2019 MLB Regular Season running thread

If I'm Kansas City, phone call #1 is to Maddon.
When he says no, then you proceed on to Kendall or Metheny.

 

Royals aren't going to pony up for Maddon. The Mets would actually be a great fit, but I don't think they will, either.

 

Quite possible Phillies make a run for Maddon.

 

I get the feeling he wants to go small.
KC-SD-Pittsburgh....

 

You pulling the plug on Kapler already?
2 years?
Philly would make sense though. 2 hours from home.

 

Not that I know what's in his mind/heart, but I imagine he'd rather win. The Mets have a pretty good core of players. Competent managing and a couple of offseason additions could put them into the playoffs. The Royals aren't sniffing the playoffs next season.

 

I don't watch the Phillies on a day-to-day basis, but hasn't Kapler improved quite a bit since his initial guffaws?

 

He wasn't a bad manager at all this year, but it's a lot easier to change managers and spend money on a big name than to get the five or six new competent pitchers the Phils really need.

 

Billy Ripken did a nice job this morning on MLB Network showing why managers should bat their best hitter in the 3-hole rather than second. Managers are being too smart by half putting their best hitter in the two hole. They get an average of an extra 17 plate appearances over the season, but they end up with an average of 34 fewer opportunities to bat with runners on base in the first inning alone.

 

Why?

 

I was thinking about Bochy's retirement and the lack of HoFers he had for the bulk of their careers - Gwynn, Posey, Bonds# - surprised to find another manager who only coached a couple of HoFers over his long career for more than a season or three. Lasorda. Piazza, Sutton and then a season or two of a few players at the front or back-end of their careers. Of course, Lasorda only won two WCs. He probably managed more Hall of Very Good Players than anyone though with Dusty Baker, the infield and Hersheiser.

 

Spending several years in Chicago after being in Tampa.
He will be 66 years old. Doesn't need the circus anymore.
He'll make one more stop somewhere for 2-3 years, and go off into the sunset in his Winnebago.