The Friday Night Rumor Mill–September 8, 2006

With absolutely no managers having been fired during the regular season, it’s inevitable that some field bosses will lose their jobs this fall or winter. The first to go may be Seattle’s Mike Hargrove, who has already taken his share of blame for the Mariners’ awful August, which transformed them from contenders into also-rans. I must confess that I like Hargrove—he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in the game—but his track record outside of Cleveland has produced few highlights. Neither the Orioles nor the Mariners seemed to play with passion for Hargrove, who might just be too much a gentleman to give underachieving players the kick that they need. So whom will the Mariners turn to as a successor to the “Human Rain Delay?” Other than administrative coach Dan Rohn, who is respected within Seattle’ hierarchy and knows the Mariners’ young talent, Seattle’s coaching staff is lacking in realistic managerial candidates of the name brand variety. As a result, the Mariners may end up going outside of the organization for Hargrove’s successor… There have been some whispers that Seattle could bring back Lou Piniella, but “Sweet Lou” will have his pick of managerial jobs, and there may be more attractive openings in Chicago and Philadelphia. Another candidate who has already been mentioned is Dusty Baker, who will almost certainly be fired by the Cubs after the season. Four years ago, Baker expressed interest in managing the Mariners; that’s why his name is being linked to Seattle right now. But let’s remember that the Mariners didn’t even bring Baker in for an interview in 2002, when his managerial stock was much higher. Don’t expect Mariners GM Bill Bavasi to call Baker on this occasion, either… The Mariners will probably end up hiring a lesser name with little to no managing experience, someone who is willing to work for something less than an upper echelon salary. Two candidates could be Bud Black, the Angels’ highly respected pitching coach, and Luis Sojo, the former Mariners utility infielder currently managing in the Yankees’ farm system… Besides Hargrove and Baker, three other managers are expected to be fired at season’s end. They are Charlie Manuel in Philadelphia—unless the Phillies can somehow pull off the wildcard—Felipe Alou in San Francisco, and Frank Robinson in Washington. A sixth manager could be moving on if Marlins owner Jeff Loria does the unthinkable and fires Joe Girardi for various acts of insubordination. If the Marlins finish the season better than .500 and win the wildcard (both of which are real possibilities), Loria will face the public relations job of a lifetime in trying to explain Girardi’s firing to the Marlins’ fan base. Like the Mariners, the Marlins don’t have many in-house candidates. Third base coach Bobby Meacham is a possibility, but most of Seattle’s coaches are career minor leaguers like Perry Hill and Gary Tuck. If the Marlins delve outside of the organization for a bigger name, they’ll face the problem of enticing someone into working for a meddlesome owner. I can’t believe a marquee managerial name like Piniella or Bobby Valentine would be willing to take the job, which might force Florida to settle for a mid-range hire like Jerry Manuel or Don Baylor. Manuel has a solid tie to the organization, having worked as a coach under Jim Leyland on the Marlins’ 1997 World Championship team. Loria would have to play up that connection fiercely in order for Manuel to gain acceptance in Florida… Count me among the legions of those who were shocked by the Tigers’ release of DH-outfielder Dmitri Young. The Tigers claim that Young’s release had to do with his performance and not with any drug or alcohol related incident, but the timing of the move, just three weeks before the start of the postseason, has to make you wonder. Unnamed whispers out of Detroit have already indicated that Young had become a negative influence in the clubhouse. Still, this is a team that has been searching for left-handed hitting ever since the switch-hitting Young first went on the disabled list earlier this summer. Other than Carlos Guillen, the Tigers have lacked a dangerous left-handed presence in their lineup. Curtis Granderson has struggled badly in the second half of the season and mid-season pickup Sean Casey is merely a pedestrian hitter, clearly nowhere near his peak of two years ago … Once Young clears waivers on Monday, he’ll be free to work out a deal with another major league team. One club that might have interest is a rival of the Tigers; the Twins have had the worst DH production of any American League team this year and could platoon Young with another new acquisition, Phil Nevin. The team that signs Young will have to deal with at least one caveat. Since the Tigers released him after September 1, he won’t be eligible for postseason play with anyone.