Zduriencik clean house in the front office, make his #2 guy a man with significant statistical leanings and empower him to create a department of baseball research, and now interviewed seven managerial candidates with no experience and picked the guy whose reputation is for being extremely well prepared in pregame analysis and comes from the A’s organization. In picking Wakamatsu, he bypassed Joey Cora, who was clearly the guy the suits upstairs had a preference for, and went with the man he felt was best equipped to help this team win.
There’s no way to describe the last month as anything but total and utter change of direction. And that, in and of itself, is encouraging.
Welcome to Seattle, Don Wakamatsu. Please win.
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Happy to see the news.
I would have taken the hiring of Cora as an ominous sign.
I love the hire. I totally agree that the organization is being set up well. It’s early, but so far, I am a big fan of our new GM.
And….
Can we have a mortorium on “He’s got no passion! We gotta have a manager with FIRE!” whines for at least two years?
I like the hire.
I liked Brad Mills alot as well, but this was my second choice. I’m glad this is over, I would like to see how Gmz handles the roster for 2009. Now we can see.
Zduriencik certainly appears to making a pretty sharp break from the past. When Zduriencik was hired I had reservations because I suspected that he got the job because he was the closest to what Lincoln and Armstrong had been expecting from Bavasi. If so, that would have meant the front office was staying the previously mapped course, and simply putting different hands on the tiller.
Zduriencik is allaying those concerns. In addition to the changes noted above, he also changed the head of minor league operations, replacing Greg Hunter with Pedro Grifol. I note that Zduriencik promoted from within to fill the slot and didn’t bring in his own guy. That suggests to me that this isn’t a situation of just bringing someone with whom he is comfortable working. I hope this change reflects that he disagrees with the way the Mariners have run the minor league operation and viewed Hunter as part of the problem.
In fact, the replacement of Hunter may be much more significant than which of the Magnificant Seven was selected as field manager.
Yeah, I don’t know anything about Wakamatsu, but as Dave said, just the process itself has been a huge encouragement. At first I was really afraid he’d go with Yost, then I thought Cora looked like a shoe-in. Not that he would have been disasterous, but I love the fact that everything done so far is pointing in a new direction.
This hope feeling….it’s so…positive…I…I think I like it!
Bring on the roster!
Totally agree. I think Z stated early on that having a comprehensive player development approach – from A ball on up – was crucial to the organization’s success. Reading between the lines, it seemed obvious that he recognized it was lacking, and he’s getting it fixed.
Yeah, Greg Hunter’s dismissal was the most interesting for me as well. It’s no good to have Bobby Cox in the dugout if his farm system keeps sending him hackers and fastballers. I’m liking what I see so far as well and hope that Wakamatsu can have the kind of first season impact (18-win improvement and a winning record) that another long ago (now) manager had after taking over for an organizational favorite….
Hmmm…I suspected that, but didn’t have the reasoning to support it. Glad to see other people think the same way, but with way more reason to.
And that’s another very good point. Interesting…
So far…so good…on both GM and Manager…IMHO! Now…let’s see some roster moves!
What Dave said. Zduriencik has accomplished something that, to me, at least, is a major task; he’s made me think that he and his team are worth paying attention to and might do something interesting over the next few years.
Part of the problem with Bavasi was that the only interesting part of it all was arguing over if Sexson or Silva was the worse contract. It used to be interesting to discuss what the worst trade was, but then moves were made to settle that issue….
I for one welcome the age of unspellable names in Seattle. Huzzah!
And… what’s the over/under for how long it takes to assign him some Fozzie bear related nickname?
Doug Mientkiewicz, anyone?
do we know anything about the new cross-checker?
Although it’s hard to say for sure which is the best candidate for the managerial job from the outside looking in, I feel that Zduriencik picked the best one of the bunch (even though Brad Mills was my initial guess).
Going back to those conference calls after the candidate finishes their interview, Wakamatsu believes with the right moves and belief system installed this team can win in a hurry. He also believes it’s important to be on the same page (as Zduriencik).
Things look very encouraging that we’re going to see a truely different and positive top down message than what we’ve been putting up with up until this point. I like what I’m seeing.
Given all the recent changes in the organization and the focus on player development, I wonder how Wakamatsu fits into that picture.
I really like the fact that Zduriencik seems to have come at his job with a plan. Given that his moves have been very decisive, I’m interested to see how this hiring fits into the overall direction for the team.
Don is a up and coming young manager. People might not know much about him, but he has a very astute baseball mind. He is from Arizona State’s fine baseball program and was a leader as a player for the Sun Devils.
He didn’t have the skills of an outstanding MLB
player, although he did have a cup of coffee a couple of times. If he worked in Oakland you know that Billy Bean liked him, and that is always a plus.
Great Hire!
But his last name is Japanese, ergo, he’s Japanese! And that means the only reason he was hired was because Japanese ownership wanted a Japanese manager!
I like the hire, certainly more than Joey Cora. But good lord, some people need to get off the manager retread bandwagon.
I think you mean Billy Beane, not Billy Bean . . .
apparently Wakamatsu has a background in player development
and he loves the FungoMan
First Zduriencik and now Wakamatsu. I’m never going to spell them correctly.
I dunno, Billy Bean might like him too.
Wikipedia points out that all of his big league starts as a catcher were for Charlie Hough.
Maybe he’ll have a good strategy for R.A. Dickey…
LMAO
Dave…support for this?
Seems like there are three possibilities here:
– the front office was never composed of ‘micro-managers’ (Washburn and Kenji nothwithstanding)
– they are micro-managers, and thus forced Wakamatsu on Z
– they are former micro-managers who have finally come to their senses…and perhaps even agreed with Z’s decision
But in any case, I don’t see where the Cora theory has weight.
from Geoff Baker’s blog:
“There were people within the Mariners organization who favored Joey Cora for the job. But in the end, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik got total say over the decision and Wakamatsu was his man. In the end, the team’s ownership, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Chris Larson and others, did have to approve the choice. But it’s now done.”
“micro-managers who was persuaded by Zduriencik to do the right thing.”
Ergo, ‘people in the organization’ = ’suits upstairs’?
In any case, the point is this: does this not force a reconsideration of ‘micro managing’ meme?
So, they wouldn’t let Bavasi persuade them to do the right thing…or Bavasi didn’t try to persuade them…or Bavasi confused their little heads with bad baseball decisions which they mindlessly accepted? Which one?
This is the heart of Dave’s argument, which deserves a lot of attention. But it’s not helped by bringing up what now appear to be outdated operating beliefs. Could this all revert? I guess. But now I think it’s time to enjoy a little rare optimism.
Yes!
Let’s welcome in the new era with a general excitement reserved for a winning season.
here is a Susan Slusser piece from the start of the year
Well Jack Z is really shaking things up and this is another good sign. Unlike many on this blog, I felt the M’s FO was sincere in seeking to go in a new, different direction and all signs seem to point that they are headed the right way.
Most interesting, exciting offseason in years!
And yes, you will now be expected to spell Wakamatsu correctly, as well as Zduriencik.
The fact that Zduriencik already has enough influence in the organization to say no to Joey Cora is great news.
As I noted in the previous thread, Wakamatsu as new manager really sounds like the public description of Bob Melvin when the M’s hired him. Quotes in the P-I indicate Wakamatsu is—as was Melvin—”very detailed, very organized,” and “a good communicator.” If Melvin’s managing career is any indication, the M’s need to surround Wakka with talent, or he may unfortunately fail no matter how effectively he can plan and communicate.
Good news.
Now go sign Baldelli and a decent DH.
Just saying.
I’m pretty sure any manager is going to fail without talent.
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
We have a winner!!!!
I don’t see a lot of relevance to the comparisons between Melvin’s experience and what Wakamatsu will be facing, even if there is some superficial resemblance between the things being said about them. Melvin inherited, nearly intact, a team that had won 300 games in the prior three seasons and was rapidly aging. He drove the bus too hard his first year (there was a reason nobody had ever not given a spot start with a five-man rotation before, Bob) and whether that contributed to it or not, the next year the bus broke down. Wakamatsu will face pretty much tabula rasa after writing “Ichiro RF” at the top of his lineup card and “Felix, SP” for his Opening Day starter. We have no idea who many of the remaining players will be, with significant trade possibilities (Beltre), gaping holes in the lineup (LF, CF, DH, 1B), and a huge number of underperforming men under contract. What Zduriencik does with all that is anyone’s guess at this point, but it would be a major upset if Wakamatsu walks into the clubhouse in February and there aren’t a significant number of new faces to mold into a ballclub, as opposed to the dysfunctional piece of crap we had last year.
I look forward to seeing what he does with it.
Yes. Now to work guys -
Ichiro back to CF
Baldelli to RF
Milton Bradley DH share some time in RF
Cabrera to SS
Let Reed/Balentien/Morse take care of LF
Lets get some OFFENSE going!!!!
Ultimate would be to add Texiera at 1st but I am already being too optimistic!!!
Adding Tex at first would never happen, and if it did, it would be a horrible move…
Now on to the hiring. I am freakin’ stoked! The Wakamatsu hiring is big step forward for a company that didn’t want to model the A’s franchise in any way, and refused to give them credit. Color me excited!
Sounds like a good hire…very pleased with Z to this point…
apparently, so is Robert Alan Dickey
The more I hear, the better I like. The one thing that concerns me is that he’s never managed before; that’s balanced somewhat by the fact that he apprenticed as bench coach under Buck Showalter, who’d be a HOF manager if he were an easier person to work with.
well, a “teammate” of Tex’s told Jon Heyman the M’s are on the loooooong list of suitors, so it must be true.
Does anyone know when the press conference will be to announce Wakamatsu?
Breadbaker: I don’t see a lot of relevance to the comparisons between Melvin’s experience and what Wakamatsu will be facing, even if there is some superficial resemblance between the things being said about them.
You’re right; I was merely commenting on the similar way the two were described to the Seattle public prior and subsequent to their hires.
cowabunga: I’m pretty sure any manager is going to fail without talent.
Thanks for the confirmation… I was just continuing my Waka/Melvin comparison by noting if the M’s want Wakamatsu to succeed they need to give him a better team than the aging vets they gave Melvin.
and OHHHH is Silvi ticked that everyone “second-guessed” him …
wakka, waka …
according to Alvin Davis, his nickname is Wak.
He’s managed in the minors – at both rookie and AA I believe…
But I wouldn’t be concerned about it either way.
per, the Times:
Minor-league coaching: Record of 215-248 as manager. California League manager of the year with Class A High Desert in 1998, and also managed at A Peoria (1997), AA El Paso (1999) and AA Erie (2000). Minor-league coordinator and roving catching instructor for the Angels (2001-02). Also served in Diamondbacks, Indians and Cubs organizations.
Major-league coaching: With Rangers 2003-07, first three as bench coach, and served as manager for two games when Buck Showalter was hospitalized. Third-base coach in 2007. Was bench coach last season for Oakland Athletics.
I’m calling him “Wilbur”, or maybe “Willie D”, or DeeDub, or “Double D”, or maybe…..
The press conference is at 1:30PM PST today
I am guessing that the kanji for his surname Wakamatsu are 若松 (which is a rather well-known surname). They mean “Like a pine.” But, as with other language groups, the formation of the 2 words was not the seed for the surname, and no one in Japan thinks about pine trees when they here the name… except if maybe they are nick-naming. Well, if someone can confirm the kanji, then there you have it. Piney. (Sounds like Piniella, no?)
JerBear, msb — thanks, I missed that. I shouldn’t have, since now that it’s mentioned, I remember reading that he was the Cal League MOY in ‘98.
And the reason for being concerned would be that people who’ve never managed before at any level before being hired at the major-league level tend not to find great success. As noted, though, his apprenticeship under Showalter would tend to mitigate that anyway.
I hate to interrupt the love fest, but are we sure Cora was the one the suits wanted (we know it’s who the press wanted)? Wakamatsu is, after all, the first ever Asian-American manager, and the M’s are still, basically, owned by Nintendo. Just throwing it out there.
Ken Rosenthal speculates that this could lead to Rick Peterson as the pitching coach. Now that would be an interesting development.
all we know is what Stone/Baker wrote:
“Some team officials were highly supportive of bringing Cora back to replace Jim Riggleman, who was not interviewed for the job he took over on an interim basis after John McLaren was fired June 19. But Zduriencik was given total control over his first managerial hire and allowed to move forward with Wakamatsu, who becomes the team’s fourth manager in just more than 16 months.”
hey! so did I! who knew Ken and I were so simpatico.
Nice, msb, I missed that earlier. Way to be ahead of the curve on the rumormongering.
sigh. the KJR radio audience weighs in:
Wakamatsu was hired because he was cheap. Because he’ll be a puppet. Because he has no ego.
Mr. Peterson has a Wikipedia page if anyone is interested.
Hopefully he won’t ‘fix’ Felix.
I can’t believe little Joey Cora didn’t get picked! He’s so special! If only Rick Rizzs was the GM, he would’ve picked Joey for sure.
For reals, though. If Zduriencik keeps making rational decisions like this, I might have to stop complaining about how poorly the M’s are run. Maybe I’ll even have time for a new hobby or something.
King5 tracked Wakamatsu down at SeaTac last night.
Don was very polite about being kept from his wife and baggage claim by a series of inane questions. He might also want to talk to Valle about that hair replacement doc.
awesome green tie on Jack today.
very Seahawksian.
Yeah, I saw the King5 thing and my first thought was “Keep the baseball hat on, buddy.” My second thought: he has a pretty hot wife.
I don’t know why people are complaining about his name. It is phonetic. I just wonder what we’ll call him for short. DonWak? D-Wak? Wacky?
A friend got stuck on his name last night and stuttered it a bit.
Waka-waka-waka
Sounds like Pac Man.
At first, I thought Wakamatsu was Japanese or something. I went ‘wow, that’s pretty cool’. Then I saw his picture.
I still think it’s pretty cool, the upside of picking someone outside of the old boys network is a lot higher than the same old stuff.
If the M’s get Peterson, that would be really good for them, although he wasn’t able to fix Victor Zambrano in 15 minutes, like he said.
they’ve been playing the Fozzie Bear “wakkawakka” audio drop all morning on KJR.
They obviously don’t hang out around any Japanese Americans or Japanese…..
well, the presser was very encouraging. I assume it’ll be up on the M’s site before long.
egreenlaw9 on November 18th, 2008 5:46 pm
And… what’s the over/under for how long it takes to assign him some Fozzie bear related nickname?
Hmm I’ll take the under, since it was done two days ago at LookoutLanding (if not countless other times elsewhere)…
Ha!
I don’t read LL – only enough time in the day for one baseball blog – but that’s awesome!
I liked the comment Zduriencik made during the press conference when he said he wanted someone to help create a ‘Mariners way’ to win, or something to that effect. I got the impression they realize they need to change the culture completely and feel empowered to do that. So, optimistic about this process so far.
Anyone else notice he had #16? So long Willie Bloomquist.
I propose we all make the easy transition from Johnny Mac to Donny Wak.
I was thinking the same thing on Willie.
ahhh … for those still missing Mt. Lou, here is Buck on Wakamatsu:
“If you see his left eye quivering, he’s about to snap,” Showalter said. “It’s a beautiful thing. When Wak starts to twitch in his left eye, get out of the way.”
KJR has the link up now to the lengthy interview with Zduriencik this morning where he didn’t immediately embrace bringing back Jr or Raul and talks about not drafting short pitchers
Wakamatsu-san, ganbatte kudasai!
(roughly “do your best”/”good luck”)