Joey Cora Enters Managerial Mix
by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 9:21 AM PDT
in Seattle Mariners News, Regular
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"If I had to make a decision today I would lean towards someone with experience, but you have to let the process unfold," he said. "I don't want to box myself in and say that is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt what has to be because I do think you would limit yourself. But I do think that is the criteria we start with."
Today:
According to the scouting grapevine, White Sox bench coach Joey Cora has emerged as a strong candidate for the Seattle managing job.
Jerry Crasnick
jcrasnick
What do Cora and Ted Simmons have in common? They are managerial virgins. At least, in the Major Leagues. Cora has managed in the minors and in the Venezuelan Winter League, but it's safe to say the egos probably aren't the same.
Of course, experience is only one of several things Zduriencik is looking for, and the fact that neither Simmons nor Cora has ever managed in the bigs isn't enough for me to disqualify them as interesting candidates. They've both been around the game for a while. They've both worked in the dugout. They've both spent several years playing. Experience isn't an attribute on its own. The attribute is the ability to lead and communicate, and Simmons and Cora may very well be able to prove their worth in an interview.
It's easy to be cynical about Cora and complain that the Mariners just continue to cycle through 1995 nostalgia, but the man is a serious candidate. He's been around White Sox teams that failed. He's been around White Sox teams that succeeded. He's been around White Sox teams with clubhouse concerns, and he's been around White Sox teams that overcame them. He was with the Sox when they won the World Series. He's spent the better part of a decade working with or next to Ozzie Guillen. Joey Cora wouldn't just be a PR move. Joey Cora could be a good big league manager, and the M's are going to give him his due consideration.
It's worth noting that Felix absolutely loves the guy, which could never be bad. As the number of Latin players on the roster continues to dwindle, installing a Puerto Rican as manager wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Jose Lopez has one foot out the door. Felix is going to need a new friend.
We'll see what happens. There are plenty more candidates to be named. Some of them will be experienced, and some of them will not. All I know for sure is that none of them will be Don Wakamatsu.
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I mentioned the first part
and Simmons has been a GM in the Majors!
by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions
He was the GM of the Pirates when they lost Barry Bonds
Then he had a heart attack and quit
by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Of all the 1995 people to get a MLB manager job
I would have been surprised that it wasn’t Dan Wilson.
That's exactly how I feel about Blowers.
I feel like he should have all kinds of cool stories about his time in MLB. But he doesn’t. Wilson seems like a guy who would just give you the straight dope. Like McCarver just not as stupid.
At least Blowers has the voice of a miserable drunk
Wilson is the black comedian’s stereotype of a white guy.
by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions 6 recs
.
White guys drive a car like this. “A-dee-dee-dee…a-dee-dee-dee…”
by Phil Hatzenbuehler on Aug 31, 2010 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
Yeah after Wakamatsu's failure they wouldn't make that mistake again
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Aug 31, 2010 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Worked well with Hawk Harrelson
although he was a GM
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Aug 31, 2010 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions
The egos probably aren't the same
between Cora and Simmons, either. If our FO comes away thinking Cora is the right guy, I won’t have a problem with that; but from everything I’ve read about Simmons, he’s an arrogant &#$%! — sort of like a worse Dallas Green without the credentials.
by The Ancient Mariner on Aug 31, 2010 10:51 AM PDT reply actions
Tony La Russa has been an unquestionable failure as a manager in the Major Leagues
by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions
He looks like he knows his way around a barstool
De Gutibus non disputandum est
by Bearskin Rugburn on Aug 31, 2010 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions
The credentials would be the difference
i.e., LaRussa has obviously shown he has other tools besides arrogance (and for that matter, so did Green). Were there reason to think that Simmons is half as smart as he clearly thinks he is, I’d be more positive about the idea — but I just don’t see it.
by The Ancient Mariner on Aug 31, 2010 7:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Cora two years ago
“I know the town. I know what the fans want. I don’t know if that’s an advantage,” Cora said. “I know what they want and they want a World Series title. There has got to be pride (in the) way to play the game,” Cora said. “(I want) the fans and organization to feel proud in the way the team plays the game. Making sure that the other teams worry about us. We don’t want to worry about them. We want to make them worry about us.”
Cora says he has learned much from working under Guillen, but says he wil be his own man as manager.
’’I’m the one who givez Ozzie a different perspective,‘’ Cora said. ’’I’m not Ozzie. He is maybe the other side of the coin. We made decisions based on that, and so far we have been very successful."
That last paragraph is very promising.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but it almost sounds like Joey’s politely saying he knows Guillen is a terrible on-field manager and wants to distance himself from the crazy bastard.
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