Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Veteran player Jason Giambi will interview for the Rockies vacant managerial job, though no date has been set. He will be the last in-house candidate before the Rockies talk to other candidates. There is no timetable for a hiring.
Assistant general manager Bill Geivett said Monday that the Rockies will look outside the organization, but “we haven’t begun narrowing that list at this point.”
Giambi, 41, has never coached at any level. He underwent hernia surgery last week to keep open the option of playing in 2013, delaying a potential meeting with Rockies executives. Though he has no experience running a team, Giambi has worked with Rockies players on their hitting and talked strategy frequently with former field boss Jim Tracy.
The Rockies met for two days last week with bench coach Tom Runnells, interviewing him for the managerial position. Triple-A manager Stu Cole remains a candidate for a coaching position, but not the Rockies’ top spot.
No interview is planned for Vinny Castilla at this point
” cols=“100” rows=“20”> 
Veteran player Jason Giambi will interview for the Rockies vacant managerial job, though no date has been set. He will be the last in-house candidate before the Rockies talk to other candidates. There is no timetable for a hiring.
Assistant general manager Bill Geivett said Monday that the Rockies will look outside the organization, but “we haven’t begun narrowing that list at this point.”
Giambi, 41, has never coached at any level. He underwent hernia surgery last week to keep open the option of playing in 2013, delaying a potential meeting with Rockies executives. Though he has no experience running a team, Giambi has worked with Rockies players on their hitting and talked strategy frequently with former field boss Jim Tracy.
The Rockies met for two days last week with bench coach Tom Runnells, interviewing him for the managerial position. Triple-A manager Stu Cole remains a candidate for a coaching position, but not the Rockies’ top spot.
No interview is planned for Vinny Castilla at this point
|
Support BBTF
Thanks to
Guts
for his generous support.
Bookmarks
You must be logged in to view your Bookmarks.
Hot Topics
Newsblog: Cafardo: Dustin Pedroia the best second baseman in MLB? (8 - 10:48am, May 19)Last: BDCNewsblog: Weiner: The Supreme Court Judge and the Curt Flood Case reenactment (1 - 10:41am, May 19)Last: The Clarence Thomas of BBTF (scott)Newsblog: [OTP-May] Politico: Congressional baseball game, May 1, 1926 (3284 - 10:39am, May 19)Last: BDCNewsblog: Holmes: Where does Miguel Cabrera rank among Tiger greats? (29 - 10:34am, May 19)Last: bobmNewsblog: Hal Steinbrenner calls tickets 'affordable' (3 - 10:29am, May 19)Last: Bob TuftsNewsblog: OMNICHATTER for May 19, 2013 (2 - 10:27am, May 19)Last: GamingboyNewsblog: BtBS: Kevin Gregg Re-emerges in Chicago (1 - 10:26am, May 19)Last: Walks Clog Up the BasesNewsblog: BBTF SOFTBALL GAME IN NEW YORK--AUG 17 (297 - 10:18am, May 19)Last: RB in NYC (Now Semi-Retired from BBTF)Newsblog: Draft Features Rarest of Prospects: Redheads (39 - 10:08am, May 19)Last: GGC don't think it can get longer than a novellaNewsblog: Hochman: Dallas Green still tells it like it is (2 - 10:07am, May 19)Last: Bob TuftsNewsblog: Hold tight on that Moreland Express | Dallas-Fort Worth Sports News - Sports News on the Dall... (2 - 10:03am, May 19)Last: SpiveyNewsblog: MLB’s Best and Worst Catchers at Framing Pitches - Bloomberg Sports (1 - 10:03am, May 19)Last: bobmNewsblog: Phil Wood: It's time for baseball to use technology to make sure umps get it right (8 - 9:47am, May 19)Last: Jose Can Still SeabiscuitNewsblog: Murray Chass: ARE RED SOX REELING ALREADY? (2 - 9:22am, May 19)Last: Biff, highly-regarded young guyNewsblog: OT: The Soccer Thread, May 2013 (804 - 9:20am, May 19)Last: Mefisto
|
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. deputydrew Posted: October 16, 2012 at 01:58 PM (#4272512)What is it with the Rockies and announcing what they aren't doing?
- They're not moving to the Cayman Islands.
- They're not replacing the Coors with Asahi.
- They're not switching to all cotton uniforms.
The other Rockies' candidates that I've heard mentioned are Tom Runnells, the failed Expos manager who pulled that stunt wearing military fatigues to spring training about 20 years ago. And then there's Stu Cole, the Rockies' Triple-A manager who has been working the minors for the past decade.
They didn't announce it (at least, not unprompted). The Post's beat writer reported that, because as long as they're talking former players as candidates, Vinny's on a lot of people's minds around here.
Giambi has been the team's de facto hitting coach the past couple of years, and the younger players speak glowingly of how he's helped them not just at the plate but in their overall approach to the game. I suspect he'd be a good manager of people, and his style at the plate leads me to think he might know how to build an offense, too. He might need help with the more tactical stuff, but he can always hire a good bench coach to help with that. And there's no reason to think Giambi would be bad at that, either.
Plus, it wold be a lot of fun.
Vinny still works in the Rockies' front office.
This is how the blurb ends on the front page of the Newsstand, and my first thought was, "But that's the opposite of what hernia surgery is supposed to do!"
Sorry, I have nothing of more value to add.
Party like a rock star, hammer like a porn star, rake like an all-star, manager like a .....
Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, is the Rockies' plan for next season.
FUBAR
LaRuss-star.
Warren Brusstar.
Seems like he'll at very least be a hitting coach or some other sort of coach. The Rockies players loved him. They supposedly asked him not just about hitting, but all sorts of stuff. (Though, that leaves a lot up to the imagination. "How do you get a girl to write her number on a baseball and not draw attention to yourself.")
Funny - that was my first thought, except that he sucked, and never managed.
According to the BBRef database, the only manager in history with "star" in his name was Joe Start, who managed 25 games in 1873.
"What is the best style and material for slump-busting thongs, or do we really need to wear the exact pair you have worn on your sweaty, greasy man parts?"
brain in a jar! (I miss Gene Rayburn).
Also possible he's delusional, of course.
The Rockies had a pretty funny commercial in their rotation last season showing Giambi delivering pearls of wisdom to his teammates in Yoda-speak.
Don Baylor would fall into the same category. And arguably Dusty Baker.
(I may be misremembering but IIRC correctly "the Giambino" is a John Sterling creation.)
Cito Gaston would be another example. It's not a typical path to the manager job, but it isn't unprecedented.
And now I can only hear this awesome funky tune in my head.
I knew this quote, but just couldn't place it. The best guess I could come up with was The Princess Bride. Turns out it's Sherlock Holmes.
Missed it by that much.
Hal McRae
Just scanning the list of managers on bb-ref, in addition to those already mentioned (and excluding player-managers):
- Felipe Alou
- Hank Bauer
- Buddy Bell
- Yogi Berra
- Ken Boyer
- Max Carey
- Del Crandall
- Alvin Dark
- Freddie Fitzsimmons
- Jim Fregosi
- Joe Gordon
- Stan Hack
- Mike Hargrove
- Pinky Higgins
- Gil Hodges
- Frank Howard
- Davey Johnson
- Walter Johnson
- Harvey Kuenn
- Bob Lemon
- Eddie Lopat
- Davey Lopes
- Eddie Mathews
- Tony Perez
- Johnny Pesky
- Willie Randolph
- Red Schoendienst
- Joe Torre
- Alan Trammell
- Mickey Vernon
- Ted Williams
- Maury Wills
And many people would like to forget that Wills did :-)
I'd just like to fourth the thread consensus that Jason Giambi, major league manager, needs to happen.
Also Frank Robinson.
A couple of others who might merit inclusion would be Joe Adcock and Jim Lemon.
an earthstar.
After all, his teammates say he's a fun guy.
Bobby Valentine is available.
I loved that. It was completely brilliant and fun.
The Rockies managers in the past have either been Uncle Robbies (Hurdle) or Peerless Leaders (Baylor, Bell, Tracy).
You would consider Tracy a Peerless Leader rather than a Little Napoleon?
Oh, definitely. Or maybe a PL crossed with a little TT. Ozzie Guillen is the only Napoleon that leaps to mind of guys that have managed recently. Maybe Valentine. Tracy's way too even-keeled and circumspect to be a LN. I think Jose Oquendo would be a Napoleon, although it's unlike Napoleons to be happy to be a 3B coach as long as Oquendo has, so I may have a wrong read on him.
Fair enough. I've only witnessed Tracy from afar.
Lou Piniella would be a LN, yes?
So did Joe Torre. For a week. (His last PA was a week after his dugout debut).
There's also Ted Lyons. He's a reverse Torre. Lyons managed & played in the same season, but his last game was shortly before he became manager.
(Yes, I know Frank Chance was Peerless Leader, but I can't quite pick up on what this one means.
Boswell describes each type in terms of the #1 attribute each possesses and is ruled by. For the Napoleon, it's passion. For the PL, strength of character. For the TT, brains. For the Uncle Robbie, wisdom, usually laced with humor.
Peerless Leaders are also usually rather hard, physical men. In the time of Boswell's essay, I think he cited Walt Alston as a classic PL. Gil Hodges. Frank Robinson. More recently, Don Baylor and Art Howe. I think Mike Matheny is going to be pure PL. Guys who clench their teeth, fold their arms, and stare into the middle distance.
La Russa's a Tactician. Leyland. I'd guess Maddon, although I don't watch the AL much. Showalter.
Would Robin Ventura be a Peerless Leader?
Descriptions of types:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Manager
Mike Scioscia. Bruce Bochy. Felipe Alou. Joe Torre.
I don't think so. Bochy's stoic, not jovial. (Plus, even at his age he could probably kick about half the team's ass, and they know it.) Dusty Baker would be more of an Uncle Robbie.
Dusty Baker. Clint Hurdle?
Charlie Manuel. Hurdle.
Hurdle seemed like a cross between a Little Napoleon and an Uncle Robby, if that's possible. He joked a lot and blustered quite a bit, but he had a bit of an edge. Maybe that makes him a Peerless Leader?
Uncle Napoleon?
No. Peerless Leaders don't F around. Peerless Leaders don't care if players like them, only that players respect them.
totally. he looks and acts like a cigar store indian in the dugout.
giambi needs to be a manager if only to add to the number of beefy redfaced managers in the game. clint hurdle is sort of all we got right now.
true fact, my great grandfather was named napoleon.
I see him as a Tall Tactician, but I've never observed him closely.
And you tell us you're from New Orleans. Whatever!
Tom Kelly
By default, I guess I'd peg Tracy as a Napoleon. I don't think he's particularly passionate, but he sure doesn't have the requirements for any of the other three.
Sandy Alomar!
During Leyland's time in Pittsburgh, he had some PL in him, too. Think back to some of his spring training confrontation with Bonds, or the time he charged the mound against Kevin Gross.
earl weaver.
though he was certainly smart enough to be a tactician too.
very good players, maybe HOVG or above
There's also an interesting separate category of managers like Valentine or Hurdle who had all the talent in the world but didn't have a HOVG or even much of a good career as a player. Dick Williams and Don Zimmer might fit here. Often it's an injury that reduces their playing potential and leads to a career that involves a lot of observing from the bench: that was true of Valentine, Williams, and Zimmer as I recall. Hurdle, I'm not as sure why he wasn't much of a player, but I guess he just never was as good as projected.
Williams never got meaningfully hurt. He was a good utilityman talent who had a good utilityman career.
Zimmer's career was unquestionably derailed by those two hideous beanings. He might not have developed as hoped, but he was clearly a potential star.
Valentine certainly had his career ruined by that broken ankle, but Dodger farm system hype aside, he was never going to be a star. He was a good ballplayer, but not more than a good utilityman.
Hurdle was a very young guy who presented strong potential, but got hurt and never developed.
<insert drinkee-drinkee motion here>
What category does Bobby Cox fit in? Peerless Leader with a Napoleon complex?
I think he was too beloved by the players to be a peerless leader
I stand corrected. I thought I recalled him breaking a leg or something that slowed him down and turned him into a utility man. It may well be that his somewhat garrulous memoir overstates the effect of minor injuries on his prospect self, or I may be misremembering :)
I also remember the hype on Valentine as being extreme. But such was my impressionable infant self :-D
Absolutely. He wore his emotions on his sleeve, which was exactly why his players loved him.
Yes, the longer ago a guy played, not only the greater was he, but the greater he coulda been unless <insert whatever here>.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main