M’s to make announcement
Dave · July 1, 2007 at 9:48 am · Filed Under Mariners
The Mariners have called a press conference for 11:30 am to make a “major announcement”.
I don’t know what the news is, but here are my guesses.
60% – Ichiro extension
25% – Bavasi/Hargrove extensions
10% – Trade Announcement
5% – Free Ninento Wii for Derek
An extension for Ichiro would make my day.
Late Edit: Commenter ebcmc got this one right – according to Larry Stone (via Geoff Baker), Mike Hargrove is resigning as manager of the Mariners. Given the team’s recent performance, this is almost certainly not baseball related. While we’ve never been huge Mike Hargrove fans, we wish him all the best in his future, and hope that everything is okay with him and his family.
I’m guessing Wii.
Please, Please, Pleeeeeaase let it be an Ichiro extension!
Free Wiis to all fans that had to sit through ‘04 and ‘05 = .000001% probability.
Knowing the Ms, Grover and McClaren extensions seem more likely than 10%…more like 30%
/crosses fingers
/repeats to self
Mark Buehrle… Mark Buehrle… Mark Buehrle… Mark Buehrle…
BTW, are the press conferences televised? If so, what channel?
Hargrove was already extended thru next year, or so I read this morning.
I’m assuming bring up Jones doesn’t warrant a press conference? It would be less exciting than the Wii.
It was never announced, though. If they decided to extend Bavasi (and thus, take them both off the hot seat), a press conference would make sense, especially given the timing, as the team has won 7 in a row.
It’s hard to see it being a trade. It’s so tough to keep that stuff secret nowadays, and there haven’t been any rumblings that the M’s are close to anything. If it was a trade, I think there’s be more smoke.
So little on a trade announcement?
The Mariners are usually good at keeping the lid closed when it comes to trade talks. So I can hold out my false hopes for another hour thirty.
Ah. Makes sense with that explaination.
A Bavasi or Hargrove extension would completely kill the buzz that this winning streak has generated.
At least, for me.
I thought Derek got a Wii, just not free. Or am I imagining that?
“My team is owned by Nintendo, and all I got is this lousy Wii-shirt”
Oh, wait, I know what this is:
Seattle, July 1 2007 (for immediate release)
In an unprecedented marketing tie-in, Mariners starting pitcher Jeff Weaver is announcing he’s changing his name to Jeff Wii-ver.
“We were actually planning this for earlier in the season,” said a Nintendo spokesperson, “But we didn’t want our product’s good name associated with that level of failure.”
Weaver — now Wiiver — was enthusiastic. “Everybody’s always confusing me with my brother. Well, except when I’m on the mound. So this should help a lot. And with the amount of suck I produced for $8 million at the start of the year, it’s the least I could do. Plus it was in my contract, though I didn’t know about that until recently and neither did my agent.”
The Mariners apparently have been putting clauses like this in all their player’s contracts, but this is the first time they have exercised it (though rumors persist that Scott Spiezio was released because he refused to get Nintendo’s “Mario” and “Luigi” characters tattooed on each bicep, opting for an image of a stripper instead). Does that mean more name changes are in the works? “Don’t rule it out,” said the Nintendo spokesperson, “We’re thinking of asking Yuniesky Betancourt to change his name to ‘Zelda.’”
Via Baker
“The news is big enough that the M’s are suggesting to baseball writers that they might want to change their flights to Kansas City.”
Derek is getting 2 Wiis.
Sam Presti probably knows nothing about baseball…but he’d probably be a huge upgrade over Bavasi…Wasn’t Bob Whitsitt president of both the Blazers and the Seahawks at the same time?
Willie Bloomquist lifetime extension.
Jose Vidro retirement with heavy pension.
Edgar Martinez named hitting coach.
…it’s not a trade for Griffey
Baker just updated:
“UPDATE (10:15 a.m.) Our sources indicate this press conference is not about Ichiro. If they are lying, the appropriate tar and feathers will be applied. But I thought I’d throw that in to fuel the frenzy…on to the post…”
It’s not the time of the season yet for a trade. Somebody got extended.
Willie Bloomquist for Albert Pujols.
Hargrove is announcing that he is quiting. Bank on it, he told his staff yesterday. I do not know the reason, but I guess it is good news as long as him and his family are OK.
So are we zeroing in on the Bavasi extension at about 95% then? (of course we know nothing)
It’s not a trade for Pujols either, he just flew out to Griffey.
Derek is most definitely getting a plasma to go with that Wii.
Hargrove’s quitting, I got a call this morning before this announcement thread even came up.
21: are you crazy…or dreaming?
Willie Boom-Boom, Player-Manager.
“It’s not the time of the season yet for a trade.”
Its not?
Trust me on this one, Hargrove is quitting.
Would they advise the baseball writers to not travel ahead if its just about an extension for Bavasi? I dont see that as warranting baseball writers to delay their KC trip
An hour before a major press conference is about the only time we are justified in useless speculating and fear mongering, so I’ll ask: Exactly how damaging will this Jones for Junior trade be?
28: trust you why?
Has anything of merit been disclosed on the selection show? My toddlers are watching some Winnie the Pooh business, I won’t win the fight for the remote anytime soon…
28: In this version of events, would McClaren just take over?
Why would I make up such a foolish comment. The M’s have won 7 in a row and our playing great ball, there is no reason for him to quit. This is not a prank I got a phone call from a friend who knows the staff, before the announcement had been made about a press conference. Could I be wrong, possibly.
Would they advise the baseball writers to not travel ahead if its just about an extension for Bavasi? I dont see that as warranting baseball writers to delay their KC trip
I agree. The papers/news services could just send interns or whatever to take that down. It’s not like anyone ever asks any tough questions of these guys.
I have no idea, I do not know why either. This is just what I was told and I am hoping he and his family are OK because there is no other reason to quit with the team playing such good ball.
This better be big news – I’m postponing going to the pub for some grub with my mum waiting for this news…
It is not about Ichiro per the Mariners.
I suppose it is 6:30pm in England now heh.
Maybe Hargrove isn’t getting enough sleep in the dugout lately.
Ah man, you’re getting me all excited for an Ichiro extension and it’s more likely going to be an announcement that they’re making Vidro “DH for life.”
If Hargrove is quitting, maybe that’s a precursor to an Ichiro extension, being a condition in his contract to re-sign. ; )
So, are these press conferences televised? If so, where?
The only way I’m going to believe Hargrove is quitting is if the announcement continues to announce that Dusty Baker is the new manager.
Baker’s blog says Larry Stone says it is in fact Hargrove resigning.
Dusty Baker, Frank Robinson, Jack Mckeon…there are so many great candidates out there!
The only way I’m going to believe Hargrove is quitting is if the announcement continues to announce that Dusty Baker is the new manager.
Let’s hope not.
So McClaren will manage through the end of the season, correct? Heck, he already appears in one of those promotional M’s commercials with the Moose.
I know we didnt like the little things Hargrove did, etc…but I hope this doesn’t adversely affect the team in some way (First and foremost I hope everything is ok with his family)
Urghh. I hope this doesn’t effect the team too much.
Hope he and his family are ok.
Joe Girardi
Girardi is a wish.
My gosh, has anyone ever quit during a 7 game win streak? What timing.
That was pretty sudden.
I like Mike Hargrove as a person, so I’m hoping all is well.
Perhaps they’ll skimp on the Wii and offer Derek the manager job.
52- not sure how planned this was
McLaren is the permanent replacement, according to Rizz.
Think this buys Bavasi more time as GM? No matter what happens the rest of the season, he can either take credit (if we win), or blame it on a new manager, and the team “adjusting.”
Hey isn’t Hargrove quitting means now there’s a better chance at Ichiro re-signing? I just remember Ichiro having quite a few issues with Hargrove.
Just for the fantastic quotes that would arise from it, I vote that Ichiro is made player/manager. It would make reading the morning paper fun again.
Stone’s article confirming the resignation is up on the Times’ website now.
Anybody know if the press conference is on radio or t.v.?
Wow.
I hope his family is OK. I hope he is OK.
57: Various people have speculated that Ichiro had problems with Hargrove, so much that it is sometimes asserted as fact. There’s no tangible evidence for it.
I hope Hargrove’s family are OK.
ESPN radio just reported that “According to the Seattle Times, Marlins manager Mike Hargrove plans to resign.” The people in Bristol sure know their stuff.
ESPN NEWS will show the press conference live.
McLaren is who they should have hired in the first place. He was my choice of finalists back when they chose to hire Hargrove instead…
Doubtful this impacts the team negatively.
What MAY impact the team negatively is when these pitchers come off DL. HoRam looked awful last night, and we get treated to 1 inning of Reitsma starting today in Tacoma, and 1 inning of Lowe starting in Tacoma on Tuesday…
They’re winning with what they’ve got right now, how they’re currently set. As much as Jones should be on a Major League Roster, is now the time to add even more change?
Who moves into Bench Coach?
would Deren Brown be a possible bench coach replacement? Or would the team not want to shake up any more of organization.
67: Dan Rohn! Oh, wait….shit…
Bench Coach? WillieFB!!!!
front page on the Mariners site now.
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070701&content_id=2060013&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea
you can even view the press conference online
The news is up on SeattleMariners.com. His passion had begun to fade… There must be more to it than this?
Unless McClaren decides to use the bullpen and the bench in a radically different way that may upset some of the players and cause unrest, I don’t see how Grover’s resignation affects the teams performance. Ichiro will still hit, Vidro will make his run at Rice’s record, Yubet will hit pop ups on pitches out of the strike zone, and Putz will still be awesome.
Im boooing his ass today
WTF? He’s burned out?
What a bizarre reason. I agree, there’s more to it than what’s being said. Weirdness.
I hope “Passion has begun to fade” isn’t a euphemism.
Hey, if nobody’s sick or dying, then I don’t care why he quit. Let’s just take the little bits of good fortune that come our way and not question them. As of now, there’s a slightly better chance of better bench player usage than there was an hour ago.
I’ll bet this is directly related to that series a couple weeks ago where he left the team to go watch his daughter graduate. At that point, either he or the wife probably said, “You know what? This is stupid. My family life is passing me by. I’m 58 and well off enough that I don’t need to work. Why the hell am I here?” He’s just reorganized his priorities. More power to him.
They are talking about it on the Cleveland broadcast (on MLB.tv) and they are puzzled by the timing of it.
Why not wait until the All-Star break?
Something happened, that’s clear, and the club is pushing him aside — on the day the All-Star team is supposed to be announced.
If this was supposed to be a graceful kick-out-the-door, it certainly doesn’t come off that way.
What’s bizarre about it? If it’s true, I think it’s honorable of him to step down and let someone else lead the team in a year when they have a playoff shot.
Seriously, some of you need to examine the certainty of your mind-reading. People are complicated. It’s out of the ordinary, but there’s nothing unbelievable about a man approaching sixty who has been working in a business for thirty-five years that keeps him constantly away from home to decide that he doesn’t have the passion the job requires. As for the timing, people will often mull over a big question for a long time and then come to a decision that has nothing to do with the events of the day or the week just passed. It’s human nature. I’ll bet many of you have made life decisions in a similar way.
Of course there might be more under the surface. But there certainly doesn’t have to be.
My theory:
He tried to use the teams most resent success to force the M’s to either extend his contract or Hargrove would resign.
conference streaming live now!
Now Giardi’s spurning of the O’s job makes sense. (Well, that and who’d want to work for Angelos?) He was holding out for something better, but he didn’t want to hold out all the way to October.
Seriously, I think I’d be perfectly happy with MacLaren managing for the rest of the season. Squeeze bunts for everybody! And then he’d have a body of work to compare to the other candidates they might interview after the season.
Timing? Not that weird. Hargrove decides he wants to step aside, the Mariners agree that’s cool, so instead of waiting until the All-Star break, the team calls a press conference on the morning of the last game of a long homestand.
Dude is retiring from a lifetime in baseball, he shouldn’t go out without an ovation, regardless of whether he’s liked or disliked. The organization is usually pretty good about these things.
fsn live has it too!
espn news has the Press conference as well
He just said mental toughness and focus is what separates the best players from the worst. I totally agree. Well, skill helps every now and then too.
Clearly it’s our fault. All of us, posting on USSM and as fans in general. Even when the M’s were winning we criticized him unmercifully. (I actually thought he’s been doing a better job the past month or so, as Mateo was taken out of his hands and injuries plus interleague games forced him to play the kids and actively manage his roster. But I still think the M’s could do much better when it comes to managers.)
As for the timing, people will often mull over a big question for a long time and then come to a decision that has nothing to do with the events of the day or the week just passed. It’s human nature. I’ll bet many of you have made life decisions in a similar way.
Exactly. I wonder if his return to Cleveland for his daughter’s graduation was the kernel that got this little avalanche rolling.
So…is there a chance he just realizes this isn’t an 11 games over .500 team and when he goes to look for his next job he can say, look at the roll I had them on. They collapsed after I left.
All I can say is, the timing is the strangest thing. The speculation about getting back in touch with his family vis-a-vis his daughter’s graduation is probably closest to the truth.
My only hope for the immediate future is that this doesn’t derail the team’s recent ability to win games
…
Apparently the M’s organization has been trying to retain Hargrove as manager, according to Hargrove at the press conference.
It really DOES sound like he’s burned out. I suppose it could be a snow job- but what team fires a manager under these circumstances, or tells him “you won’t be coming back” when the team’s in contention for the first time during his tenure?
@ 92
Hargrove just said he can’t imagine himself managing again.
This is a classy thing he’s doing. I think it might be the first time I’ve ever liked the guy.
If only some of the state workers I work with would think ‘yeah, been here 30 years, I think I will retire now and stay away…’
It’s on Northwest News Channel live.
Not to be cynical, but these things are never about “burn out.” There has to be some internal powerplay that has gone on. It may not be “dark and sinister” but there is no way that any logical person would leave this job in the middle of a pennant chase without something else significant going on.
Have you ever heard of a coach/manager ever doing this before? There will be some new information about this coming out at some point. It may not be juicy and salacious, but it may shed light on the logic of this all.
FSN has it too.
Does McLaren finally get his shot?
They’re gonna talk w/ some Seattle writers on ESPNEWS coming up next to see if they think there’s anything more to this.
I don’t wish to be to harsh about throwaway press conference quotes, but among Bavasi’s praises of Hargrove is his ability to handle a team containing young guys. He includes Putz among these young guys. For all Grover’s accomplishments, and all the burdens he’s faced, our younger players and especially Putz have not been among these burdens.
Bavasi must go through a bottle of Johnson’s Glo-Coat a week… (sorry, I couldn’t help it)
Jim Caple being interviewed on espnnews…”I’m as stunned as everybody, but I don’t think he is a very good manager. There were a lot of us hoping he would have been fired last year.”
Does McLaren finally get his shot?
It appears so, and it’s a nice half-season trial run.
Bavasi must go through a bottle of Johnson’s Glo-Coat a week… (sorry, I couldn’t help it)
Ha. He’s definitely a gangly lookin’ dude.
Every time he speaks to the public he has a way of making me confident in his abilities. He just strikes me as a personable and intelligent individual. Then he does the Vidro/Ho-Ram type moves.
I just don’t understand how you can use a word like “never” here. You are cynical, and you’re wrong; people burn out all the time, under all kinds of circumstances. Artists retire at the height of the powers. Athletes, too. Was Jim Brown’s retirement about something else? It’s not common, but it happens, whether you believe it or not.
Just before the Brave’s game went into rain delay they were commenting that Grover wanted a contract extension but it discussions went bad.
Ichiro more likely to stay? Apparently he and Hargrove never saw eye to eye.
Yeah, Putz is 30 years old and unhittable. Probably one of the least burdensome players on the team.
On another note, I love Bill Bavasi. Not a great GM, but he just seems like a great dude.
So, depending on how things go between now and September, is this going to be remembered as one of those “be careful what you wish for” events?
So…is there a chance he just realizes this isn’t an 11 games over .500 team and when he goes to look for his next job he can say, look at the roll I had them on. They collapsed after I left.
I’ve known business executives who have done that, but I don’t know about coaches — especially in baseball (maybe some college football coaches who jumped to the NFL knowing that given who they’d recruited and who was leaving their team wasn’t going to return to greatness).
I’ve also known businesspeople who really did get burned out and leave to pursue other passions or spend more time with their families — even if that is often a euphemism used for other reasons also. Heck, I more or less did that from my tech job in the 90s. It does happen, even if it is rare in sports.
Lou Piniella wanted to get “traded” to Tampa Bay for those reasons (he may have wanted to leave the M’s for other reasons, but that was why he wanted to go to the Rays).
Ichiro doesn’t like Hargrove. Ichiro says he would NOT sign an extension if Hargrove was still coach. Bavasi tells Hargrove to resign because “he lost the passion” so Ichiro can be re-signed.
Sometime in July.. Ichiro signs extension..
I’m not sayin’… I’m just sayin’
My conspiracy theory precursor vanished. All above in 112 is speculation.
BTW, can we give Dave points for being right after all, even if he was months early?
I wonder if McLaren has actually been managing the team lately?
Why do people keep repeating this like it’s a fact? There isn’t ANY evidence for it.
God, that was awkward. He has to leave to manage the game?! Why would he manage the game?!?!
McLaren is being interviewed now.
I believe the phrase is ‘what the hell?’
per Drayer, everyone in the clubhouse from players to coaches is stunned, with ranging from broken-hearted to worry that it isn’t what it seems.
Mac sounds absolutely stunned.
It could always be a little bit of several of the above stated reasons, culminating in the decision. That’s how things often work in my life.
Why do people keep repeating this like it’s a fact? There isn’t ANY evidence for it.
This town is full of omniscient Japanese-speaking mind-readers, apparently.
There’s only one reason Hargrove is leaving the M’s. He’s taking over the Sonics.
Jim Caple said Hargrove didn’t get along with Ichiro, or Moyer but things were a little better this year with Ichiro.
115 There’s reason for me to think so. I guess we’ll find out in the next week or so…
That is awkward, but I think it’s out of respect to the players and the organization to at least finish up the homestand.
McLaren looks like he could be Hargrove’s brother.
I’d say label it family reasons and call it good. I look forward to seeing what he can bring to the table in terms of lineups and in-game management.
Wow, big news.
And yeah, while a lot of us here thought that Mike Hargrove wasn’t a very good manager, no one wished him ill on a personal level, and hopefully he will take a nice long rest if that’s what he needs.
Dave et al, do you think this creates opportunities to make some much-needed personnel changes (Vidro to the bench, Adam Jones up from Tacoma, etc) that can be snuck in as “the new manager wants this”? Or is there still going to be organizational inertia that prevents it from happening?
Hargrove kind of looks like Bill Clinton when he is giving interviews.
We have a one-armed manager.
I wonder if Dan Rohn has been contacted yet…there’s a coaching position open as of today….
While I was never a Mike Hargrove fan I am really worried how this will affect the team. Its like the opposite of a team going on a run after the manager is fired…
I have one hour to decide if I am going to start Shaun Marcum on my fantasy team today.
From what I understand, Dan Rohn left the organization on less-than-friendly terms. I don’t see him coming back anytime soon.
This kind of fits with the Hargrove extension rumors earlier this season. Mike could’ve hinted to the team that he was considering leaving, but since they thought he was the man for the job, they could’ve offered it to him hoping that it’d keep him around.
I guess I’m not that skeptical of Hargrove’s “no more passion” claims. I changed majors away from computer science after I took what was undoubtedly my favorite and most enjoyable computer science course. Even though things were going well, I decided I wasn’t interested in continuing down that path.
The timing would seem weird if the team was firing him (since you don’t fire a guy when your team is on a 7-game winning streak), but the timing doesn’t seem all that weird given Hargrove’s reasoning. The story fits together well enough to satisfy me.
because Caple has been around the team so much the last 5 years …
Mac says that he’s felt somethings been up going back about the last 10 games, that even after wins Mike wasn’t quite right. Hargrove told him yesterday afternoon, and he spent their meeting trying to talk him out of it, and that as they had fun during the game he kept nudging him to stay
What about bringing Dan Wilson on board?
It’s usually not a good idea to have a ML coach or manager who has never coached or managed in the minors or majors.
Late in the game last night they showed Hargrove in the dugout and he looked like he was about to cry. I thought at the time he looked awfully worried about something.
Bavasi always does his best ‘Vader Impression’ when he states: “The details of his contract will not be shared with you at all…”
4 words: Jay Buhner, bench coach
Bavasi has the most vertical head ever.
I have to say that I am as surprised as anyone…
135: Since Bavasi said Hargrove broached the topic on June 20, Mac’s math seems about right.
I just put a post in the queue that will publish at 3:30. Game thread will be up shortly. I doubt I’ll be around much for most of the rest of the day, so don’t get offended if I don’t answer specific questions.
What many of us here have wished, dreamed, hoped for, whatever…..
…has now come true. The next few months will be quite interesting, thats for sure.
yes. Jim Leyland. He always waited until the season ended, though.
Grover with Neihaus:
“the highs haven’t been high enough, and the lows have been too low’
#140. Yeah, Bavasi can share that Glo-Coat with Jay…
Seriously, I wonder if Buhner feels like he’s had enough almost-full-time family time, and wants to do more than occasional ST coaching and appearances at benefits, etc.?
I don’t understand why people think Wilson or Buhner would be good bench coaches. Neither of them were star players and they’ve never coached before. Just because people in Seattle like them doesn’t mean they are good choices.
wow, weird. This is pretty odd timing considering this is the best the team has done under Hardgrove ever. I guess lets see what happenes.
Grover said he has spent the last 10 days on the phone every night with his wife (‘talked to her more in the last ten days’ …) and in calling friends in and out of the game and talking about this with them all and just can’t do it
Just because people in Seattle like them doesn’t mean they are good choices.
BLASPHEMY!
Buhner, Wilson, and Edgar could be brought in as a ‘triumverate’ bench coach crew.
This may be my fault. Team executives had to notice that there was, conspicuously, one fewer viewer for every game. Not to mention one fewer U.S.S. Mariner commenter. They had to be feeling the financial pressure of my boycott.
I do hope that everything is ok with Mike and his loved ones. I hope this is just what it is purported to be.
Also, re: never just burn out. That is very far from true. In fact, I’d say that sometimes other excuses are used when it actually IS just burn out. I’ve known many people in my life, in many different fields that hit that wall and walk away.
Even if it seems inexplicable (I’m crying over your autographed jersey, Barry Sanders) to people from the outside… I don’t think most can quite appreciate the pressure. And once you start not caring enough, it becomes an intolerable burden.
I wish him well.
Not to dredge up ancient history, but the Yanks back in ‘78 went on to win the WS after Bob Lemon replaced Billy Martin mid-season. Sometimes, an in-season shake-up isn’t necessarily bad.
Get ‘er done, Johnny Mac!
judging from the Times blog, not just Japanese-speaking mind-readers …
Grover’s comments about the low lows and the calm duck that’s paddling furiously beneath the water make me think he might be depressive. Poor guy.
ESPN is talking to Hickey, who is not having any problems believing the ‘burn out’ story.
Miguel Batista interview on FSN right now and he doesn’t seem to believe the “burn out” is the entire story. He said that he is shocked. Obviously the team wasn’t given more information than the press got. I hope the team’s motivation doesn’t waver.
Holy crap, I flipped on the pre-game a few minutes ago to the one interview that I didn’t expect to see…. I hope all is well off the field for you Grover, and I wish you and yours the best going forward.
I don’t have any trouble believing the “burn-out” story either, but given the timing, I also suspect there’s more going on here. My guess is that if it was strictly about burn-out he would have waited until the end of the season (like Leyland has done). It’s very unusual for a manager or coach to resign in the middle of a winning streak. My concern is that there is a family illness or other problem; he’s looked weighed-down to me for some time, like something is really eating at him. If it’s a personal matter like that, the rest of us don’t have a right to know. The other obvious possibility is that there’s behind-the-scenes conflict in the front office, although again I think he would have waited until after the season in that case. I think we should just wish him and his family well.
Batista didn’t seem to think it was a move by upper management, though, just that there were a lot of layers to managing a team that can wear on a manager
Sharon Hargrove had an emotional interview, attesting to the pull of family and home
as he did in Baltimore– though in that case he was fired before he might have left on his own …
Buster Olney had similar sentiments to Hickey — he said people he talked to said months ago that Hargrove just didn’t seem to have the same passion and fire as he has had in the past.
This is really a no-lose situation for Hargrove. Team keeps winning, he gets some of the credit. Team loses, he looks better.
Well, not entirely a no-lose, since he’s losing his salary for the rest of the year.
Hargrove doesn’t need money.
and he is going to get paid as ‘a consultant’ …
My guess is he gets paid just the same. He’s only under contract through the rest of the year.
He may not need the money but a million bucks is still a million bucks.
Why would the M’s continue to pay him his full salary when he walks out on the team? I can’t believe they’d do that.
Just because they say he’ll continue to be a special assistant doesn’t mean they pay him the full amount for that.
Not a good idea trying to run on Guillen, especially a guy as slow as Stairs.
162: The front-office conflict factor would lend itself to the “burn-out” theory. Between Baltimore and here, Grover may grown tired of trying to rebuild ball clubs — and figured that once he’d gotten the team reasonably back on its feet, it was as good a time as any to get out.
This is probably part burn-out, part wanting to leave on his own terms, and part something else. It’s possible Hargrove is struggling with some personal issue, like depression – the comment about the “highs not being high enough and the lows being too low” sounds like a hint at something like that.
I have not hesitated to praise the guys that run this site, but I must also add props to the many posters who put up some insightful comments.
Well, ebcmc goes beyond that, and gets a big high five because he, or could he be a she, has reliable sources….way to go.
Like others, I find the timing very odd. This is the best the M’s have played during his entire tenure as manager, and now he quits….it does not make sense. I have to also wonder if there isn’t
something going on within his family that needs his attention….for example Andy Reid of the Eagles. I may not have liked him as manager, but I hope everything is ok with his family.
It’s the end of a long, winning homestand — why not go out on top? I’m shocked, but can believe what I’m hearing. If he resigns when the M’s are on a losing streak, it’ll look like he’s just a quitter, and/or a victim of a power struggle. If he quits when the M’s are at the top of their game, he can avoid those criticisms a bit more gracefully. I was not a Grover fan, but I wish him well and think I’ll actually respect his walking away sooner rather later if his burnout is real (and maybe even wonder why management didn’t sense it and decline to bring him back this year — it’s not like he impressed anyone last year).
Meanwhile, Weaver continue to impress with five shutout innings. Should we be more surprised by this than the Hargrove decision?
“Buhner, Wilson, and Edgar could be brought in as a ‘triumverate’ bench coach crew.”
Sigh.
“Buhner, Wilson, and Edgar could be brought in as a ‘triumverate’ bench coach crew.â€
If Wilson is Lepidus, who is Octavian and who is Antony?
Hoping McLaren does well…I love small ball.
But…What ever happened to Tom Kelly?
Wow, Hargrove is broken up. I’m leaning towards a personal choice now.