This morning Buster Olney Tweeted this:
The Jays are close to announcing their next manager. Two of the final names they discussed were Jim Tracy and Jim Riggleman.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 17, 2012
Glad to hear that we are getting close to hearing who the new manager will be, not so thrilled with the names Buster suggests. Jim Riggleman walked away from his last team, in the middle of the season, with the team doing well. Jim Tracy is Jim Tracy, I don't want him. A little bit later Jon Heyman told us this:
If Jim Riggleman is in mix for Jays managing job, it's news to him. hes interested but hasnt heard.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 17, 2012
Which makes you think Buster's 'source' was wrong. Hopefully that means it is also wrong about Tracy. I don't think Alex is going to pick a manager he hasn't talked to yet.
With all the recent moves the Jays have made, I've started to think I'd like a manager with experience. It's looking like we should be in the race next season, so I wouldn't want to lose ground to 'on the job training'. But then, most of the names mentioned that don't have experience as a major league manager, have been around the game long enough to know what they are doing. I doubt Brian Butterfield or Tim Wallach or Sandy Alomar would have any trouble stepping into the job.
I guess the worry to me is that none of those guys have a track record we can look at to tell us what kind of manager they would be. I know, by looking at his history, that I don't want Jim Tracy around the team, but then I don't know that Tim Wallach wouldn't drive me just as crazy as Tracy would. I'd like Butterfield as manager, but then I don't have proof that he wouldn't have guys stealing third with 2 outs if he were in charge. Maybe Sandy Alomar thinks that Jose Bautista would be that much more valuable if he would just bunt more.
When it looked like it would take a couple of seasons to get us into the playoff hunt, I was more willing to go with one of the guys that doesn't have major league experience, because I figured they could learn by the time we were really in the running. Now I want someone that hits the ground running.
Who would you like as the new manager?