As the first games of the League Championship Series prepare to get underway, six big league teams have managerial openings, and one has already been filled. Not long after the Atlanta Braves season ended (along with the Bobby Cox era), the team wasted no time in locking up Fredi Gonzalez. Teams also looking for managers are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets. But before I discuss the Mariners' role in the carousel (which will likely end early next week) I just want to say that I enjoyed Bobby Cox during his time as the Braves skipper. Even though the guy always found a way to get kicked out of a game (he has a major league record 161 ejections, three of which were in the postseason), he also found ways to lead the Braves to 14 straight division titles (1991-1993, 1995-2005), including a World Series victory in 1995 and four more during the 1990s.
Now it looks like the Seattle Mariners are on the brink of becoming the second team this offseason to hire a new manager, and according to sources, almost all signs point to the team hiring former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge. The team also looked at Bobby Valentine (former manager of the Rangers, Mets, and Japanese league Chiba Lotte Marines), John Gibbons (former Blue Jays manager and a native of Great Falls), Cecil Cooper (managed the Houston Astros for parts of two seasons), and Lloyd McClendon (managed the Pirates for four mediocre years). When Wedge was managing the Indians, the team came within one victory of winning the American League pennant in 2007 only to cough up a 3-1 series lead to eventual World Series champion Boston. Cleveland almost made the postseason in 2005 but they finished two games behind--you guessed it--the Red Sox (who also finished tied for first in the AL East with the Yankees, but the Yankees won the division title via a tiebreaker based on head-to-head record).
As a whole, I thought Wedge did a great job during his time managing the Indians, and had they won the AL pennant in 2007, the Indians might have had the potential to win their first World Series since winning it all in 1948. He's everything that previous Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu was not: fiery, intense, and very passionate about his job and profession. His attitude will wear off on his players, especially the younger players because many of the players he managed in Cleveland were up-and-coming stars, which included guys like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Victor Martinez. The Mariners are making a very wise move by bringing in a no-nonsense guy like Wedge. Given the fact the Mariners just came off a 101-loss season, getting the team back to a level where they can win 85-95 games in future seasons is going to take some time just like it did when Wedge was in Cleveland. But I know that Wedge will do a great job in Seattle and will guide the Mariners to the postseason at some point down the road.
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