Wakamatsu
Larry Stone checks in with a quote from Wakamatsu saying he hasn’t heard anything yet, and a Mariners source saying they haven’t offered the job to anyone yet. None of this directly contradicts the KING 5 report from this morning that Wakamatsu is the choice, but it seems unlikely that an official announcement will come today. At least, not in the terms of a press conference.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Jamey Newberg, the esteemed leader of the The Newberg Report, had to say about Wakamatsu:
Love him. Players love him. Cool under pressure. Lots of integrity.
By all accounts, he’s a very calm, mild mannered person. He’s not going to berate players or throw dirt on the umpire. But the people who have worked with him speak glowingly of his character and hold him in very high regard, and if he can simultaneously command respect without being loud and angry, then he has the skills to be a very good leader of men.
That sounds very promising.
when would a baseball manager need that skill?
all kidding aside, I appreciate it when someone shows those qualities. Too many times though, “cool under pressure” gets interpreted as “not enough intensity”. Darned if you do…
Sounds like a good guy. As far as I can tell, a baseball manager needs to do three things:
-Play reasonably smart.
-Be a good leader. This is probably especially important when you’re trying to develop talent.
-Talk well to the media.
Any idea how smart he’ll be? My guess is that if he was working for the A’s, he’s not going to be too dumb, but I don’t really know how much influence their FO has on the field management. I could see Beane wanting to hire Brian Bannister as a coach in the future though.
Will he talk well to the media?
All fathers have that look, often shot back over the shoulder but not always, that tells you in no uncertain terms that the conversation is OVER or that you’d better do what you were told NOW. So if this guy isn’t going to be throwing second base around or covering home plate with dirt (my all-time favorite Lou memory), will he be employing “the look” instead? I really really don’t want another manager that players and umpires know they can push around.
It’s the experience with Buck Showalter that has me psyched.
Dang, first Zduriencik, now Wakamatsu. I predict lots of moderator comments in the [Piniella]/[Pineiro]/[Niehaus] fashion for the next season.
Nahhhh….there’ll zillions of posts screaming for his head from Day One because “We somebody WITH FIRE as manager!!!!!!!”
Well, with Zduriencik, sure, but Wakamatsu??? In THIS town???? Straightforward phonetic spelling….
Sounds like Bob Melvin.
I’m getting a Tyrone Willingham vibe. Hopefully it will translate better to baseball than it did to Husky football.
Willingham’s problem is he can’t recruit worth beans, and so doesn’t have the talent to win. With the M’s, whoever’s in the dugout also won’t have the talent to win, but that will be someone else’s problem. He sounds like a worthy candidate for the job; he also sounds like one of Zduriencik’s kind of people.
of course, in his time with the Ms, Melvin got tossed from more games than Lou did with Tampa.
Kirby Arnold and Hickey both say “not so fast, Paul Silvi”
Hickey also had some very good news on Monday:
“And Greg Hunter, the club’s director of player development the last two seasons, will be reassigned within the organization, should he choose to accept the new position.”
Along with Looper’s departure and a couple of other moves, maybe this means we won’t see our prospects turn into stars in other organizations.
I am still holding out for Cora.
C’mon, you can’t tell me you don’t want to see lil’ Joey go nuts on an umpire.
I don’t want to see Cora going Ozzie Guillen on his players and reporters.
Give me measured and responsible – which it sounds like Wakamatsu is – any day over crazy and emotional. Both have their place, but it seems in most professions that the former is more successfull over the long run than the later.
There is also the argument that Willingham has failed to develop the players he has recruited.
This comparison is more apt to the Mariner’s manager. Can the new skipper convince the youngsters that working the pitch count, mixing up their pitch selection, and working hard at fielding drills is important?
the Times says it’s him –
M’s to name Wakamatsu manager
Wakamatsu is confirmed to be the new manager according to Baker’s blog.
wabbles –
Sorry for the threadjack here, but [deleted, threadjack]