Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
With Tim Wallach already in and out of Boston for his managerial interview, next up on the Red Sox [team stats]’ list later this week is Brad Ausmus, the ex-catcher from Cheshire, Conn., and a graduate of Dartmouth College.
With the exception of brief service this summer as the manager of Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round, Ausmus has not managed or coached. His last playing season was 2010 and he has since been with the San Diego Padres as a special assistant to the general manager.
[...]
Wallach, who has no big league managerial experience but does have it in the minor leagues, plus big league coaching experience, believed his interview Friday was a good one.
“I thought it went well,” he told ESPN.
As for what it was about him that led the Red Sox to interview him, Wallach said, “That’s hard for me to answer. Hopefully, communication, temperament, knowledge — all those things. I’d hate to guess what they think are the (qualities) that make a good manager, but I like to think I have them.”
He considers himself a serious candidate.
“I don’t think they would have brought me here unless they were serious,” he said. “But I understand the process that has to be gone through. I honestly believe they wouldn’t waste their time.”
Herald: Experience not a must for Sox
It is almost as if we could take all the articles written during last off-season and just copy and paste them for this off-season.
Last fall, we were reading similar articles about the Red Sox looking for a good fit and candidates with no experience were brought in for interviews. Dale Sveum had only 12 games of managing experience with the Brewers in '08. Torey Lovullo was in the mix and the extent of his managerial experience was in Triple-A.
The Sox were just looking for someone to steer this team in the right direction and they went in the opposite direction. Maybe someone with little to no experience is not the worst thing. Someone who is willing to work hard to right this ship and establish himself as a reputable manager.
Baseball may be the easiest sport to break into as a manager at a young age. I am not saying that it is easy to manage an MLB team, but of the 4 major sports, it can be argued as the easiest. With that said, you just can't throw any former player in and expect him to know what to do. You still need someone with great baseball knowledge, that has taken notes in the dugout and can handle any baseball situation. There are those guys out there and that may be what the Red Sox need. A young guy that has NOT been around the team recently, that can relate to the players, yet be stern and disciplined.
With rookie managerial candidates, that is hard to tell by just looking at their playing or coaching career. Hence the interview process. There is no way of determining that Brad Ausmus will be a good manager by analysing his career. Many people in Boston think Jason Varitek will be an excellent manager some day if he chooses to take that road, but he could turn out to be the worst manager in history.
My point is, this could be a long road back to success if the Red Sox chose a manager with little to no experience. We will all find out how well they will perform with each passing game. The road could be long with a manager with experience, but we will at least have some historical stats.
Oh, and don't forget good players. The Sox will also need some of those to succeed.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Team skips due process | Tigers beat Red Sox to Fister | AL's final four can teach Sox | Globe: Yankees lose Game 1 of ALCS and Jeter with fractured ankle | CSNNE: Wallach: Interview with Red Sox 'went well' | Broken ankle ends Jeter's season; Tigers win in extras | 3 Up, 3 Down: Season in review | Division series round was one to remember
