Monday, October 16, 2006
Three New Coaches
Today, Charlie Manuel announced the hiring of three experienced coaches to replace Gary Varsho, Bill Dancy, and Marc Bombard. Jimy Williams, former Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Astros manager, will replace Varsho. Williams adds plenty of experience as bench coach and should help Manuel greatly. Art Howe, former Astros, A's, and Mets manager, will become 3rd base coach replacing Bill Dancy. Davey Lopes will move in as 1st base coach and replace Marc Bombard. These were three great hires. All three should help strategically and hopefully bring the best out of the players.
This should end the debate about whether Manuel can be a good skipper if he is surrounded by gooad coaches. I believe that Manuel is a great manager for this club. He communicates very well and has brought out the best in Howard, Utley, Rollins, and others. His players love him and he has weathered many storms in Philly. My contention has been that if he is surrounded by good coaches he will do fine. The X's and O's have always been his downfall but Jimy Williams, Art Howe, and Davey Lopes will all help. All Manuel has to do is listen. The only problem I see with these hires, and it is a small one, is the rumors that will persist. At the first sign of trouble the rumors will swirl about who will replace him and that can't be healthy for the players.
All in all though this is a great hire. It shows an instant desire to win and is a better hire than any of the names that were rumored. We heard the names Juan Samuel, John Russell, and Dick Poles but no offense to them but today's hires were all better. They provide much more experience since all are former managers and are wise in the ways of baseball. They should provide more focus on fundamentals and as Manuel said "I expect them to have a very positive effect on the team."
This should end the debate about whether Manuel can be a good skipper if he is surrounded by gooad coaches. I believe that Manuel is a great manager for this club. He communicates very well and has brought out the best in Howard, Utley, Rollins, and others. His players love him and he has weathered many storms in Philly. My contention has been that if he is surrounded by good coaches he will do fine. The X's and O's have always been his downfall but Jimy Williams, Art Howe, and Davey Lopes will all help. All Manuel has to do is listen. The only problem I see with these hires, and it is a small one, is the rumors that will persist. At the first sign of trouble the rumors will swirl about who will replace him and that can't be healthy for the players.
All in all though this is a great hire. It shows an instant desire to win and is a better hire than any of the names that were rumored. We heard the names Juan Samuel, John Russell, and Dick Poles but no offense to them but today's hires were all better. They provide much more experience since all are former managers and are wise in the ways of baseball. They should provide more focus on fundamentals and as Manuel said "I expect them to have a very positive effect on the team."
