This coming from Tom Krasovic:
The Mariners gained a few IQ points recently.
Seattle is starting to eye Padres bench coach Ted Simmons for its managerial job. Padres players past and present say Simmons is part of the Padres' rise.
Given that he's currently a bench coach, that last sentence is curious to me. I would assume that, for your standard bench coach on a good team, the bench coach is only a part of the team's rise in that he isn't actively a hindrance. Ted Simmons isn't pantsing Clayton Richard in front of everyone or putting little ball bearings on the ground around Adrian Gonzalez. He's just bench-coaching the shit out of his job, so, sure, he's helping.
It is worth noting that Nick Hundley says Simmons cares more about the Padres winning than anyone, which can be read either as a compliment of Simmons or an insult of everybody else, including Hundley himself. So self-aware!
Simmons has expressed interest in managing the Cubs and was a consideration for the Marlins' vacancy, so it seems like the time is now for the 61 year old to take the next step and grab a team by the horns. He's known Jack Zduriencik for a good long time, which I imagine helps him out, here. For background, he is - you'll never guess - a former big league catcher, but unlike most catchers-turned-managers, Simmons was actually good. He also served as the Pirates' GM for a year between 1992-1993, which I think means he was in charge when Barry Bonds was granted free agency. Whoopsadoodle.