October 10, 2007
Next Yankees Manager?
Anyone but him. His buddy Dallas Green was oh so successful there. And this, too:
One rumor being floated by Yahoo.com yesterday was that Steinbrenner would let Torre go in the next few days and hire Tony La Russa, whose contract with the Cardinals ran out after this season. This would seem a recipe for disaster for at least two good reasons. One is that La Russa's thin skin, which has rubbed raw even in the small markets where his aura has been built, can not survive the heat from the daily scrutiny of this team. The other is that La Russa has been known to deal very publicly when it comes to confronting his stars - Scott Rolen last year, and Albert Pujols this season.
Booze and steroids for everyone!
Posted by David Pinto at
11:40 AM
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LOL! As a Red Sox fan, I would LOVE that move.
As a Met fan, I join the angry man in endorsing this move. A thing of beauty, and a first. Tony would quit after one season, Big Stein has yet to achieve that.
Anyone who thinks Bowa should manage the Yankees needs to be examined.
re: Larry Bowa and Tony LaRussa as Yankees Managers
(1) I used to be an avid Larry Bowa advocate for many years, based on watching him hustle and play while growing up. However, the numbers don't lie, and the numbers say that Bowa favors veterans over rookies, and that during two critical years of his tenure, Bowa sat Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino and played guys like Marlon Byrd, Ricky Ledee, asked the club to waste millions on Jim Thome (knowing he had Howard in the system) and on Billy Wagner and Eric Milton and Kevin Millwood and Placido Polanco.
As a result, Utley and Howard didn't get to play as regulars until they were almost 27. This is Bowa and Ed Wade's fault. I was asked to comment on Ed Wade's performance by a Houston source and one of Ed Wade's cardinal mistakes in retrospect was hiring Larry Bowa.
What else did Bowa do wrong? he drove Scott Rolen out of town. What do you say about a guy who drives a 30 win share a year all star gold glove 20-30 hr 3b out of town? Rolen has only been to two world series and won one since then. That's because, Larry, Rolen is the kind of ballplayer you build World Series teams around, not aging 1st base sluggers like Jim Thome.
Bowa would be a terrible mistake for the Yankees.
However, he would take the job cheap, and he would do what George told him.
2) LaRussa. LaRussa would be an excellent choice for the Yankees. While Tony is getting up in years, he is smart, knowledgeable, has extensive post-season experience, and has shown time and time again that he can win and beat you even when he doesn't have the horses and you have him outmatched on paper--precisely what the yankees need in a very competitive AL where the playoffs have become the equivalent of GLADIATOR, kill or be killed matches in which all the teams are extremely good.
So, my vote goes for LaRussa. However, unlike Bowa, LaRussa will want a lot of money. On the other hand, LaRussa may take a little less for the chance to take the all-time job for the all-time team. He is closing in on number of all-time managerial win marks--five years at the helm of the Yankees could give him a significant boost towards those goals and also propel him to the hall of fame, plus give him a third world championship with a third team, which will indelibly mark him for the Hall.
--art kyriazis, philly
One thing the article failed to expand upon was the similar coaching styles of Bobby Cox and Joe Torre. Both Torre and Cox are player's coaches who are calm and patient. And they achieve similar results. Cox's braves went to 5 world series in 8 tries and none since, while progressively declining in the playoffs every year. Meanwhile Torre made it to 6 world series in 8 tries and none since, while progressively declining in the playoffs every year. Granted Torre's Yankees had 4 rings (2 coming at the expense of the braves) to 1 for the Braves. Had it not been for Wholer's meltdown in 1996 the parallel may have been even closer.
Bottom line (perhaps I'm stating the obvious), it seems like the fiery, emotional managers produce far more "one hit wonders" while the steady and patient guys give you good short term success and possibly long term complacency
Excellent, Dan, I'd never thought of it that way but you're right -- at least as far as I can remember.
when the phillies signed Jim Thome, Ryan Howard was in A ball, and not a particualarly highly touted prospect.