The hot rumor locally is Joe Girardi will be the Nationals’ next manager.
The recently deposed Marlins skipper was the early favorite to take over for Dusty Baker in Chicago. But Lou Pinella is expected to be announced today as the Cubs manager, Girardi is still on the market.
Girardi’s stock rose precipitously this season when he kept Florida — with a $15 million payroll — in the National League playoff race for much of the season. The Marlins finished with 78 victories when most predicted they’d be lucky to win 60.
Sound familiar?
One need only think back to Year One of the Nats when most national writers picked them to win no more than 70 games. Frank Robinson kept them in the playoff hunt until the final week, winning 81 times.
Girardi — a former catcher — has a style and temperament reminiscent of another former big league manager: Lee Mazzilli. Both men did serious time with the Yankees — Mazzilli as a coach and Girardi as a player and coach. Clearly, both men were strongly influenced by Yankees manager Joe Torre.
I thought Mazzilli was an inspired choice by the Orioles in 2004. The O’s set him up to fail, however, by saddling him with a coaching staff not of his choosing. You may think it shouldn’t matter — clearly Baltimore management didn’t think it did — but when a skipper doesn’t have subordinates he can trust, it’s a problem. Two of Mazzilli’s coaches had interviewed for the job themselves; think they had his best interests at heart? The O’s second-half collapse and the Palmeiro steroid mess doomed any shot he had to remain, or, apparently, stay on the managerial radar, period. Mazzilli’s name never came up when rumors swirled that Torre was out after the Yankees’ ALDS loss to Detroit.
Girardi’s failings in Florida have been chalked up to poor communication skills. It all boils down to his not always seeing eye-to-eye with Marlins owner Jeff Loria and GM Larry Beinfest, who summed it up by saying Girardi wasn’t a “good fit.” Presumably, he learned from his mistakes and is better off for the experience. If not, perhaps the gentlemen in charge of finding the new Washington manager will look elsewhere. There’s no shortage of promising candidates.
Baker had success managing in the NL and has a style that reminds many of Robinson. Padres manager Bruce Bochy — whom San Diego is willing to let walk — has taken his team to the playoffs multiple times in his years at the helm. (Plus, with a size 8 hat, must have more brains than anyone in the game!)
Big league coaches Cecil Cooper, Joey Cora and Ron Washington should all merit interviews — Washington could be the first in baseball history to have his name on both the front and back of his jersey.
If you were expecting a quick resolution of the Nats’ managerial question, you’re probably disappointed already. The club wants someone who will be around for a while. Decisions like that can’t be made in haste.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years.
