Riggleman out
Conor · October 24, 2008 at 12:18 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Looks like Jim Riggleman won’t be managing the M’s. He accepted a bench coach job with the Nationals.
Looks like Jim Riggleman won’t be managing the M’s. He accepted a bench coach job with the Nationals.
Suppose the Mariners end up hiring Yost. What safeguards are in place for the USSM server during games in which Yost prominently deploys his bullpen management strategies??
I can’t imagine there is worse manager out there than McLaren and we survived those times.
Z mentioned several times today that he told Riggleman (who is a friend) that he’d be on a ‘wait and see’ with the Ms until Z had a chance to get on the ground — Riggleman must have decided that meant no…
Riggleman must’ve wanted to work with Strasburg really badly..
Shrug. I’m holding my breath for Bobby V (which likely means I’ll pass out soon).
How’s that old saying go? Second to last is the first winner?
Boy, when your options are the Mariners or the Nationals… you realize maybe you should’ve asked more questions about that career development plan you’ve got scratched out in crayon on the back of a Stuckey’s menu.
Too bad, I was kind of starting to like Riggs. But oh well, certainly no great loss.
The Nats, eh? Surely, Riggles must be a glutton for punishment…
And here I was starting to feel like I was the only one old enough to still remember Stuckey’s, Joser! Ah…the pecan logs, sesame sticks, cherry lemonade and ultra-cheesy polished pine souvenirs…the AM-PM Generation just doesn’t know what they missed at the old blue-roof-in-the-middle-of-nowhere! 🙂
Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a Stuckeys. I certainly have never been in one, though they still exist (none closer than Kansas or New Mexico).
Somehow the reference popped into my head as in some way appropriate for ballplayers, and old coaches. Maybe some movie had a bus full of players stop at one? Maybe I just got it from the Simpsons, or somewhere in pop culture?
[Piniella]
I gained a lot of respect for Riggleman from the way he handled this team. Good hire for the Nats.
There should be a plaque at Safeco that says, “Jim Riggleman, forever in M’s fans’ hearts for calling out Silva for the worthless tub he is.”
I’m sure McLaren meant all this.
I’m guessing that their conversation was a little more precise than Zduriencik let on. Good luck to Riggleman, he was an improvement temporarily but didn’t seem like the right man anyway. Much like Lee…
After reading through some of the reactions to Yost’s firing at Brewerfan.net and the things they complained about with his roster and matchup decisions I think that he would be more of the same for the M’s. I’m not saying that he’s like McLaren but that his management seems very parallel. I’ll get more into that when the thread is more appropriate, but Riggleman and Yost are both not what I am hoping for…
I don’t know how much stock you want to put in this but the (evil) AP, among others, is reporting that even though Rig signed on with the Nats, he “remains in the running” for the job with the M’s. Along with Yost. And who know who else.
From the Seattle PI M’s blog:
”My No. 1 priority is to manager the Mariners,” Riggleman told the P-I today. ”Jim boden knows that, and if the job comes open, that’s the job I want the most.’
I don’t hate Riggleman nearly as much as McLaren, or even as much as Hargrove or Melvin. I think we could do better, but as has been clearly demonstrated, we could certainly do worse.
Sure he’s not the best strategist, but I wish the guy well. He seemed to have a great grasp on clubhouse dynamics, and the right perspective of the cause-effect relationship between winning and chemistry, which is more than I can say for anyone else in the organization.
I appreciate the time he spent here, which is more than I can say about any manager we’ve had in the last half decade.
Wow-from manager of the second worst team to the bench coach of the worst…
Riggs was certainly not the best option going into next year, but a small part of me will miss the guy.
Much more troubling to me are the other names on Washington’s coaching staff – 1st base coach Marquis Grissom? 3rd base coach Pat Listach? I remember collecting his rookie cards… when did I go to sleep and wake up in 2008?
Joser — Having grown up in the Midwest in the 70’s, I remember stopping at Stuckey’s on road trips with my parents…they were on all the major freeways, usually at rural exits where there were no other services nearby. Interestingly, that Family Guy reference also mentions Howard Johnson’s (the restaurant…not the former Tigers/Mets 3B) — which was yet another icon of the old interstates.
That being said, maybe Rigs will hit a Stuckey’s or two for gas on his way out to DC. We certainly wish him well in his new position.
I’ll miss his straight talk answers to game questions. He always seemed to give an honest answer even if it wasn’t flattering to the team or himself. I wish him well too.
What Yost had to say on working with the M’s: “Definitely, most definitely,†Yost said in an interview on Thursday. “The opportunity to work with Jack again is really, really appealing.â€
Hey, is Maury Wills still alive?
I would like someone new to the manager position. How about Joey Cora or Mark McLemore?
Hickey on Riggleman’s open candidacy
OMG, Denny Hocking on KJR? Apparently now making a living talking sports for FOX radio.
first thing he’d do as GM? talk to the training staff about Putz & Bedard, because when you have injuries and guys can’t stay on the field, it is the training staff and they may just all have to go — you keep Ibanez — you go out and get an arm, maybe a sinkerballer like Derek Lowe and it would be ok, because the problems as he saw it on the left side of the infield were due to “disinterest” from the losing — dump Washburn — and, Silva? hey, maybe his problems were also disinterest after a new contract.
I’ve only visited a Stuckey’s once, on a road trip from Cincinnati to Atlanta. The T-shirts they wore were memorable:
“Eat Here and Get Gas”
the Chuckster says they really want Raul back, but just don’t know what his plans are.
I don’t remember seeing Stuckeys back east, either. Are they a midwest specialty?
At the least, there’s a good chance it could be Yost. Might as well do a write up about his managerial and personal style.
We are well aware that Jim is a managerial candidate with the Mariners and would not stand in his way if he was afforded that opportunity, Washington general manager Jim Bowden wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
So maybe not, but I think it’s best just to move on from last year and lets Rigg’s out of this mess. Chances are he would get the axe by the all star break anyways. Riggs shouldn’t have to fall on his sword for this team. He doesn’t deserve it.
I went to around 13 Brewers games and watched at 40 more on television. Yost would be a disaster for the Mariners. He stuck with guys that were slumping or playing poorly way too long. His mismanaged the bullpen. He also felt no one game or series was more important than the other. Of course when the Brewers were swept by the Cubs, Mets and Phillies in a 30 days span he was sacked. Maybe some of those games were more important Ned.
I wish Riggleman the best of luck but I hope the M’s dont hire him as are next manager.
Huh…he’d fit right in with Seattle… 😉
Well, as far as Yost mismanaging the bullpen, hell, even Lou had issues sometimes…so I think that might just come with the territory in these parts.
Mostly Midwest and South. They started out in Georgia as a roadside candy stand decades ago, then eventually branched out into food, fuel and souvenirs before overstretching themselves nearly into oblivion. They’ve apparently made a comeback again in recent years in some areas of the country, however.
If between Riggleman and Yost, give me Riggs every day of the week and twice on Sundays. (Hey, let’s play two!)
Actually, I didn’t have a problem with him at all. He managed this flaming car wreck of a team down the stretch as well as could be expected with what he was left to work with. And he still seemed to have a handle on this team despite the crap record and (I believe) retained the respect of the players (the ones that matter anyway) despite the ‘interim’ tag put upon him.
I believe God himself couldn’t have done any better with the 2008 Seattle Mariners.
JOEY CORA!!
I have to agree with jephdood. Between the two I would go with Riggleman. I have heard that he has a commanding presence in a room. I think he offered the only leadership the team had. He also wasnt doing much but evaluating AAA talent during his stint. Picking him would not be the worst thing in the world. Yost really does not excite me. I do hope that managements conversations do go WELL beyond these two (and lets not get too infatuated with Joey Cora – I just don’t notice that in baseball you can ever ‘go home again’ (Griffey)) I would like to see someone outside the organization. We have another two years minimum until this town sees .500 ball again. I’d like to see a Joe Maddon type – and if nothing else, he has mentored some talented kids – which with Z, I am confident we will have in a few years.
Please, please let us leave Riggleman and Yost alone. I guess if Joey Cora is named the new field manager following the end of the World Series we all know how autonomous Howie & Chuckie are going to let Jack be!?! I for one am rooting for John Farrell. A field manager who not only understands pitching from a development and major league perspective, but has run an award-winning Player Development program in its own right? But with our history the front office would like the idea of a former GM running the clubhouse and hire Simba Simmons (with Ned Yost as his bench coach) or Bob Schaefer….
For a manager, I would look for someone that has experience managing in the minors.
Worst case would be someone that has never managed at any level, with the possible exception of someone who mismanaged at the major league level and demonstrated a complete inability to learn anything.