Who do you think is the best manager in MLB right now ?
I am a Tony LaRussa man---the man does magic on a regular basis
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Of course he's a master magician.
If you could read Tony's mind it would reveal that he had the best mentor around...
Of course he's a master magician.
If you could read Tony's mind it would reveal that he had the best mentor around...
I am a Red Sox fan and fell Terry Francona does a tremendous job of managing his team, however.
Ron Gardenhire I feel gets the most out of the least on a consistent basis. He does a great job without a lot of depth, which I feel is the key to MLB teams, depth.
Ron Gardenhire I feel gets the most out of the least on a consistent basis. He does a great job without a lot of depth, which I feel is the key to MLB teams, depth.
All good choices in Francona, LaRussa and Gardenhire but another one to consider is Sciosca with the Angels.
How about Mike Scioscia of the angels?
Trey Hillman may be the up and comer with the Royals. He did well in Japan and I wish him luck in the MLB.
quote:Originally posted by kbat2012:
What about Torre, guys? Look what he did for the Doggers this year. I believe he is the guy who can put the team over the top and bring you the championship.
I actually like Torre but I'm going to play Devil's Advocate on him. Is he a good manager or is he a good manager because of great talent?
Here are his winning percentages for his stops
1977 - 1981 NY Mets .405% and no seasons above .500
1982 - 1984 AT Braves .529 with two of three seasons above .500
1990 - 1995 ST Cardinals .498 with half his seasons above .500
1996 - 2007 NY Yankees .605 with 4 WS champs and 2 AL champs
2008 - 2009 LA Dodgers .552 with a playoff appearance that resulted in upset of Cubs (I'm a Cubs fan so it was an upset)
Has he figured out how to manage since his first stops or did he just have better talent? I think it's like the argument with Phil Jackson. Is he a great coach or is he great because he has coach Jordan, Pippen, Shaq and Kobe?
If one of the yardsticks is World Series titles, then LaRussa falls short. His 1989 win with Oakland carries an earthquake asterik, and there was no excuse for losing in 1988 (Dodgers) or in 1990 (Reds). The talent he had on those teams was unbelievable.
I only recently began ot learn more about TLR (for good reason 
) and I think that he and Duncan have done well, considering the circumstances. Taking broken down players and recharging them has been their trademark.
My son has met him and been very impressed, I do hope that he gets a chance someday to play under him even if for one day.
I am a Francona fan, what he has done has been amazing. I also do like Girardi (can you imagine what he has to deal with daily) and Leyland, both former Marlin skippers.
IMO, a good mamager is one that can take the least talented guys and make them winners.
) and I think that he and Duncan have done well, considering the circumstances. Taking broken down players and recharging them has been their trademark. My son has met him and been very impressed, I do hope that he gets a chance someday to play under him even if for one day.
I am a Francona fan, what he has done has been amazing. I also do like Girardi (can you imagine what he has to deal with daily) and Leyland, both former Marlin skippers.
IMO, a good mamager is one that can take the least talented guys and make them winners.
TR;
For a discussion.
What would be the results of Red Auerbach, if he coached baseball?
For 14 years, I visited Sam Jones in Los Angeles, when he played for Red Auerbach and the Celtics. Our discussions were always on the methods Red used in coaching the great Celtics in the 1960's.
Bob
For a discussion.
What would be the results of Red Auerbach, if he coached baseball?
For 14 years, I visited Sam Jones in Los Angeles, when he played for Red Auerbach and the Celtics. Our discussions were always on the methods Red used in coaching the great Celtics in the 1960's.
Bob
I would say a great coach in one sport would probably translate to a great coach in another sport. I would also say that Auerbach had much more talent than any team by a good distance. Heck, their 6th man (Havlicek) was one of the top 50 players of all-time.
So, what defines a great manager. Is it the guy who is the best communicator? Is it the guy who "manages" the game the best? Is it the guy with the most talent? Are there better managers for a season and others that are better for a short series?
So, what defines a great manager. Is it the guy who is the best communicator? Is it the guy who "manages" the game the best? Is it the guy with the most talent? Are there better managers for a season and others that are better for a short series?
BOB
he would win regardless of the sport
he would win regardless of the sport
TR;
Thank you. I remember when Sam told me about Satch Sanders shooting more shots than normal to raise his point average from 17.5 to 19.8.
Red said to Satch; "when you shoot above your average per game, Russell does not "get" the ball; Sam does not have his shot".
The team then settled down and continued to win.
This can be related to baseball. When the #2 hitter swings to hit HR, he does not "get" on base and the #3,4,5 hitters do not have RBI's. The team will lose.
Every player plays a role, wood bats allow this role to be clearly defined.
Bob
Thank you. I remember when Sam told me about Satch Sanders shooting more shots than normal to raise his point average from 17.5 to 19.8.
Red said to Satch; "when you shoot above your average per game, Russell does not "get" the ball; Sam does not have his shot".
The team then settled down and continued to win.
This can be related to baseball. When the #2 hitter swings to hit HR, he does not "get" on base and the #3,4,5 hitters do not have RBI's. The team will lose.
Every player plays a role, wood bats allow this role to be clearly defined.
Bob
BOB
I get to see KC Jones every now and then and he does nothing but rave about "RED"
I get to see KC Jones every now and then and he does nothing but rave about "RED"
Despite being a Red Sox fan, and generally an AL fan...Tony LaRussa is the best manager in baseball. Personally, I dont think its close.
Current top five Larussa,Scosia,Guillen,Cox,Torre.
Up and Coming Wakamatsu and Heileman
Most Underrated - Cito Gaston
Most Overrated Coaches - Any Team with massive budget, veteran players, a lot of history of steroid allegations, and more than one World Series ring since 1995. Several to choose from.
Up and Coming Wakamatsu and Heileman
Most Underrated - Cito Gaston
Most Overrated Coaches - Any Team with massive budget, veteran players, a lot of history of steroid allegations, and more than one World Series ring since 1995. Several to choose from.
What are the thoughts on Ozzie Guillen?
Ozzie Guillen and his group got lucky for one streak. Sorry, he's a clown and so is Ken Williams. The way Williams opened up on Frank Thomas (after Thomas made some remarks when he left) were beneath a man holding his position. The one good thing Guillen does is deflect negativism toward himself and lets his players play.
Larussa and Sciosia are in a league of their own for me.
Larussa and Sciosia are in a league of their own for me.
Ron Gardenhire of the Twins...give him even talent and watch out. Good organization. Very good with younger players.
Coach I'd love to play for...Bobby Cox. Enough said.
Sciosia and Fracona ain't bad either and would be good to play for.
Larussa sometimes gets in his own way; Guillen is a distraction too often. Prefer Larussa to Guillen if those are only choices. Pinella is a curious guy; amused by his antics sometimes...would be pretty stressful playing for him. Dusty Baker needs to loose the sweatbands before I take him seriously.
Rooting for Girardi to be successful in NY; hate the team but like him.
Cito Gaston is very good and as mentioned often overlooked because of the teams location. If he'd had success in New York instead of Toronto, I pretty sure he would be a top 5 pick by most.
Coach I'd love to play for...Bobby Cox. Enough said.
Sciosia and Fracona ain't bad either and would be good to play for.
Larussa sometimes gets in his own way; Guillen is a distraction too often. Prefer Larussa to Guillen if those are only choices. Pinella is a curious guy; amused by his antics sometimes...would be pretty stressful playing for him. Dusty Baker needs to loose the sweatbands before I take him seriously.
Rooting for Girardi to be successful in NY; hate the team but like him.
Cito Gaston is very good and as mentioned often overlooked because of the teams location. If he'd had success in New York instead of Toronto, I pretty sure he would be a top 5 pick by most.
The best coach at anything could be debated. Unless you just took winning as the only criteria. If you do that the best ever would be John Wooden and Dan Gable.
All Major League managers who stand the test of time are very good IMO.
I think it's the GM's that differ the most. Who is/was the best GM in baseball or other sports?
Clue... It was not Isiah Thomas!
IMO... Theo Epstein in baseball at this time.
All Major League managers who stand the test of time are very good IMO.
I think it's the GM's that differ the most. Who is/was the best GM in baseball or other sports?
Clue... It was not Isiah Thomas!
IMO... Theo Epstein in baseball at this time.
BTW, Dan Gables coaching record at Iowa (21 years)... 17 NCAA titles, 21 straight Big Ten titles, 355-21 record in Dual Meets.
He also lost only one match as a wrestler in high school and college 181-1... He was undefeated as an Olympic wrestler. Won the gold medal without giving up a single point during the olympics. In 21 Olympic qualification and olympic matches he outscored his opponents 130-1.
OK, back to baseball... Sorry!
He also lost only one match as a wrestler in high school and college 181-1... He was undefeated as an Olympic wrestler. Won the gold medal without giving up a single point during the olympics. In 21 Olympic qualification and olympic matches he outscored his opponents 130-1.
OK, back to baseball... Sorry!
PGStaff-Dan Gable is a flat out winner. I followed his career growing up--had to quit wrestling in 10th grade to work (could beat conf. champ senior year with no practices for 3yrs 
). He is another one who would win at whatever sport he chose.
). He is another one who would win at whatever sport he chose.
Best Manager could mean a lot of things, depending on the team. Torre played diplomat between the players, the owners, and the press in NY and did a heck of a job. But as a Cards fan, I couldn't call him a Game Manager.
As a Cards fan since birth (I'm on my third stadium). it's interesting to hear the support for Our Tony. I followed him when he managed the A's because I liked his work as well, and was thrilled when he took the STL job. Familiarity hasn't, by any stretch, bred contempt....just the odd puzzlement. He has a strong personality and can alienate players (as I was saying to Ozzie Smith only the other day ), let alone fans. He can be brilliant one day (use of small ball, for example) and insane the next (OFers playing second base is expected in hs, but....). He is, however, always entertaining. And a big key to his 'genius' is Duncan's ability to reclaim Lost Cause Pitchers.
An interesting discussion amongst Cards' fans would be which would you take (in their prime) Herzog or LaRussa?
As a Cards fan since birth (I'm on my third stadium
). it's interesting to hear the support for Our Tony. I followed him when he managed the A's because I liked his work as well, and was thrilled when he took the STL job. Familiarity hasn't, by any stretch, bred contempt....just the odd puzzlement. He has a strong personality and can alienate players (as I was saying to Ozzie Smith only the other day ), let alone fans. He can be brilliant one day (use of small ball, for example) and insane the next (OFers playing second base is expected in hs, but....). He is, however, always entertaining. And a big key to his 'genius' is Duncan's ability to reclaim Lost Cause Pitchers.An interesting discussion amongst Cards' fans would be which would you take (in their prime) Herzog or LaRussa?
I'm a Bosox fan and respect the job Francona has done, especially managing the ongoing Manny freak show.
Let's see if Torre can handle that for even 100 games, 50 of which Manny will be hanging out with his buds in Florida. Try doing it for 200 or 300 games... Once the honeymoon is over, the hamstring will hurt, or the knee, left/right, "I can't remember which, but it hurts".
Madden did a great job last year with a very young team. I'll be watching to see if that was a one time thing or he has something (like lots of outstanding young pitching). Actually, he did a great job the year before last, but it didn't start showing results until last year. I remember in August of '07 thinking, 'this team is getting better, fast'.
Let's see if Torre can handle that for even 100 games, 50 of which Manny will be hanging out with his buds in Florida. Try doing it for 200 or 300 games... Once the honeymoon is over, the hamstring will hurt, or the knee, left/right, "I can't remember which, but it hurts".
Madden did a great job last year with a very young team. I'll be watching to see if that was a one time thing or he has something (like lots of outstanding young pitching). Actually, he did a great job the year before last, but it didn't start showing results until last year. I remember in August of '07 thinking, 'this team is getting better, fast'.
Hit 'post' before I could comment that LaRussa is several levels above anyone else in the NL.