Coaching staff for 2008
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- October
- 30
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This is not yet official, but it appears the coaching staff will shake out this way:
Pitching: Dave Eiland
Hitting: Kevin Long
Bench: Rob Thomson
Third base: Bobby Meacham
First base/catching: Tony Pena
Bullpen: Mike Harkey
Thomson, 44, was the major league field coordinator last season and has been with the Yankees in various jobs for 18 years. He was resonsible for advance scouting last season and did a lot of the preparation work for Torre. He is a very sharp guy who deserves the promotion.
Eiland was the AAA pitching coach last season. Long got a three-year deal worth $1 million, which is a lot for a coach. Harkey and Meacham were with Girardi with the Marlins in 2006.
Larry Bowa will leave the Yankees for Seattle.
It’s too early to say whether the staff will be better or worse than what they had last season. There is certainly less experience. I don’t know Meacham or Harkey but Eiland, Thomson and Long are hard workers and Pena is tremendous at what he does.
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on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 11:06 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Thoughts on Eliand? Is he an upgrade from Gator?
I don’t know a ton about Thompson. My initial reaction is that they need a more experienced guy as bench coach. Since Big Stein doesn’t have a say anymore they should go get Zim. Just kidding. Wouldn’t it be interesting if they brought in Grady Little as bench coach?
Thoughts on Eiland? Is he an upgrade from Gator?
Bobby Meacham…There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time…Well he was a Yankee so they keep it in the family…
Yuck!! Sure seems like a step down for last year. Maybe things will work out ok.
Whew! no Paul Oniell
Don’t be a hater Abraham!
“Paul O’Neill told 1050 ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand he “wouldn’t rule out” joining Girardi’s coaching staff. O’Neill said he and Girardi are longtime friends and they spoke a lot during the season; both worked for YES, the Yankees’ television network.
“I will probably talk with him at some point [about a coaching position],” O’Neill said.
O’Neill said he will wait to call Girardi, because he doesn’t want to be a nuisance during Girardi’s decision-making process.”
It might happen baby!
yuk step down!!!!!!!!!!!!how the hell do you know… people analyze the coaching staff and your measuring stick is??????????
Girardi is a smart guy, let him pick his guys.. THompson, long, and pens are holdovers…The present players know these guys and they are bringing in some new blood………..
Eiland is a significant upgrade over Gator.
any relatoin to Josh Thomson?
George King said Bowa could go with Torre.
Leave Paul O’neill in the broadcast booth. He is my favorite of all the Yankee broadcasters. The staff seems all right to me. I am glad Eiland is getting promoted. He has been instrumental in Hughes’, Joba’s, and Kennedy’s development.
people may disagree with this but what the hell. I think TOrre and others have gotten to accepting and are too nice about losing..
I do not think Girardi will be as understanding and low key about defeat..
I know this is very subjective but I have been watching over 100 games a yr for many many yrs. and I think the yanks got complacent with the bug names and big dollars………..
I live in LA and they are talking about arod joining TOrre, I am telling my dodger friends we have been there and done that pass on arod you will regret the circus…
Bobby Meacham better not make any mistakes or George Steinbrenner will send his ass down to Columbus!!
(Sorry – just had a flashback to 1982)
“Paul O’Neill told 1050 ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand he “wouldn’t rule out” joining Girardi’s coaching staff. O’Neill said he and Girardi are longtime friends and they spoke a lot during the season; both worked for YES, the Yankees’ television network.
“I will probably talk with him at some point [about a coaching position],” O’Neill said.
O’Neill said he will wait to call Girardi, because he doesn’t want to be a nuisance during Girardi’s decision-making process.”
It’s going to happen, you watch.
Boo on Bowa leaving, but I like the young guys Eiland, Long, and Thomson. Oh yeah, the old guy Pena, too. Heard good things about Markam. Don’t know who Meacham is.
Just because the coaches aren’t household names/Yankee legends doesn’t mean it’s a step down!
Were Dave Duncan or Rudy Jaramillo big names before they became two of the best coaches in baseball?
I’d also like to add that while they lack major league experience at the coaching level, some of these guys have been in the professional coaching ranks for a long time.
Thomson began coaching in the minor leagues in 1988 and has been in various capacities from base coach up manager. He moved into more a front office type as a director of player development for a while and then the special assignment/field coordinator role he has been in most recently.
Meachem is similar in that he began in the minors in 1992 and has managed at multiple levels in the minors and was also a roving infield instructor/base running instructor. He was Girardi’s 3b coach in Florida so Joe must have been satisfied with his work.
Kevin Long is one of the best coaches in MLB.
Where’s Paulie??
Is Bowa leaving b/c he chose the Mariners over us or was he not wanted by Girardi? I think Bowa is the best 3B coach around, why make the change? Some new blood is good, I’m super excited about Joe G even though I was and always will be a Torre fan, but keeping some old guys that are proven would be good for the transition.
Question on Arod and the alleged tampering situation…if Yankees files for investigation and challenges the signing with whichever team Arod ends up signing with, and the deal falls through, do we and have any dirty practice exposed if there was indeed tampering (highly likely), but I don’t want us to have to keep him.
I really wanted to keep him all along, but ever since what happened during game 4 and how it happened, No Thank You.
If George has any say, Meacham will not be a coach. Steinny hated him when he played for the Yanks and for good reason.
Just because he coached with Girardi that one year, doesn’t mean he will be coach now.
He also has a losing record as a minor league manager – .487
Really not a good move, not that this list is based on anything factual other than opinion. Lets wait and see what actually is.
Dug-Out Water Cooler – I was going to say the same thing. Wow…Bobby Meacham. I didn’t even know he was on Joe G’s Florida staff.
And #9 – LMAO!!! Good one, mate. BTW, I’m a fellow Nettles fanatic from way back – glad to have seen you make that reference clear in your previous posts here.
Dee,
What’s the alleged tampering?
What, exactly, would the tampering be?
My Arod tampering question was messed up so asking again…
If Yankees files for investigation and challenges the signing of whichever team Arod ends up signing with, and the deal falls through, do we have to keep him? I want the Yanks to raise some hell and expose Arod and Boras’s dirty practice if there was indeed tampering (highly likely), but I don’t want us to have to keep him.
Bobby Meacham? We’re talking about a guy who was once called out on a home run for passing a guy on base in front of him. He also teamed with Dale Berra in the infamous play in which both were thrown out at home on the same play.
He’s our third base coach? Really?
you base managers on minor league records??????
that is idiotic.. Most minor league entities are about development not winning…..
the comments on this site often are really idiotic…
torre 3 yrs %15 mill. what does the torre love club think of that??I am not that good in math but sounds like $5 mill a yr. with no upside.. I guess the potential to make $8 mill was to much of a challenge for him!!!!!!!!!
Is torre going to give the yanks back the 2.5 mill they overpaid him this yr??
Read Newsday how Cashman found out about the classy Arod going FA…. Boras and Arod are total scum… BOras is scum for an agent>>>>>>>>>>
Imagine that being looked down on from other agents… there is a code even among criminals…………..
Nobody even heard of Long last year and now everyone loves him. Shows you what fans know. Step down my foot.
Since Joe G is more intelligent, younger, and a hands on type guy, the coaches will have less to do anyway. Joe G will be on top of everything. Don’t have to worry about him sipping Green Tea and taking naps.
Bobby Meacham makes me want to break out in a cold sweat. What a horrible player! What horrible memories. The horror!
I’m re-watching Girardi’s conference call on YES and am beginning to realize why I’ve had a queasy feeling all day. I’ve been a Yankees fan since I was 5 years old. I went through Billy, Dallas, Bucky, Stump, Sholwalter and of course Torre. The thing is, all those guys I grew up with were pretty much figures walking to the pitchers mound or quotes in the newspaper. Joe Torre was the only Yankee manager that I experienced through this explosion of access and media and he was an absolute master at that part of his job.
My favorite part of a Yankee victory was watching Joe’s post-game interview and I never really experienced it any other way as a Yankee fan. Now I’m pretty depressed because as great as the new Joe may be as an in game tactician (kinda overrated in baseball to begin with) he’ll never match the calm and grace Torre would exude while still being truly genuine about the game we all just watched. Now we basically we’ll be watching another Jeter interview in which we’ll hear a lot of words and get absolutely nothing of substance.
I’m really sad tonight!
It makes you wonder how Cash and company have decided all of this Girardi and staff.
Mel and Rebecca –
There is speculation that Boras already has a deal in place for Arod which was obviously not allowed before a player officially files to opt out/before the WS. I read (ESPN and NYT) that there’s a chance Bud Selig may look into this. JD Drew was also suspected for tampering last year so it’s strike two for Boras (Drew’s agent), but the Dogers didn’t file for an investogation so nothing happened.
Like I said, I want them exposed but don’t want to have to keep Arod.
There was no tampering, relax. Boras isn’t going to agree to a deal without hearing all offers and wouldn’t opt out because of ONE offer before he even tested the market. This isn’t JD Drew who has the tools but not the production and was signed to a fair deal with the Dodgers (even though I don’t think there was tampering there either, Theo isn’t stupid). No deal will be made with ARod before Thanksgiving and probably not until after Christmas. Boras knows there are going to be 5-6 teams making a deal and he knows he’ll get made upwards of 300 million. ARod wanted out of New York plain and simple, it wasn’t because there was another under the table deal in place
stuart, the difference is the dodgers offered him 3 years, rather than one. is math really that difficult for some people? good lord, you’re daft.
DJ Lampshade sure. I especially like when torre continuosly syas nive things about the opponents when it is often not true or neccessary..
I got a solution watch the dodger postgames so you can see it this yr. I especially like watching torre continuosly get outfoxed my Mike Sciosca..I am sure you really enjoy those press conferences also…
Really fans, torre is a nice guy and appears like a class act.. he was the manager for 12 yrs. and his act was old.. Time to move on this is normal in all organizations..
Bill Cowher moved on from the Steelers, it was time………….Phil Jackson left the bulls, it was time…
I would like less class from the yanks next yr. and more fight.
watch the red sux.. Too me they are really classless but it appears there fans liked the parade today. beckett, youkilis, manny, pedroia do not appear like nice guys but they play hard, etc…..enough with the nice guy CRAP>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Bobby Meacham? Are you kidding me? Why not add Bam Bam Meulens as the first base coach and Steve Balboni as hitting coach as well? Maybe they can hire Kevin Maas as bench coach.
In Bowa, the Yankees had the best 3d base coach in baseball. Leave it to the Idiot Son and his merry band of sycophants to jettison merit for servility.
Q: When was the last time Larry Bowa cost the Yankees an out at Home Plate by sending a runner he shouldn’t have?
A: Never.
Dee–Thanks! I thought of something like that…thought that A-Rod might already have another deal of place, bud didn’t actually realize it was illegal!
Good think I don’t plan on going into law!
the dodgers are paying him less then $15 mill my mistake he is actually taking a pay cut. and kasey yeah the yankees offered him 1 yr with an option after 12 previous yrs…
12 previous yearS brain surgeons remember that.
kasey who is more of a idiot you or kill shilling. it is a tight race.. kill shilling thinks if you were a bad player you will be a bad coach and you like others just dislike everything all the time..
good night morons..
About the “tampering”…it’s what I’ve been reading mentioned more than once. I know I’m not supposed to believe everything I read, and obviously I don’t know what actually happened, not being Boras and all. But since I’m reading this, just wondering at the chance that there’s an investigation and tampering is proven, does the original team have to keep the player, or do the player and the new team just get fined or something?
It’s sad to be losing Bowa. He is the best third base coach in baseball. Ask the Rockies how that can make or break a game.
But thumbs up on everyone else.
Did Bowa walk or was he not asked back? If the latter, that is a mistake. He is an awesome 3b coach and guy to have around.
Wasn’t Meacham on Joe’s staff in FL?
Rebecca –
I know right? The whole thing seems a bit fishy. But as conniving as Boras could be, I’m sure he’s also really smart. People like him know how not to get caught.
This is from NYT today:
“For Boras and Rodriguez not even to listen to the offer and not wait until the deadline prompts suspicion. In fact, the commissioner’s office, which was outraged by Boras’s untimely disclosure, is watching developments with a wary eye.
A year ago J. D. Drew, another Boras client, opted out of a contract with the Dodgers that had three years and $33 million left and signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Red Sox. Drew and the Red Sox denied it, but the Dodgers firmly believed tampering had been involved in the deal.
Frank McCourt, the Dodgers’ owner, chose not to challenge the signing, and the commissioner’s office did not investigate it. The Yankees, however, would not shy from a fight and would file a complaint if they suspected tampering.”
BREAKING NEWS:
This just in on the wire.
AROD SIGNED WITH THE YOKIMURI GIANTS IN JAPAN FOR 32million a year for 10 years. Boras opted out as the deal was in the works since last week. Japan is giving the MLB a bit of it’s own medicine.
When do single game tickets go on sale for next season?
Good Stof Go Yankees Go We Will Win This Year !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. It’s the Yomiuri Giants and ARod opted out, not Boras.
Dee–I saw that, and that’s what piqued my interest!
I know a lot of people have respect for Boras, but I, simply, don’t. It’s almost a competition: do I dislike more the player that’s juiced on G-d knows what or the player that plays for love of the $$$$ or the agent that lets him do it?
Bobby Meachum? He was a horrible player and a worse baserunner. Think an even sleepier Bernie Williams on the basepaths. He was also soft as a baby’s ass. Oh well, I trust Joe.
Anyone else remember Eiland’s debut in the mid-80’s? We were desperate for pitching and called him up from Double A. He was lights out for one game and Pinella, who was managing at the time, was giddy with excitement. Of course he was horrible thereafter.
I remember it was the first time I ever heard the expression “catch lighting in a bottle.”
Does everyone realize this is the coaching staff we are talking about? When Pete writes 3rd base – Bobby Meacham and Pitching – Dave Eiland he doesn’t mean that Meacham will play third and Eiland will take the mound. It doesn’t matter what they played like.
I doubt A-Rod has any deal in place or even close to done, but keep in mind even talking to him about a contract would be tampering. There are strong suspicions that Boras knew the Red Sox would offer Drew a bigger contract than his previous one, and it wouldn’t shock me if some team said “Hey, wink wink, we’d offer A-Rod X amount if he opted out…”. That’s technically tampering but there’s not much MLB can do about it, if true. It also might be that he just figured he could do better.
Torres nice guy image got old a long time ago. The sickening part was after a game that the Yanks faced a pitcher with a 10 era and 1 major league win and Torre would go on and on how he should basically be in the hall of fame. I highly doubt that Girardi will treat Cano the same way that Torre did when he decides to go to sleep during the game. Kay asked Girardi about pitching inside and Ortiz/Manny never moving there feet…his answer was I would make them eat dirt if I was the manager…Girardi I will be waiting for that dont let us down. I wonder if anyone told Girardi that he has to hold Jeter’s bat during the game, that was probably the 1st thing Jeter thought of when Uncle Joe got fired. Maybe it was written into his contract…?
The Yanks could make up for losing A-Rod’s 54 HR & 156 RBI as follows:
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff acquired via trade from San Diego:
25 HR, 100 RBI (7 more HR & 26 more RBI than he posted for this year). This guy will thrive batting in a better lineup than S.D. in the inferior pitching league.
Cano: 29 HR, 113 RBI (10 & 16). This is not an outrageous assumption given his age and talent.
Giambi: 24 HR, 79 RBI (10 & 40). Pretty pedestrian.
Jeter, Cabrera, and Damon hit 15, 15 & 11 HR respectively
(each guy posts only 3 more HR than he hit this year & none of them have to drive in more runs than they did this year).
There you go:
25 + 10 + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 54 HR
100 + 16 + 40 = 156 RBI
Even if Kouzmanoff posted 19 HR & 90 RBI (1 HR & 16 RBI increase from this year), Cano 23 & 103 (4 & 6), or Giambi 18 & 69 (4 & 30), so what? 48 of A-Rod’s 54 HR & 146 of A-Rod’s 156 RBI are made up for.
Don’t tell me I’m assuming the same or better HR & RBI production from Damon, Jeter, Posada, Matsui, Abreu & Cabrera w/ these totals for Kouzmanoff, Cano & Giambi because you’d be assuming that & at least the same from Cano and Giambi w/ A-Rod staying.
IIRC, Meacham was a yankee prospect. How much of a prospect, I don’t remember. Aside from injuries, he did not benefit from the Boss’ motivational techniques (note sarcasm). A number of young ballplayers got chewn up by George for good before they got more than a game under their belt. Phil hughes would’ve been on the way back to Scranton (or syracuse back then) after one or two mediocre starts if this was 20 years ago. If it he had been five or six years older, Bernie Williams might have never had a shot.
bottom line is he’s coaching 3rd, not playing it.
I heard the Bowa news that he was leaving for Seattle early last week on espn. Supposedly, the only reason why it wasn’t announced was that Bowa had a personal matter to tend to unrelated to baseball. I think Bowa left us as opposed to not being wanted back.
Rebecca – doping and playing for money are equally bad in my mind. But I think the guys on roids at least have to live with the shame of hiding a secret, whereas guys like Arod who are transparant money chasers and a phony, I think he has no shame.
I like the fact that Dave Eiland is going to make more as the Yanks’ pitching coach than he ever did as a major league ball player for any team. The most he ever made was $300k/yr in 2000 with Tampa Bay. He is sure to make more as Yanks’ pitching coach and possibly made nearly that much last year as AAA pitching coach. The reason I like it is look at the best pitching coaches in the league, Duncan, Mazzone, the list goes on. Only star pitcher I know who went on to be a well thought of pitching coach is Righetti.
Pena should be 3rd base coach.
The thing that sticks out the most is the YOUTH of the coaching staff. Pena, at 50, is the “old man” the rest are in their early 40s. Contrast that with Kerrigan, Bowa, Torre. It really seems as if the Yanks will be pushing more of the kids in coming years and want a youthful coaching staff to go with the youth on the field.
As for Bowa, in one thread Pete has him going to Seattle, then in the next to LA. Which is it?
BTW, people wanting a “star” to coach or manage don’t know baseball history. Few stars became great managers. What came natural to them they couldn’t teach to others. Look at Ted Williams when he managed the Senators and Rangers.
Meanwhile a lot of the greatest managers are those who didn’t play in the majors or were average to below average once they got there. Billy Martin .257, LaRussa .199, Walter Alston played in ONE major league game. Sparky Anderson played one year in the majors and hit .218 with no homers for the 1959 Phils. Joe McCarthy never played in the majors and neither did Earl Weaver.
one difference that jumps out is that torre,mattingly ,bowa, and guidry all were good or even great players. meacham, thompson, eiland,long,and harkey were not good players.
this is clearly a difference. there is no one on the new coaching staff who was as good a player as the ones they will be coaching.
does this matter? for someone like jeter , i think it won’t matter a bit. for someone like cano , it could. young players when they hit a bump in the road sometimes need someone who’s been there as a star to tell them how things should be. this is where girardi as a strong manager comes in. in a situation where a young player gets an attitude of being better (and in his mind knowing more ) than a coach, girardi will be the one who steps in and takes charge. he himself won’t have been as good the player he’s confronting. but girardi played so many years and is so knowledgeable that he’ll have his own kind of clout.
but i imagine we may see something similar to when girardi grabbed the shirt of the young marlin pitcher to get his attention. hopefully not exactly that because putting hands on a player isn’t ever a good idea.
the point is that it’ll be a different dynamic when problems come up because the yankee players are all stars and the coaches were not, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.it’s worth watching though.
“Wasn’t Meacham on Joe’s staff in FL?”
Yes, I believe I’ve read he was one of Girardi’s most trusted advisors.
And this stuff about Bowa being the best third base coach in baseball is great. Can any of you even name 5 other 3rd base coaches?
“He also has a losing record as a minor league manager – .487
Really not a good move, not that this list is based on anything factual other than opinion. Lets wait and see what actually is.”
yes, he will bring all of his losing ways to the THIRD BASE COACH job. all of the bad decisions he made as a manager will surely come into play as he tells people to run home or not.
did you guys think Larry Bowa was a great manager? no, but he sure was a pretty good 3B coach.
some of you people just want to complain about everything but have no idea what you are talking about.
Dee- If there is indeed tamepring here (and we all know Boras has done it in the past) Would MLB not allow him to be an agent? What would the punishment be?
“Bobby Meacham? We’re talking about a guy who was once called out on a home run for passing a guy on base in front of him. He also teamed with Dale Berra in the infamous play in which both were thrown out at home on the same play.”
you guys are really being ridiculous.
and you know what, Luis Sojo fell over his own 2 feet in the 9th inning of a World Series game trying to field a ball. if we are going to judge a coach on a bad play they made as players, that was as bad of a play as i have ever seen. yet Sojo coached 3B for the Yankees.
Meacham was the 3B coach for the Marlins in 2006. he was the 1B coach for the Padres last year, who were a pretty good team.
why don’t you just accept that MAYBE, just MAYBE Joe Girardi is a better judge of his capabilities than you are?
hmmm not a good example. Sojo was a HORRIBLE third base coach.
I’ve always found it extremely important to have allies in work with whom one could frankly and confidentially discuss issues. Eiland, Long, Pena and Thomson are all pre-Girardi Yankee guys who deserve their jobs. I don’t know Meacham and Harkey from Adam, as far as their coaching ability, but let Joe have his long-time allies. Knowing what I do about Girardi, I’m confident that he feels they are more than up to the task. And I’m sure he’ll develop trusting relationships with the other guys as well, if he doesn’t already have them.
Jennifer – (and yes! Congrats to Joe G!)
Yeah I’m trying to clarify that too. It could be just a fine and the new signing becomes ineffective. Trying to look it up. Pete, if you’re reading this, do you know and has there been proven case of tampering in the league before?
Bobby Meacham -
“Meacham holds extensive coaching and managerial experience in the minor leagues, last managing for three years (2002-04) with the Angels’ Single-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga…Served as manager for the California League team at the 2003 California-Carolina All-Star game…Meacham joined the Angels’ organization in 2002 as the manager of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A), after nine seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization (eight as a coach)”
He was probably recommended by both Girardi and the Yankees scout brought over from the Angels last year.
on a totally irrelevant note, i’ll go out on a limb here and say the new coaches will throw better bp than the old coaches. in the minor league where most of these coaches have spent their careers, coaches throw bp almost every day.
Paul O’Neill told 1050 ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand he “wouldn’t rule out” joining Girardi’s coaching staff. O’Neill said he and Girardi are longtime friends and they spoke a lot during the season; both worked for YES, the Yankees’ television network.
“I will probably talk with him at some point [about a coaching position],” O’Neill said.
O’Neill said he will wait to call Girardi, because he doesn’t want to be a nuisance during Girardi’s decision-making process.
Can anyone name 5 other 3rd base coaches? All this stuff about Bowa being the greatest 3rd base coach ever is pretty ridiculous.
Bobby Meachum! Does he get sent down the minors the first time someone gets thrown out at home plate?
“hmmm not a good example. Sojo was a HORRIBLE third base coach.”
and yet the yankees still finished in first place.
that’s my point, Bobby Meacham is not going to bring down the 2008 Yankees from his position at 3B.
people are bringing up his records as a manager as if the yankees hired him to MANAGE.
let’s give girardi and his staff a chance. i think the yankees made a great decision.
and you know why i feel good abot it? b/c the Dodgers, who eventually hired Joe Torre, offered their job to Girardi first.
“Meacham’s No Bowa”
When I heard Meacham was going to be the 3rd base coach, that play (when he and Dale Berra) were tagged out at home by Fisk was the first thing I thought. I would guess that was in 1985.
Of course, Meacham was following the direction of the 3rd base coach then, so it doesn’t really say anything about how he will do as a third base coach.
The only thing that surprises me a bit is that I figured that Pena would be the bench coach, and that Thomson would be the first base coach.
But I guess it’s Girardi’s decision, and he knows what he’s doing.
“let’s give girardi and his staff a chance. i think the yankees made a great decision.
and you know why i feel good abot it? b/c the Dodgers, who eventually hired Joe Torre, offered their job to Girardi first.”
Yeah, after all, the Dodgers have done so well all these years in the post season, they always seem to make the right decision.
“Yeah, after all, the Dodgers have done so well all these years in the post season, they always seem to make the right decision.”
so what are you saying? that hiring Torre was a bad idea then?
if so, even more reason for the yankees to get rid of torre.
can’t have it both ways. either the dodgers are not a smart team, which makes hiring torre not smart. or they are a smart team, which makes the yankees hiring girardi smart.
which is it?
or is your position that the yankees should have fired torre and hired mattingly?
“Leave Paul O’neill in the broadcast booth. He is my favorite of all the Yankee broadcasters”
agreed! my biggest concern with him possibly being named a coach is that both him and girardi would no longer broadcast games.
Dee, I have the same thoughts on Boras/arod/tampering. the first thing i thought when i saw the “opts out” headlines. it’s hard to believe that he would blindly opt out so quickly…
Sultan of Swat, all boras needed to hear was 1 offer that he liked in order to opt out and let the bidding process begin. it doensn’t necessarily mean he had to take that 1 offer. And honestly, what makes you so positive there weren’t any talks/deals in place prior to the opt-out decision? you seem so confident that no shenanigans went on. are you Boras’ assitant?
Also, if Boras has tempered in the past and gotten away with it, why wouldn’t he do it again?
I am not a Bobby Meacham fan – I hope he brings more to the team as a coach than he did as a player. Rob Thomson may be wonderful at what he’s done but I would have liked to see an older, more experience major league manager sitting there. There seems to be a question whether Bowa follows Torre or goes to Seattle, either way I am sorry to see Larry Bowa go and I have to believe Robbie and Melky will be too. I know there are always changes after a season but this is a huge shakeup for all of the guys. It is going to be tougher because there are so many youngsters so I really hope Girardi is reaching out to them all.
Meachem?!!! Where’s Alvaro Espinoza and Claudell Washington when we need them?!!!!
I’m glad Eiland got the job. I felt that the young pitchers needed continuity and it was apparent that Eiland was key to Hughes getting fixed in September.
Eiland, Long and Pena are the keys to this staff. Thomson has a great rep inside the organization and obviously earned this nod so I expect him to be an a asset.
I’ll miss Bowa though and I hope Cano doesn’t regress without him.
I love Kevin Long and Dave Eiland. I think Kevin Long is a great hitting coach. In my opinion, Dave Eiland is the perfect fit as the pitching coach because of Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy. We saw the effect he had on those 3 last year in AAA. I think he knows their strengths and weaknesses better than anybody. I can’t wait to see how they all do in ‘08.
Hello , it’s Thanksgiving Day! I’m enjoying my extra day off, and I am planning to make something fun that’ll probably involve a bike ride and seeing something new in Poway I haven’t seen yet.
You write something new at Thanksgiving?