The Token Minority Interview - Tony Pena
Age - 50
Playing Career - 18 MLB seasons, 5x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove winner, 0 World Series Rings
Coaching Credentials - 3+ Seasons as Kansas City Royals Manager (198-285), AL Manager of the Year 2003, Managed Dominican Republic team to 2 Caribbean World Series titles, Current Yankees 1st base coach.
Career Influences: Played under Whitey Herzog and Chuck Tanner, Coached under Joe Torre.
True Yankee Score: 2/10, Pena never suited up for the Yankees as a player but has gained some popularity in his brief stint as Yankee 1st base coach.
The case for Pena - As a catcher for 18 MLB seasons, Tony Pena should know to handle a pitching staff, which may be the most important managerial quality that Yankee ownership is looking for with the influx of youth into the New York starting rotation. At 50 years of age, Pena is old enough to be respected by veteran locker room presences (Jeter, Rodriguez, Rivera, Posada), but young enough as a manager that he'll still have plenty bounce in his step. He's also the only Latino managerial candidate the Yankees are interviewing, a major plus considering the ethnic composition of the Yankee locker room. Pena also proved in Kansas City that he does possess some managerial magic, leading the Royals in 2003 to their first winning record since 1994 - earning him AL Manager of the Year. But the perhaps best reason to hire Tony Pena - Yankee fans have no connection to the man, so if he fails in succeeding Joe Torre it's not like ownership would be firing a Yankee folk hero.
The case against Pena: Now that the Joe Torre Era is over in New York, the Yankees brass would love to bring in a sexy name to make everybody forget that they just let a manager, as Mike Francesa would say, who is more popular than Santa Claus, walk away. If the name of the team Pena was interviewing for was the Santo Domingo Yankees, he would be that sexy name. It's no knock on Pena's managerial ability, he's just not the name that's going to get people over a Joe Torre hangover - especially when Randy Levine and the Steinbrenners made Joe Torre a martyr. Factor in that the public's last recollection of Tony Pena managing was that of him resigning from the helm of the Royals mid season and I'd say his chances of getting the job are bleak. Not Memphis Bleak but definitely bleak...
Odds of managing the Yankee in 2008: 30:1
The One-Season Wonder - Joe Girardi
Age: 43
Playing Career: 15 MLB Seasons, 1x All-Star, 3x World Series Champion
Coaching Credentials: 1 year manager of Florida Marlins (78-84), NL Manager of the Year 2006, Yankees bench coach (2005)
Career Influences: Played under Don Zimmer, Don Baylor, Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa. Coached under Joe Torre.
True Yankee Score: 6/10, Girardi played 4 seasons with the Yankees and was part of 3 Yankee World Series teams. He was also the Yankee bench coach for a season and analyst on the YES network.
The case for Girardi: In 2007, Joe Girardi did what all unemployed managers do; he got a job as a studio analyst and showed everybody how much he knows about baseball, and in the process endeared himself even more to Yankee fans. But Joe Girardi's managerial candidacy is more based on the magic he worked with the 2006 Marlins and their $14 million dollar payroll than his ability to explain the infield fly rule. Girardi's one year stint with the Marlins that earned him NL Mangager of the Year, showed both his adeptness in working with young players and the ability to get a team to play hard for 162 games. I'm sure the Steinbrenner's must be thinking that if Girardi can win 78 games with a $14 million payroll, how many games can he win with a roster worth over $200 million?
The case against Girardi: The most glaring argument against Girardi's candidacy is his age. Sure, Girardi had no problems managing Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera, but there are players on the 2007 Yankee roster that Girardi actually played with (Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Pettite, Clemens). Factor in Girardi's reputation as a disciplinarian and you have to wonder what the reaction is going to be the first time Girardi tells one of the veterans to tuck in their shirt? Then there's just the small fact that he was fired from the Marlins after one year because he couldn't get along with owner Jeff Loria. That begs the questions, if Girardi can't get along with the owner of the Florida Marlins, how is he going to get along with the most explosive owner in team sports? Girardi was also involved in a controversy in 2006, when he reportedly gave former teammate and then Philadelphia Phillies pitcher John Lieber pitching advice during the season, with was worsened by the fact that Lieber beat the Marlins in 2 starts down the stretch. This probably wasn't a big deal, but it does raise questions as to whether or not Girardi isn't far enough removed from his playing career to manage former teammates.
Odds of managing the Yankees in 2008: 5:2
The Yankee Icon - Don Mattingly
Age: 46 years old, shares a birthday with Adolf Hitler, national pot-smoking day, and the Columbine Shootings (April 2oth).
Playing Career: 14 MLB seasons with Yankees, .307 average, 1985 AL MVP, 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove winner, 3x Silver Slugger, Record for Grand Slams in a season (6), 0 World Series rings.
Coaching Credentials: Yankee Bench Coach (2006-2007), Yankee Hitting Coach (2003-2005), Special Instructor in Spring Training (1997-2003).
Career Influences: Played under Billy Martin, Lou Piniella, Yogi Berra, Buck Showalter. Coached under Joe Torre.
True Yankee Score: 10/10, "Donny Baseball" is arguably the most popular living Yankee and was the franchise's one beacon of light in a decade of mediocrity. He has his #23 retired in Monument Park.
The case for Mattingly: Because of his iconic stature among Yankee fans and George Steinbrenner's known affection for him, Mattingly is the prohibitive favorite for the Yankee managerial position. What Mattingly really has going for him is the Story Book Factor. If Pena or Girardi take the helm and won a World Series title, Yankee fans would be ecstatic and would certainly embrace either man, but it still wouldn't be the dream situation. If Mattingly, a man that rates a 10 of 10 on the true Yankee scale, led the Yankees to a World Series, it would be the dream fulfilled. Think of it as the difference between marrying the dream girl you went all through elementary and high school with OR marrying a girl you met on match.com. Both situations can work out great, but only one them would be written about in a story book. *NOTE* This may not be a logical way to hire the next manager of a team with billions of dollars invested in it over the next half a dozen years, but it may very well be George Steinbrenner's thought process.
The case against Mattingly: The reasons not to hire Mattingly are well known. He's never managed on any level before, he does not seem like he has a voice or personality that will command a club house, and had reportedly expressed trepidation about his readiness for the managerial position. With any one of those reasons one can certainly make a compelling argument against hiring Mattingly as the manager. The truth his we'll never know unless he gets a chance to manage. But for anybody that thinks Mattingly needs to gain more experience working as a bench coach is crazy. If he's not ready to manage now then he'll never be ready. Mattingly was an outstanding MLB player both as a hitter and defensive player and also had the privilege to coach under Joe Torre - I'm not buying the fact that Mattingly needs more time to learn the ins and outs of the game. This guy can probably manage from a strategic standpoint in his sleep by now. Plus his ability to teach the game to others cannot be challenged because of his successful tenure as Yankee hitting coach. The question really is can Mattingly be a leader of men and can he shield his team from the media fishbowl of New York. Will be be able to quell potential crisis situations? Again, we'll find out if and when he gets his chance.
Odds of managing the Yankees in 2008: 3:2
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