Jonathan Daniel - Getty Images
Joey Cora smells
"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.
0 recs | 44 comments
Cora also has managed in the minor leagues, and been a GM in the Puerto Rican league.
msb - August 31, 2010
Pretty shiny candidate
dba - August 31, 2010
I mentioned the first part
and Simmons has been a GM in the Majors!
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
DId Simmons have success?
dba - August 31, 2010
He was the GM of the Pirates when they lost Barry Bonds
Then he had a heart attack and quit
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
No, he did not have success
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
Maybe it was a successful heart attack?
pdb - August 31, 2010
Not so much since he is still alive.
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
So it was successful from the person's standpoint, not the attack's!
pdb - August 31, 2010
Perspective!
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
So you did.
Darned reading comprehension.
msb - August 31, 2010
I only worry that he has been learning under a baseball strategy idiot.
abender20 - August 31, 2010
We are going to bunt SOOOOOO often
Matthew - August 31, 2010
Fuckin right we will
Dewey N - August 31, 2010
Jack Wilson for DH.
abender20 - August 31, 2010
Fire!
Corco - August 31, 2010
The first person to make a Joey Cora crying as manager joke will be set on fire
pdb - August 31, 2010
He is so going to cry when he gets hired though.
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
Why this is not them announcing Bobby Valentine at all.
Robert - August 31, 2010
Of all the 1995 people to get a MLB manager job
I would have been surprised that it wasn’t Dan Wilson.
Matthew - August 31, 2010
Does he want to manage? I always expected him to do it, but maybe he wants to wait until his kids are grown up.
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
He needs to get over it and whip our catchers into shape.
Literally.
Whip them.
Matthew - August 31, 2010
Just as long as he doesn't teach them how to hit a slider.
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
I'd rather have him replace Blowers in the booth.
Jack Swan - August 31, 2010
Lord no
Robert - August 31, 2010
Dan Wilson is soooo boring
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
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.
Jack Swan - August 31, 2010
At least Blowers has the voice of a miserable drunk
Wilson is the black comedian’s stereotype of a white guy.
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
.
White guys drive a car like this. “A-dee-dee-dee…a-dee-dee-dee…”
Phil Hatzenbuehler - August 31, 2010
If we hire Not a White Guy, I will be mildly surprised
lemonverbena - August 31, 2010
Yeah after Wakamatsu's failure they wouldn't make that mistake again
Bearskin Rugburn - August 31, 2010
Right?
lemonverbena - August 31, 2010
Come on surprise candidate Dave Sims
Dewey N - August 31, 2010
This would put lemonverbena in an awkward emotion
Matthew - August 31, 2010
Is Maury Wills still alive?
lemonverbena - August 31, 2010
Worked well with Hawk Harrelson
although he was a GM
Bearskin Rugburn - August 31, 2010
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.
The Ancient Mariner - August 31, 2010
Tony La Russa has been an unquestionable failure as a manager in the Major Leagues
Jeff Sullivan - August 31, 2010
If Simmons is a drunk too then hire him!
Sec 108 - August 31, 2010
He looks like he knows his way around a barstool
Bearskin Rugburn - August 31, 2010
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.
The Ancient Mariner - August 31, 2010
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."
msb - August 31, 2010
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.
PissedMick - August 31, 2010
Blog post from Larry Stone
on experience
msb - August 31, 2010
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