YourWhatHurts

LaRussa actually makes tons of sense if the idea is to hire a young future manager as a bench coach who fits all of the criteria you are looking for and you want to bring LaRussa in to kind of groom him for the role. This is especially sensible if the candidate isn't the kind of guy who has had the sort of playing career that would immediately draw respect from the players. Otherwise this just seems like an item on reinsdorf's bucket list. Then again Bruce Bochy or one of these other types would be perhaps also interested in a short-term grooming kind of role. As long as it isn't Cora, Hinch, or Beltran and is someone with serious coaching experience that is on the younger side and has some real long-term potential to fill the role. And as long as it is not some kid who has accomplished absolutely nothing of significance in MLB like Jirschele. I'm not sure why Ozzie's kid doesn't get mention on here if we're going to consider people's kids with no business managing MLB players who some of the "mark" fans just like because they are young, new, and poindextery.

Because of how many teams actually tried to win baseball games this year, because of the expanded playoffs, the draft order is actually sensible. It's sad though to see teams like the Marlins punished by it. Pittsburgh is rewarded for tanking and then MIA, SF, etc. who actually tried get punished. IMO the draft should go 1-30 with the #1 pick going to the WS winner, #2 to runner up, and down to worst record at #30. Then reverse it so #31 goes to the team with the worst record and #60 goes to the WS winner, and maybe keep it that way for both the 2nd and 3rd round, then alternate for the rest of the draft between best and worst teams. And all draft picks must be tradeable. Also an idea I have personally had for a long time but have never seen shared would be to see 2 expansion teams, who always play road games in all other teams' stadiums, that are made up of unsigned vets, AAAA players, foreign players who sign as UDFA, etc. Like the guys who end up left over at the end of the offseason and often have to retire, get a spot on these teams. They only play road games, against everyone equally, and then every season at midseason there is a draft, and the other teams can draft players straight off of this team and use them in season and can pick up a piece or 2 for nothing. I would love to see such arrangements because then all teams would try to win as much as possible, and would give important ABs and IP to vets who are performing well, and teams would make deals more for spot-patch improvements to try to win. Imagine if adding some vets over the season to try to improve from an 85 win team that will miss the playoffs to an 86 or 87 win teams that will miss the playoffs could improve your draft position and chance at both a prospect in one draft and a currently productive vet in a different midseason draft. I think that would be great. Really, teams should be allowed to get better even if they win. And teams should always try to win. As a fan who just wants to win championships, I always want to either contend as a big fish or rebuild/retool. But it would be nicer if the system was designed to make teams better that just win.

I'm no pitching coach but in that Nats video with his delivery he looks like a guy who is always going to be VERY wild in the strikezone. Lopez needs some fixing but I definitely don't want to rely on a pitcher that looks like that.

Hawk talked about this during his final broadcasts. He doesn't think AJ wants to manage. AJ is being a family man now. Maybe when his kids are in college he will want to leave the booth and occupy a clubhouse. Whenever he is ready to do any of that, bring him aboard in some role.

I think that most likely Hinch was just riding the coattails of the Astros and all the love they were getting in the media. For a while, when the Astros FO members took shits in the field, the media plucked them from the grass and held them to their noses. Hinch was axed in AZ pretty much right after getting his first managerial job. He was a guy who was like a "find" that now got to ride those coattails and pick up a paycheck. The Astros were "building his brand" after his "brand" took a huge hit. I bet he was just sitting back trying to let things happen, let his value increase, and try not to do anything to harm his career. It really takes a pair of balls to be in the position AJ Hinch was in and go tell it on the mountain. Maybe many other managers wouldn't have had balls like that either in the same situation. Regardless, we know he has no balls, and I want a man with some sack managing this team.

I'd love Girardi. I thought he was one of the most respectful managers in baseball and definitely respectable himself and he kept a tight ship. He is a guy who has "made mistakes" purely on the field, and has apologized for them and admitted them. But he lives baseball and I would be definitely on board with that. The Phillies rebuild basically never ended. It just kind of paused and went to contention and now they're at a point where it's like they should continue their rebuilding process but without a guy like Sixto. Their owner is a big meddler also. Maybe we can send them Ruiz and Flores in a deal for Girardi. Both are on the roster bubble and is a better deal than what we got in return for Ozzie. Obviously the Phillies only make that move if they think they would be better off without Girardi but again, their owner is a meddler, so maybe there would be a chance.

I don't see -- cheating aside -- any indications that this guy is the best man for the job. He was canned in AZ and while he won, he won with a team that anyone could have won with. It's not like he's a Joe Maddon type or a Davey Martinez type. He's a guy who made a quick transition to manager and really was just starting to establish himself when the cheating scandal occurred, and showed the world that 1) he has no spine; and 2) he couldn't control his own clubhouse. I'm really not sure why Stone is so impressed with this guy. I'm going to guess he just knows some stuff and think the Sox will make a quick hire, and that Hinch is probably going to get a quick offer. Maybe Stone thinks the Sox will have to make a quick offer in order to stop him from going to Detroit. If so, I say fuck him, let him go to Detroit.

I've actually been thinking a lot lately about the potential of Rodon as a closer, if the control came. I really like the idea of sending Crochet to stretch out in the minors as a starter, while both Bummer and Heuer are like bullpen Manbearpigs as half closer, half vulture, and half mid-game rally killer, instead of either being a straight closer. I actually think that if you have a nasty 3-headed monster, the least terrible / frightening head of that monster should be the one who gets to start most appearances with a clean inning / nobody on base.

OTOH you could easily interpret these moves as those designed to try to extract more production/improvement out of the already-existing players. I'm also of the opinion that we're pretty good even with nothing done. Some of the worst possible moves this franchise could make right now is trading the wrong prospects and/or young MLBers before they finish developing. I'm not sure we're going to be looking at another Tatis-level fuckup but we might have a few guys who could go Semien/Bassitt on us easily, and some of our SPs could really come back to haunt us in a way we haven't seen in a very long time (too long for me to even know about). I think if the Sox want to keep last year's payroll they can still get a lot better without making trades. If they want to stick at last year's payroll plus 20-30 million then they can get way better without even making any trades. Additionally we might want to bring in a new pair of eyes or 2 specifically before deciding on Carlos Rodon's future. If he can find his control, a LHP with a devastating change and slider throwing 96-98 as a closer is an absolute weapon, and probably $3M or so cheaper than were already paying Colome. We will also have some players on the bubble like maybe Ruiz etc. and Reynaldo especially who we want a couple fresh pairs of eyes to take a deep look at before we decide we are definitely going to hand their roster spots to someone else. These moves could really be all about keeping things in house.

That's how Ozzie, Robin and Ricky were all hired and they've admitted it publicly. I hope it is different going forward. Famously, KW wanted Robin or Paulie as a player-coach. Real deep search there bruh.

Yeah but some people make "mistakes" that are so egregious they have their licenses revoked and are affectively banned from the industries they were a part of. There is no reason to excuse any non-player in the Astros organization who was aware of the cheating and did nothing to stop it. Ownership didn't get the axe but should have. I sign this petition for Hahn NOT to hire Cora, Beltran or Hinch. It's not like there aren't probably 50 or 60 guys around baseball in former or current managerial and coaching roles who would be impressive hires at least on paper. Typically, this organization doesn't follow a proper process, i.e. they fall in love with a guy and listen to a few interviews with other people before they hire the guy they already knew they wanted. Hopefully this time they actually do their due diligence.

Springer I don't want because I think his profile is the kind of guy who is going to fall off. I wouldn't want to give him many years and big money. But a 3 year deal, maybe even with a 4th year option is okay with me. The players are still different. I mean, the cheating is wrong of course, but how many of the league's players would have also cheated had they been on the Astros clubs that did? How many players specifically who say they are angry and disappointed with the Astros players wouldn't have done the same thing? Few if any players will ever really want to cheat, but then again nobody wants to be a rat or a snitch either. Fiers said something. Bauer is the kind of guy who probably would have. How many other players? I disagree with the lack of severity in punishments but at the same time, I'm not sure that Manfred could have done much more. And really the Astros thing was a good type of bad thing that needed to happen. The cheating was only going to spread further. Someone had to do it and get caught to set the necessary precedent for rule changes etc. which will make the game better. But the Astros as a franchise should have paid. Jim Crane should have paid, and their WS title should have been vacated.

Can yo mamma motivate the players to play clean baseball? If so, then yo momma may be as good as or even better than Ricky. Either are still better than Hinch.

Ruiz still has a shot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I really would like to hear the perspective on Mike from someone who saw a lot more of him. I only saw him vs. the Sox but I was always impressed (and not happy) how he would straight out-manage Ozzie. It was like a chess game Ozzie kept losing, and I actually thought Ozzie was a pretty decent game manager. I do think he may be a pro-analytics guy perhaps if it was framed to him in the appropriate way. Who knows? But he is not the kind of guy that wants a poindexter stepping on his toes and telling him what to do, and I actually like that in a manager. As long as he is good. And I think the lack of pitching mostly on those Angels teams hurt them a lot more than any manager ever could have.

Sounds like yo mamma could do just fine with the White Sox. Maybe we should hire yo mamma.

Front office personnel and coaching staff members get replaced in sports, not the players. The players are the engine and the parts that make the machine move. The rest are supposed to lead the players into the right direction. When you fail as hard as Hinch did you just absolutely suck and fail at what you are supposed to be doing, and then you should absolutely be replaced, because there's nothing you're good at anymore. IMO here's the story on Hinch: "I'm AJ Hinch. I want to be a manager. I hope my team respects me. Well it doesn't appear I have a lot of pull. I'll shut my mouth and keep it shut. I'll make some suggestions maybe when the moment feels acceptable, but I won't tell my players what to do. They won't listen to me anyway. I am barely hanging on as a manager. I am one fire away from being a permanent bench coach or lesser. I like having a paycheck. I'll shut my mouth." Great hire. He can go fuck him self with a broomstick. Meanwhile, the players will continue on under different forms of leadership because that is how sports work.

The guy was a shit hire in Arizona and then he was put onto the Astros club that was already a top contender in the AL with an excellent farm system and guys still coming up the pipeline, and plus back then they had a lot of payroll room to play with because their core was making very little in salary. He "won" with that team like he was a spare part. There are tons of managers that could have "won" with that team, especially if they allowed cheating to go on. I mean do you really believe that Dusty Baker, or Gene Lamont or Jerry Manuel for instance couldn't have won a title with one of those Astros teams? What makes this guy such a great manager? Same with Alex Cora, who was IIRC a rookie manager. These guys don't have the tenure. And it's funny how players like Omar Vizquel get shat upon so easily but then someone who follows analytics is loved so easily. There are definitely many better guys for the job. Maybe get into that A's or Rays pipeline, ask guys like Joe Maddon and Davey Martinez for references, etc. There will be better options for sure.

Yes. They don't force their players to play the game fairly and the right way. They don't own the clubhouse. And I highly doubt any one of the cheaters is any more "baseball smart" than a guy like Sandy Alomar anyway. There are enough of those smart baseball coaches around the game that you can get a good in game manager who accepts analytics without also getting a guy who is supposed to be a manager but just gets overrun by the players.

How is Joey Cora not a better option than either? Seriously there must be very many better candidates out there than the cheating trio of Alex Cora, Hinch and Beltran. Really the first rule of a manager is managing the clubhouse and keeping the clubhouse in order. All 3 are failures at that. I mean, this was the ***one*** thing that Ricky did very well. If we fire Ricky just to hire one of the cheating trio we are at best taking 1 step forward and 1 step back at the same time.

Hinch is a ballless coward.

I will fix. Also, YES

Other options to throw out there: Buck Schowalter (not happening); Clint Hurdle (I see these on the MLB trade rumors comments section... not sure how many candidates there are)

I remember how Soscia used to outmanage Ozzie every time we played the Angels. He's old school but the time off of managing I think may have refreshed him. He will probably be open to all the analytics etc anyway, and he will likely insist on a real smart bench coach to help him. It's a 4-star or 5-star hire IMO. PLEASE NO HINCH OR CORA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He doesn't fit all the criteria but my vote goes to... Mike Scioscia