The Washington Nationals are one of four teams still looking for a manager, along with the Mariners, Marlins, and Padres. A number of names have been tied to all of the teams, most notably ESPN analyst Alex Cora and Diamondbacks AAA manager Phil Nevin. The Nationals have been tied to both of them, which is only a good thing.
Source: Alex Cora will interview for managerial openings with #Padres, #Marlins, #Nationals. SD meeting first reported by @JonHeymanCBS.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 13, 2015
Phil Nevin is the hottest managerial candidate in #MLB: Interviewed Monday w #Nats, already w #Marlins, and #Padres and #Mariners on deck.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 13, 2015
Bud Black’s name hasn’t come up all that much in this offseason’s managerial hot stove, but it should be. Sure enough, the Nationals are the one team that has been publicly tied to Black so far, a wise move.
Bud Black, fired in June by the #Padres, will interview later this week with the Washington #Nats for their managerial opening.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 13, 2015
That’s good! That’s a good thing! Well done, Nationals!
But Mike Rizzo isn’t perfect – he’s also planning on interviewing two more retreads for the job.
Dusty Baker and Ron Gardenhire, come on down! Via MLB.com’s Bill Ladson…
The Nationals are expected to interview Dusty Baker and Ron Gardenhire for the managerial opening, according to two baseball sources. The job became available after Matt Williams was relieved of his duties last week.
Baker, who is currently an analyst for TBS during the postseason, could interview for the position as early as Wednesday. Gardenhire could interview sometime next week. Both Baker and Gardenhire have a wealth of managerial experience, which is something the team wants.
/sigh/
Baker is now 66 and has won a total of two playoff games since 2003, when he took the Cubs to within one win of the World Series.
What about Gardy? Well, he managed the Twins for 13 years, won six division titles, and one playoff series. His last playoff win? 2004. Gardenhire’s Twins lost 90 games in each of his last four years with the team.
So…these are just the type of guys the Nationals need to talk to – old baseball men that can do well in the regular season but flop in the playoffs. Yeah, Davey Johnson is 72, but he at least helped the Nationals win *two* playoff games in 2012.
