Davey Johnson will be 69 years old in January. If that concerns you as a Nationals fan, be aware that it’s really of little consequence to most baseball professionals. Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa turned 67 earlier this month. Detroit’s Jim Leyland’s 67th birthday is in December. Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel will celebrate his 68th birthday four days into 2012. Think any of those teams’ fans are pushing for new managers because the current ones are too old?
I suspect even Johnson would admit he felt every bit of 68 when he returned to the dugout this summer after a decade on the sidelines. He appeared gaunt, much thinner than we remembered. It likely took a few weeks to reacclimate to the big league lifestyle: late nights, late — or very early — flights here and there and living in hotel rooms.
By season’s end, he looked better, he sounded better, and it was pretty apparent he was enjoying himself. He was coy whenever he was asked about coming back in 2012, usually saying something like: “Well, it’s up to the owners, but I’ll be on the committee that makes that decision, and I know who I’ll be recommending.” That he also occasionally would let slip something along the lines of “Next year in spring training we’ll have to …” certainly lent some credence to his commitment to the job.
Thus far this offseason, the only managerial opening unfilled is in Boston, where Terry Francona walked away, not without some prodding from ownership. It appears the Cubs will replace Mike Quade, with ex-Red Sox GM Theo Epstein wanting to put his own stamp on the team. Brad Mills in Houston could be in jeopardy once MLB approves the sale of the club to Jim Crane. The White Sox filled their vacancy quickly, installing the never-managed-anywhere Robin Ventura as field boss to replace Ozzie Guillen, who left for the Marlins.
A frequent benchmark of successful clubs is consistency in both the dugout and the front office. The better teams don’t use a revolving door approach. First off, it’s expensive. But more importantly, it sends the wrong message to your fan base. I’m not suggesting that Davey Johnson will manage the Nats until he’s 75, but it’s not out of the question, particularly if someone can get him to lose the tobacco chaw.
The Nationals appear to be a team on the cusp of winning. Scouts from other ballclubs tell me that Washington looks like a team building for a long run at contending.
“They’re doing so many things right,” one scout said. “And they seem to have the same kind of financial resilience as the big boys.”
Next year is the most-anticipated season of Major League Baseball in Washington D.C. since baseball returned in 2005. Another managerial change at Nationals Park on the heels of 2011’s obvious progress makes little sense.
That’s why it’s not going to happen.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and contributor to MASN’s Nats Xtra. Contact him at [email protected].
