It's a little early, don't you think? I mean, the Nationals are headed to the post-season, so whose stop sign will Bryce Harper run through after Thursday???

I guess the Astros REALLY want this season to be over with, NOW!

It's a little early, don't you think? I mean, the Nationals are headed to the post-season, so whose stop sign will Bryce Harper run through after Thursday???

At least according to MLB Trade Rumors,

Porter will remain with Washington until they complete their postseason run.

Congrats, Mr. Porter. Those jobs are extremely hard to come by. Good luck in the playoffs.

Congratulations Bo, this is well deserved. You sure have your work cut out for you though! You'll always have a warm spot in my heart for telling that idiotic loser Jamie Quirk to shut his big stupid mouth a few weeks ago.

Way to go Bo. Good guy, gives too many green lights IMO, but is widely respected and beloved by the players, so he's got that going for him. It's a thankless job -- the worst team in the Majors, now playing in a harder league! -- but everyone has to pay their dues by starting on the bottom rung.

Well, unless you're Robin Ventura. Or Mike Matheny. But otherwise, yeah.

Good for him. He'll do a nice job.

WTF is Bo Porter?

I'll always remember Bo Porter as one of the litany of failed Cub hitting prospects coming up in the 20 years between Mark Grace and Geovany Soto.

On the plus side, he's an Iowa boy. So go Bo.

I rooted for him as a prospect and coach - good on 'em.

WTF is Bo Porter?

The FE and comments didn't give it away?

Another plus: Porter's not a Texan by birth, but he is by choice -- has lived in the Houston 'burbs for years now. So this is the home-team job for him.

I'm Roger Clemens, and I approve this message.

The FE and comments didn't give it away?

I realize he's the Nats 3rd base coach, but besides that? Who did he play for? Has he managed in minors? Is he related to Darryl? Why is he a good managerial candidate?

Has there ever in the history of baseball been a third base coach that had a reputation of always doing a good job?

Maybe they're hoping he's the next Robin Ventura.

Is he related to Darryl?

He doesn't look much like Darrell.

Is he related to Darryl?

I kind of doubt it.

He doesn't look much like Darrell.

OK, had no idea he was black. Bo Porter sounds like a white southern guy.

Fangraphs had an interview with Bo Porter earlier this summer, previewing him as a likely future manager. That interview provides some glimpses of his managerial philosophy.

I realize he's the Nats 3rd base coach, but besides that? Who did he play for? Has he managed in minors? Is he related to Darryl? Why is he a good managerial candidate?

Couldn't you ask this about dozens of people who have been hired to manage in the big leagues for the first time? He's a coach for a team enjoying some success right now, and he's apparently gotten some looks before.

I think of Porter as an Iowa Cub, but he bounced around the minors for a decade and had brief stints with three big league teams (including getting a hit v. the Yankees in his only playoff PA while with Oakland). A would-be 4th outfielder, he was strong without significant long ball power - more of a gap guy, fast (once stole 50+ bases in a minor league season) but not a great baserunner, patient but contact troubles kept his average down, could play all three outfield spots but not an asset with the glove (A's cited defense when they ditched him, iirc). A classic - 'if he can get 10% better at everything you've really got something' guy, but it never happened. Considered a hard worker as a player (was a 40th round pick - primarily a football player at Iowa). Retired kind of young (~30), spent a year in the minors as a coach, another as a manager, then got called up and has been a big league coach for a few clubs since. Luhnow called him charismatic - I've seen similar comments in the past.

The quick hire may have been to keep the Marlins from hiring him - he'd coached for them previously (gave him his start in the minors) and he was linked to Ozzie's job.

qualifications:

career minor leaguer

IMPORTANT!!! has a "football mentality" whatever the ff that means - encourages steroid use? likes to hit the dummies? wants instant replay? likes to hurt people? likes to run? believes that ballplayers should all suck as bad as darin erstad with the bat?

whatever

oh yeah - he ALREADY lives here in houston so the club doesn't have to pay any moving expenses and it will be dead easy to plug him with all the Astros charity thingys he'll have to do around town

1 year as a manager at low A

2 years as a 3rd base coach

1 year of having to "work with" jeffrey loria, so he really DOES get the idea of "work with" like he's gonna have to do with the new stats gang.

BEST OF ALL - almost impossible to to cutesy-poo up his name
can't call him bo-ie, port-ie, porter-ie port-a-bo

well, we all knew there was zero chance that anyone with a good reputation was gonna interview OR be hired
he'll be minimum wage, like millsie-poo was

I always thought he should have gotten more of a chance -- think he could have been a solid 4th OF in his prime. Good guy.

Good guy, gives too many green lights IMO,

Nothing to do with you in specific, but the break-even points on sending guys home are a lot lower than most people think, especially with 2 outs. If there are 2 outs and a guy on second and someone hits a single you only need about a 45% chance of scoring for it to be the right move (run expectation wise -- obv if you are down by a few runs the odds shift against sending, and if it is a tie game the odds shift towards sending). And of course there's a lot of variance in the throw. So even sends that result in the guy getting thrown out by 10 feet might not necessarily be egregious.

(these odds are easily deduceable from the run expectancy table)

Tim Flannery (SF 3B coach) seems to be extremely well thought of in the Bay Area.

Porter will remain with Washington until they complete their postseason run.

Imagine that, let a guy complete his responsibilities this season before starting next year's job. College football, are you listening?

I don't think I've ever heard of a guy being named manager for a new team while still continuing to work for another team. I guess he hasn't been "officially" named as such, but this seems like poor protocol.

Strangely, I thought he gave too many stop signs. I can easily think of 4-5 times he gave a player a stop sign that was ignored that actually didn't cost the team an out.

Porter twice interviewed for managerial openings with the Marlins and also was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ job after the 2010 season.

Saying he was a "finalist" for the Pirates' job is overstating it. Porter was interviewed primarily because the Pirates had to interview a minority candidate; he was never going to get the job.

-- MWE

Tim Flannery (SF 3B coach) seems to be extremely well thought of in the Bay Area.

Funny, when he was coaching 3B for the Padres we used to call him The Windmill. Probably he was fine, as #23 points out, it is usually good to be aggressive. But it sure seemed like he had never heard of a stop sign.

My view is that if your 3rd base isn't getting absolutely killed for sending too many guys, he isn't sending enough guys.

Imagine that, let a guy complete his responsibilities this season before starting next year's job. College football, are you listening?

Well, I don't think Bo would be going out to recruit likely free agents from non-playoff teams (though maybe he might have a smooth patter when dealing with their mothers).

Fangraphs had an interview with Bo Porter earlier this summer, previewing him as a likely future manager. That interview provides some glimpses of his managerial philosophy.

I thought his answers were excellent and it's pretty easy to see why his name came up as a future manager. With the roster he has, hopefully they give him plenty of leeway his first few years.

On the other hand, Manny Acta gave all the right answers too and he just got canned again.

Well I wish the guy well but as an As fan I hope he's just an entertaining guy unable to motivate third string players to impossible feats, like winning.....

not sure what giving all the right answers has to do with actual managing major league baseball

and i'm wondering if the reason he was picked is that he was a AAAA guy, just like most all the rest of the guys he's managing.

3rd string players only win big in the movies

Needs 1282 wins to match Cap Anson for managerial victories by former Iowa Hawkeyes.

But will the Astros give him a 19-year contract?

Another plus: Porter's not a Texan by birth, but he is by choice -- has lived in the Houston 'burbs for years now.

Making bad choices isn't something you want to see in a managerial candidate.

I can't think of anything less relevant to a guy's managerial abilities than his green light/red light skills as a third base coach.

Making bad choices isn't something you want to see in a managerial candidate.

Yeah, academics who live in Texas because they happened to get a job there are one thing, but choosing to live there?

I guess the cost of living is low compared to the coasts, but that's no reason for a rich guy to choose to live there (yes, I know about the state income tax thing, but geez, you have money so you can afford to live somewhere nice).

I remember Porter as an A's Rule 5 draftee who played a few games. I had no idea that he was still in baseball. This gives me hope for Jay Marshall and Mike Neu.

Like Porter, Neu also went into coaching. He is now the pitching coach at Cal.

Anyone know what happened with Neu anyway? His minor league career was marked by great K/BB ratios, despite modest stuff. He got Rule 5 picked, and posted a good ERA in his lone big league year, but walked more than he struck out. He went back down to the minors the next year and was terrible. Pitched another year in the minors, was terrible again and, apparently, retired at 27. Weird career.