Jump to content
THE BROWNS BOARD

Castro on Wedge's Successor


Beanpot

Recommended Posts

We're blessed to have Anthony Castrovince covering this team. Here's his take on what the Tribe is looking for while interviewing managerial candidates. BTW, someone with ties to the Nationals over at BTF mentioned that Manny Acta is being considered for the job:

 

The interview process for the Indians' managerial position will formally begin next week.

 

General manager Mark Shapiro and assistant GM Chris Antonetti, through conversations with and recommendations from people around the industry, have compiled a list of around 30 potential candidates, and that list will be whittled down to eight to 10 candidates in a matter of days.

 

The Indians hope to conduct phone interviews next week with each of those eight to 10 candidates from Goodyear, Ariz. (where the front office will be holding their annual player evaluation meetings). From the phone interviews, the field will be narrowed down to three to five candidates, each of whom will come to Cleveland for a more formal interview. Those candidates will also be required to meet with the local media -- a prerequisite that the Indians will use to gauge their communication skills.

 

Based on his talk with reporters this afternoon, this is what Shapiro is looking for:

 

* Communication counts. "Somebody who can effectively demonstrate good awareness and the ability to communicate across a broad spectrum of players, cultures and personalities, and then being an effective communicator to our market, as well."

 

* Pitching is a priority. Given the current construction of the Major League roster and the problems of the recent past, the Indians are placing a high emphasis on the new manager's thoughts on what qualities a pitching coach should possess and how to manage an effective bullpen.

 

* Staff selection skills. One of the knocks on Eric Wedge revolved around the makeup of his Major League staff and how it was dominated by ex-catchers. Shapiro didn't mention that specifically, but he alluded to it when he said he'd be looking for "somebody who has the ability to build a diverse staff -- and by that I mean a different set of backgrounds, complementary backgrounds, different skill sets and talents. And then the ability to utilize those talents."

 

* Experience isn't everything. The Tribe's next manager doesn't have to possess Major League or Minor League managerial experience. "In every guy's case, there are competencies, attributes and experiences that can make a guy fit what we think is a specific profile for a Major League manager. You want to find all three, but you often are going to be choosing between what is the best possible combination and fit. The perfect guy is probably doing it already right now. We look for that best combination. If the guy has no experience in doing one thing we're looking for, you hope the other two are overwhelming."

 

* A wee bit of Wedge. The Indians aren't looking to drastically change course. So the new guy will probably have some similarities to Wedge. "It's a leadership position," Shapiro said. "Our philosophies as an organization are the same. Because it's a leadership position, some of the attributes will be identical, some will be complementary. But every single individual is going to have his own set of strengths and his own set of limitations. I'm not going to get in the business of comparing and contrasting with Eric. That's just not productive. But I'm sure there will be some things that are similar and some that are different, just because of different backgrounds."

 

* Market mindset. The new guy will have to understand the Indians' financial limits and the emphasis on young, developing talent. He should possess the ability to ease young players into the big leagues. As Shapiro said, "speeding up that timeframe where possible, and, in light of our operating conditions, [understanding] not just the importance but the essential nature of young players to our success."

 

* Popularity not important. For those clamoring for the returns of Mike Hargrove or Sandy Alomar Jr. or Omar Vizquel (whose still planning to play next year, by the way), prepare to be disappointed. "I'm not looking for short-term popularity," Shapiro said. "I'm looking for a guy to come in here and lead this organization effectively and maximize our chance of winning ballgames. I've said it before: A popular decision in December or January is very often your downfall in July or August."

 

The goal is to have the new guy selected by the end of the month, with an announcement following the World Series. The timetable could, of course, be affected by the postseason, and whether any of the final candidates are still active in the playoffs.

 

Regarding candidates, Shapiro, as expected, did not name names. Until the Indians get to the final three to five guys, he's going to remain secretive.

 

Obviously, John Farrell remains a popular possibility. I'm still not convinced he won't be a candidate, regardless of the ESPN.com report over the weekend. It could be that Farrell is just trying to avoid any distractions to the Red Sox postseason run.

 

Anyway, the search is on, and it will get heated in the next couple weeks. You can read more shortly on Indians.com.

 

For now, I'm going AWOL -- or, more accurately, on vacation -- for the next couple days, so this blog will be on hiatus until next week. But I'd like to sincerely thank you all for the kind words in the comments section under the last post. That was certainly not expected and definitely appreciated on this end. Thank you all.

 

http://castrovince.mlblogs.com/archives/20..._as_my_lat.html

 

Beanpot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I'll be watching this one from afar. No hopes, no favorites. Just see how it pans out.

 

 

You have to love Castro's dream scenario though...

 

Hoynes and I began to invent a dream scenario -- the type of scenario that, if you spent 100 years covering Major League Baseball, would never take place. It goes kind of like this:

 

Us: "Hey, John."

 

Farrell: "Hey, great to see you guys! Since you're here, I might as well tell you that I'm 100 percent interested in the Indians' job. In fact, I just got off the phone with Mark Shapiro. I start Tuesday."

 

Us: "Awesome. What's your Opening Day rotation?"

 

Farrell: "Westbrook, Carmona, Laffey, Masterson, Huff."

 

Us: "Great! Anything coming down the pike this winter?"

 

Farrell: "We're trading Wood on Dec. 10."

 

Us: "Good to know. Any word on the Press Tour schedule?"

 

Farrell: "Yep, I've got it right here. I'll see you Jan. 15 in Ashtabula."

 

Us: "Sounds good."

 

Somehow, it never works out this way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just caught the DiaTribe's take on it....sums up my feelings pretty perfectly.

 

Aren’t we really just waiting for the final 3 to be Lovullo (with the explanation that they wanted to hire from outside the organization, but that Lovullo’s interview was SO impressive that he made the final list), some random MLB bench coach (take your pick, really), and a former manager like some of those names listed above – none of whose mention garners more than a shrug and an “I suppose I could get behind that hire”.

 

Isn’t that kind of where we’re at, just expecting the “yeah, that sounds about right” reaction to this hire with the idea that the new manager’s name isn’t Eric Wedge producing the most excitement?

http://clevelandtribeblog.blogspot.com/200...y-go-round.html

 

 

Even Farrell doesn't excite me much, I just want some competitive baseball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

* Market mindset. The new guy will have to understand the Indians' financial limits and the emphasis on young, developing talent. He should possess the ability to ease young players into the big leagues. As Shapiro said, "speeding up that timeframe where possible, and, in light of our operating conditions, [understanding] not just the importance but the essential nature of young players to our success."

 

HA-HA-HA!!...Translated, this means..."They had better turn into superstars & win a World Series for you BEFORE they become eligible for free agency, because that's when we say goodbye to them & bring in a new bunch of bargain basement children."

 

...And some folks wonder why I'm done with the Dolan owned Indians. It is truly sad.

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...