Manager

[EdTarbusz]

A friend of mine who is a sportswriter in the Cleveland area says this is the shortlist for the Indians manager position:

Manny Acta
Tory Luvello
Don Mattingly
Bobby Valentine

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by EdTarbusz

A friend of mine who is a sportswriter in the Cleveland area says this is the shortlist for the Indians manager position:

Manny Acta
Tory Luvello
Don Mattingly
Bobby Valentine

I don't know why Lovullo, but either of the last two would be awesome. I have Valentine ranked as about the 4th or 5th best manager ever, and I wouldn't Mattingly signing, AND leading us past the Yank$ into the World Series

[EdTarbusz]

It would be interesting if they go after Valentine or Mattingly. I think the last manager that the Indians hired out of the organization was John McNamara.

[ACrank]

does he have a rep at developing players - especially pitching?

Valentine would be interesting if he wants in bad enough to take the job with the Indians to help rebuild his reputation in the states - but not sure he is the type of mgr a team that might have a year or two of a rough patch before they get back on the swing of things would need. Didn't he come back to the states and bolt for Japan when things got rough once before?

Lovullo, if i am not mistaken, was in the Baseball America tools issue as one of the AAA mgrs with the best chance of moving to the big leagues - i'd expect him to be on the big league staff next season regardless of who the mgr is...

If these are the final four it's probably Acta's job to lose - depending on what happens with Houston (apparently he is in the running there as well), but there have been mentions that there is another candidate from one of the play off teams.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by ACrank

Valentine would be interesting if he wants in bad enough to take the job with the Indians to help rebuild his reputation in the states - but not sure he is the type of mgr a team that might have a year or two of a rough patch before they get back on the swing of things would need. Didn't he come back to the states and bolt for Japan when things got rough once before?

From wikipedia, FWIW

"In 1995, Valentine began his first stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japanese Pacific League. That season, the team surprised most Japanese baseball fans by finishing in second place (69-58-3), a remarkable feat for the Marines who had not won the Japanese Pacific league pennant since 1974."

"In 2004, Valentine began his second stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. On October 17, 2005, he led the Marines to the Pacific League pennant after thirty-one years in a close playoff with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Nine days later on October 26, the Marines won the Japan Series in a four game sweep of the Hanshin Tigers for the first time since 1974.

Following their Japan Series championship, the Marines won the inaugural Asia Series by defeating the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization in November 2005."

[Eyeshade]

Manny Acta, wow....

[The Korean]

^You cant blame Acta for the Nats. They had no talent what so ever. Nothing for him to work with.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by The Korean

^You cant blame Acta for the Nats. They had no talent what so ever. Nothing for him to work with.

They blamed Wedge anyway

[ol' aches and pains]

Originally Posted by The Korean

^You cant blame Acta for the Nats. They had no talent what so ever. Nothing for him to work with.

Other than Sizemore and Choo, what does Cleveland have left for him to work with?

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by ol' aches and pains

Other than Sizemore and Choo, what does Cleveland have left for him to work with?

The same thing Wedge didn't have

[Eyeshade]

C'mon, you don't see any potential in Cabrera, Valbuena, Chris Perez, David Huff, Michael Brantley or even Aaron Laffey? Some of these guys could be pretty good. Granted that starting pitching is an issue, but the day to day lineup is competitive when healthy and the bullpen looks to be better than last years.
I would have preferred Lou Brown as the next managerial choice or even Valentine. Acta...I dunno. I guess it's wait and see.

[ACrank]

that compared Acta to Terry Francona - i guess we will see....

Valentine was too much a recycled type for my tastes.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by ACrank

does he have a rep at developing players - especially pitching?

How do you get this without being a "recycled" type?

[ACrank]

Very good question - i guess by recycled type i meant the mgrs who have already gone around the block a few times.

Acta doesn't have that (thats what makes me laugh when people look at his record w/ the Nats and just naturally assume he is a rotten mgr) but i don't know if he can help develop pitching.

[Extra Innings]

Originally Posted by ACrank

Very good question - i guess by recycled type i meant the mgrs who have already gone around the block a few times.

Acta doesn't have that (thats what makes me laugh when people look at his record w/ the Nats and just naturally assume he is a rotten mgr) but i don't know if he can help develop pitching.

Yea, in some cases you can't judge a manager by his past record especially a guy who is coming off his first managerial job. Not sure if the Nationals could have been made into winners by any manager this past season. Apparently, Acta gave the Indians a good impression that he has the capability to turn the club around.

[Richard]

The Indians will turn the club around as soon as they stop trading their players to other teams. Didn't Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia start game one of the World Series?

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by Richard

The Indians will turn the club around as soon as they stop trading their players to other teams. Didn't Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia start game one of the World Series?

They'll stop trading their players when they can outbid all big-market teams. When do you expect this to happen?

[Eyeshade]

When there is some semblance of a salary cap, like all other major team sports in this country have. Unfortunately, the players union will never go for it. Until then, get used to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. etc. being in the playoffs a disproportionate amount of times.

[Knick9]

Originally Posted by Eyeshade

When there is some semblance of a salary cap, like all other major team sports in this country have. Unfortunately, the players union will never go for it. Until then, get used to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. etc. being in the playoffs a disproportionate amount of times.

That's what it's come down to at this point. I whole-heartedly agree with this post. If there's no form of salary cap, then MLB's landscape and playoff picture will never change. The Yankees, Red Sox, etc. are always going to be the fat kings that enforce baseball tyranny, making the sport a joke until something radical is done.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by Eyeshade

When there is some semblance of a salary cap, like all other major team sports in this country have. Unfortunately, the players union will never go for it. Until then, get used to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. etc. being in the playoffs a disproportionate amount of times.

You mean, like for about sixty years now?

[Eyeshade]

Yes, for like 60 years now ! (actually closer to 80, but who's counting). The reason is they have been able to outspend everyone else. In the past it was just because of ownership having deeper pockets and a larger metro area (more tickets sold). Now it is essentially revenue from TV/cable contracts, new ballpark and luxury seat $ which puts them well above most other teams. They can outspend their mistakes, the Tribe can't, the Pirates and Royals can't either. The Yankees can afford to outbid for free agents, foreign talent and keep their own players as long as it suits them. The Tribe and Pirates are effectively farm teams for them and others and can't afford mistakes like Hafner and Westbrook's contracts. The best we can hope for is a couple of years of contention followed by a sell-off and a rebuild. That scenario will keep repeating. Face it- the Tribe has no money. Hell, they're laying off employees.
The only times this was different was during the Veeck era when we had an amazing owner who knew how to sell and the beginnings of the Jake when 1) we had a lot of money 2) the Browns weren't here and the Cavs weren't much and the (3) local economy was good. It ain't happening again for the forseeable future because the economy stinks, ownership is strapped for cash and the current marketing people are very, very lame. Plus there is that Lebron guy and his team who have a near monopoly on fan interest. Enjoy!