Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports that Eric Wedge will be named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, according to baseball sources.
That news sure makes the Pirate hunt a lot more interesting.
Our feeling was that Wedge was easily the most qualified of the candidates. Now, we kinda like Dale Sveum out of the remaining pack; he's hard nosed, played the game right, and didn't seem to antagonize his team. But we expect the list to grow now; it won't be limited by the current list of guys interviewed. So stay tuned.
Ummmm....well, I guess I'm flat-out astonished. Gotta admit I didn't see this one coming. I wonder if Wedge didn't get an offer from Huntington, only to turn it down in favor of what is unquestionably a bad situation in Seattle. Imagine preferring the worst-hitting team in recent American League history over the Pirates' managerial opening. If such a scenario actually went down, it proves that no qualified manager will come here if they have any other choice in the known universe.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there's always the Next Young Big Thing who thinks he'll be the one to turn it around here. I suppose Sveum wouldn't be a bad choice, but I'd almost rather see us go to the dark side and bring in Gibbons. Why NOT a drill sergeant at this point? They've tried everything else. Well, except actually getting some players. I don't think they've really, actually tried that.