Saturday, October 26, 2013

My Thoughts on the Tigers Managerial Rumors

Since the resignation of Jim Leyland as the Detroit Tigers' manager, there have been several names mentioned and rumored as possible replacements.  I am going to give you some of my personal thoughts.  Of course, I am no insider, just a lifelong fan who has an idea of what is going on.  So, take it for what it is worth.
Okay, so what do we know for sure.  We know that former managers Ozzie Guillen, Dusty Baker and Eric Wedge have all publicly shown interest in the position.  I would basically ignore these type of news items. Many people have interest, including even me, but it doesn't mean that the interest is mutual.  Until you hear one of these ex-managers getting interest from Tigers, just ignore.
We also know that Tigers' hitting coach Lloyd McClendon has interviewed for the job.  He was once a manager in Pittsburgh and has been a part of Leyland's staff in Detroit during Leyland's entire tenure with Tigers.  This gives McClendon some good qualifications for the opening.  But, I do not see him as a legitimate candidate.  He is not highly sought after among MLB teams and his time as manager in Pittsburgh was not exactly successful.  I believe this is just a courtesy interview by GM Dave Dombrowski for his own employees.  And as for Gene Lamont, I think Lamont's managerial ship has set sail several years ago.

We have also learned that Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach has interviewed for the job.  If you don't know of him, here is some background on Wallach.  He was an All Star third baseman for Montreal and the  Dodgers.  He also managed Dodgers' AAA club and was named the league's manager of the year.  He has played for or coached under well respected managers such as Dick Williams, Tom Lasorda and Bill Virdon.   All of this makes him a very good option for the opening.  Another note about Wallach is that he and Dombrowski spent time together in Montreal, so there is familiarity between the two.
I still believe that Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo is a legitimate candidate.  He once was a Tigers prospect, managed in the minors and is highly regarded as a future manager.  He, of course, is in the World Series.  So any interview will have to happen until after the series and thus any announcement for Tigers replacement will be not named until then.
The Lovullo item is a hunch of mine and I could be wrong.  There also could be some darkhouse candidate out there and be named as Leyland's replacement any day.  Remember, the Prince Fielder signing came out of nowhere.  Dombrowski is a smart man and have total faith in him.  My guess it will be Wallach with heavy consideration for Lovullo.





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