Next skipper could come with halo
We could debate from now `til spring training whether Bob Melvin deserved to be fired, though I still find surprising the number of people arguing in favor of keeping a manager who just oversaw the most underachieving team in Seattle sports history.
The bottom line there is though Melvin wasn`t the lone problem, he certainly didn`t seem to be the solution, either.
And so Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi moved Monday to fix the first of many recent mistakes made by the franchise, dismissing a man who was ultimately fired for not having enough fire himself.
The merits of that move can`t really be determined until Bavasi hires a replacement. If the next manager is better than Melvin, then Monday`s decision is fully justified, no matter what you thought of the outgoing skipper.
So who is next?
Bavasi said he has about a dozen prospects in mind, while understandably refusing to name names. But listening to the first-year GM discuss his hiring process, two things seem clear.
One, he`s going to hire a manager that he`s either familiar with himself or who has strong connections to someone he fully trusts for an honest recommendation.
And two, he`s a firm believer that baseball managers learn from their failures, meaning he`s not against bringing in a man fired in his previous shot.
Adding one plus two, in this case, brings us to former Anaheim Angels manager Terry Collins, who figures to immediately be near or at the top of Bavasi`s wish list.
Collins, 55, worked well with Bavasi in Anaheim from 1997-99 before resigning in September of his final season following some ugly player unrest centering around struggling star Mo Vaughn.
Collins, who also spent 12 years as a minor-league manager, is regarded as an intense, no-nonsense type who would run counter to the low-key approach of Melvin. In six seasons of managing mid-payroll teams (three with Houston, three with Anaheim), his squads finished second five times. Only in the last year did the Angels fall out of contention in a disappointing season that ultimately led to Bavasi`s resignation as well.
Collins, currently working as the Los Angeles Dodgers minor-league coordinator, isn`t the only former skipper whose name will come up. You can figure on hearing about Mike Hargrove, Charlie Manuel, Art Howe, Grady Little and Bobby Valentine.
Or there is Joe Maddon, a long-time bench coach in Anaheim who also has connections with Bavasi.
Clearly this hiring process will be different than the one to replace Lou Piniella. Bavasi isn`t as much into the corporate structure as CEO Howard Lincoln. He won`t bring in a dozen candidates and go through extensive interviews in hopes of unearthing some unknown gem.
That`s how the M`s found Melvin, a man who interviewed marvelously two years ago.
``I learned that interviews don`t get you a whole lot of information,`` Bavasi said of his experience as the Angels` GM from 1994-99. ``You have to find the people you trust in baseball who have worked closely with that guy and get that information. My instinct right now is to hit the guys I know. Your friends tell you the truth.``
Not that Bavasi is making this hire all on his own, but it was interesting to see him as the lone voice of the franchise at Monday`s press conference at Safeco Field. He didn`t hire Melvin, but was given the chore of firing him. And he will be entrusted with finding the right replacement. Which means it`s worth peeking into Bavasi`s thought process on second chances.
He draws largely on his own experience. He feels better prepared to be a GM now after having been through the fires in Anaheim. He said Monday he expects Melvin to be better in his second chance as a manager, to the point where he already made a call (likely to the Arizona Diamondbacks) recommending Melvin for their current opening.
Why not give Melvin the chance then to fix his own mistakes right here in Seattle?
Because in Bavasi`s mind, it`s too hard to change your stripes without changing your uniform, too.
``It might be that us baseball people are just morons. Because in Anaheim, I found myself doing the same thing over and over again until my forehead was bloodied. I just kept going after it,`` Bavasi said. ``It seems like when you`re in the same place, you just try harder instead of trying something different.``
Bavasi said one of the things he`s learned is to not fear failure. The old ``What are they going to do, fire me?`` outlook is emboldened by those who`ve been dismissed and given a second chance.
``Maybe it`s a more cavalier attitude,`` he said of a second go-round. ``You`re not afraid.``
He was speaking primarily of himself and relating it to his belief Melvin will be better in his next job. But his words speak to his next hire as well. Which is why Collins figures to get a close look as a guy who has been there, learned that, and has earned Bavasi`s respect in the process.
The M`s want to keep pitching coach Bryan Price, but he figures to be too similar to Melvin to warrant strong consideration as the new head boss. Just as the Mariners swung away from Piniella`s style to hire Melvin, they`ll go back the other direction this time.
Which means hiring someone with experience, someone with a little more passion and someone who finds the middle ground between Piniella`s prickly nature and Melvin`s mildness.
``We`re not looking for a mute,`` Bavasi said, ``but we`re not looking for somebody who is just going to raise hell. We`d like somebody who can manage a Major League club and that leaves the field wide open.``
Wide open? Not really. Bavasi will be criticized for not saying precisely why he fired Melvin, but he just didn`t want to rip the man on his way out the door. Clearly the Mariners want to go a new direction and that direction is away from the blase faire attitude of the last two seasons.
Expect the next manager to be someone with more intensity and willingness to pressure veteran players who need a boot. Expect him to be someone Bavasi knows and trusts.
And don`t be surprised if his name is Terry Collins.
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