Currently two baseball teams are looking for a new manager. Two more may be looking soon.  Right now the only official openings are in Pittsburgh and Kansas City, but two of baseball’s most storied franchises, in the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals may possibly be making a change as well.Â
As we all know Yankee owner George Steinbrenner made the statement last week that Joe Torre probably won’t be back if the Yanks didn’t win the series against the Cleveland Indians. It’s been a week and there is still no word on Torre’s fate, which is expected to come early this week.
St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa is waiting to make a decision on coming back based on who the Cardinals ownership hires as the new general manager.  LaRussa has also been rumored to be Torre’s replacement and was once said to be considered for the opening in Cincinnati, since filled by Dusty Baker as well as Seattle who decided to keep their interim manager, John McLaren.
So without any further adieu here are the candidates for the jobs.
Pittsburgh Pirates
- John Farrell – Boston Red Sox pitching coach
- Joel Skinner – Cleveland Indians 3rd base coach
- Trent Jewett -Â Pittsburgh’s Triple A manager
- Bob Walk – former Pirate pitcher and current broadcaster
- Ken Macha – former Oakland A’s manager
- Phil Garner – former Houston Astros manager
- Andy Van Slyke – Detroit Tigers 1st base coach
- Jay Bell – Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach
My pick here will be Ken Macha for a few reasons. First he is a Pittsburgh native and had the job two years ago but turned it down to stay in Oakland. The Pirates hired Jim Tracy, the A’s fired Macha at the end of the 2006 season. Second Macha has worked with young talent in the Oakland system. He took a very young A’s team to the playoffs where they over achieved for a few years and they played their asses off for him. Pittsburgh has really no veteran presence and Macha would be a good choice. John Farrell and Joel Skinner will and should get interviews, Phil Garner is a possibility as a former Pirates player and probably the runner up to Macha.  Andy Van Slyke and Jay Bell may get a courtesy call but I don’t percieve those two as ready to manage yet.
 
Kansas City Royals
- Jim Fergosi – former manager for the California Angels
- Joe Girardi – former Florida Marlins manager
- Ken Macha -former Oakland manager
- Jimy Williams former Boston and Toronto manager
- Terry Pendleton Atlanta hitting coach
- Frank White former Royals/Red Sox coach
- Chino Cadahia Atlanta coach
- Brian Snitker Atlanta coach
- Billy Doran Royals bench coach
My choice to lead the Kansas City Royals is former Red Sox and Blue Jays skipper Jimy Williams. Dayton Moore, the Royals GM is very familiar with Williams who spent time with him in Atlanta. Terry Pendleton I see as the runner up and most of the candidates have some past or current connection to Moore with the exception of Ken Macha and Jim Fergosi and I have no idea where the hell his name came from. Joe Girardi is a long shot as he seemed to indicate to Moore he wanted to see what happened in St. Louis and New York and if anything else opened up. But hey if nothing else is out there I’m your guy.
St. Louis Cardinals
- Tony Pena former Kansas City manager and Cardinals player
- Buck Showalter former Yankees, Rangers and Diamondbacks manger
- Joe Girardi former Florida Marlin manager
- Jose Oquendo current Cardinals coach and former player
- Terry Pendleton current Atlanta coach and former Cardinal
- Jim Riggleman former Chicago Cubs manager
- Jim Tracy former LA Dodgers and Pittsburgh manager
- Ken Macha former Oakland manager
Officially there is no opening in St. Louis and supposedly Tony LaRussa is still the manager and it’s his call on coming back. But if he doesn’t I think Buck Showalter gets the gig. He is very similar to LaRussa in personality (he has none) and in the way he treats his players (like a drill sargeant) so the Cards would stay in lock step. Runners up are Terry Pendleton and Jose Oquendo although I’d like to see Tony Pena get another shot as a manager and where better than with one of his former teams. Riggleman, Tracy and Girardi are long shots in my opinion.
 
- Don Mattingly current Yankees bench coach and former player
- Buck Showalter former Yankees manager
- Joe Girardi fomer Yankees coach and player
- Tony LaRussa current St. Louis manager
- Larry Bowa current Yankees coach and former Philadelphia manager
- Phil Garner former Milwaukee and Houston manager
- Bobby Valentine former Mets manager
As of right now Joe Torre is still the Yankees manager but he has no contract. His fate will be determined on Monday or Tuesday and the rumor is that he won’t be fired but he’ll be offered a pay cut so drastic that he turns down the offer. Therefore, my choice is Don Mattingly because rumor has it that George Steinbrenner loves him and we all know that the Big Stein gets the final say. Others on the list include current St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa (but supposedly GM Brian Cashman is not for him at all and neither are the NY media who are doing their best to cut him up), Larry Bowa, Bobby Valentine, Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi as well as Phil Garner. Personally as a Sox fan nothing would tickle me more than to see “Donny Baseball” as the Yankees new manager. He has never managed a game, not even in the minors, and he has said recently he isn’t in a hurry to be a manager. A more logical choice to me would be Garner.Â
