Times have changed boys. Watching the diamondback tv guys in agony about talking up Hitch or lose their jobs was great entertainment. The press release stating that he will be head coach on a 3 year contract are ludicrous. Their ownership will set a high number in the Tony/Dave sweepstakes. Somebody thinks Dave is worth his weight in gold in these pitching starved days. Considering the costs, thats about right.

Dizzy, stability, as you use the term, was and still is a conservative term for profitability. Oquendo would have one chance at being coach. Cards go the series, and Tony taking another job regardless of a successful season. I put that at 1/50. And thats not because I think it likely stays. He will go west. Before the season started there was a lot of talk about change. Its coming, maybe even faster than expected. I’m changing my 85mill payroll prediction for 2010 now to 79 million. That is a solid number in my misguided opinion.

Wainwright discovers, via Carpenter, that his arm angle is 3 or 4inches different from last year. Plausible? Or is Dave that good, using a messenger thinking maybe Wainwright too delicate for another interventions at this point? The subtle psychiatry of coaching. That eventuality really wouldn’t surprise me.

TLR is clearly comfortable being surrounded by guys that seem to be comfortable in their positions, unencumbered by lofty goals of standing in the bright lights of media conferences. Perhaps the guys he hires feel awkward in front of a microphone. Duncan seems to be that way, at least from what I read on these different forums.

Again, I just don’t see training future competition as any part of a manager’s job description. TLR has been here 14 years now. If Oquendo takes over for him (and does well) he will have performed above and beyond the call of duty.

However, TLR won’t be making the decision about who will replace him so why should he worry about it. It’s up to the future managers of the world to learn for themselves and then be able to communicate in an interview that they have what it takes to manage a baseball team.

In Alston’s days, there were far fewer MLB teams to need managers and each club had only three or maybe four coaches instead of the six-plus today.

Consider the Dodgers as an example: Walt Alston managed 23 years from 1954 through 1976 and won seven NL pennants before giving way to Tommie Lasorda who led the team another 20 years and took them to the postseason eight times. I can remember reading about Leo Durocher, who coached third for a time, coveting Alston’s job. Durocher had managed the Dodgers earlier.

You’ve presented some great information but I’m not persuaded that you have uncovered a shortcoming of TLR.

In his recent book, Rob Rains goes into some detail about how Hawk Harrelson forced Moe onto La Russa’s staff as a second pitching coach after he had tried and failed to fire Duncan. The Sox spent part of the 1986 season with a starting pitching coach and a relief pitching coach before Harrelson reassigned Moe. TLR was getting an awful lot of “help” in those days.