5 candidates to take over the Braves after Bobby Cox
Earlier today we offered 5 reasons Bobby Cox should step aside. Some of you then asked the logical follow-up: OK, genius, who would you hire to replace him? Here, presented in order of preference, is my short list:
1. Brad Mills, Red Sox bench coach: He has apprenticed beside Terry Francona, who’s the second-best manager in baseball — Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire is the best — and who was Mills’ college roommate. He’s steeped in the Sox system of numbers-crunching, which would surely delight the stat geeks on DOB’s blog, and has been known to use the word “sabermetrics” in conversation.
2. Jose Oquendo, Cardinals third base coach: He’s considered the first choice to succeed Tony La Russa in St. Louis, but nobody’s sure when La Russa will leave. Oquendo is a key player liaison, having built an alliance with the taciturn Albert Pujols. (Ah, but you’re asking: Could he get along with Yunel Escobar? Probably.)
3. Dave Duncan, Cardinals pitching coach: There’s a spotty history for pitching coaches as managers. Roger Craig was a good one, Ray Miller less good. (And Leo Mazzone, the best pitching coach ever, never got a managerial sniff.) But the belief in St. Louis is that Duncan, La Russa’s longtime No. 2, wants out: He’s said to be angry at the local media over the treatment of his son Chris, whom the Cardinals traded to Boston last month. And it’s worth noting that Duncan wasn’t actually a pitcher himself. He was a catcher for the Oakland A’s of the early ’70s.
Loading ...4. Terry Pendleton, Braves hitting coach: If the Braves stay in-house, he’s the guy. He’s respected by the players — Jeff Francoeur’s flight to Texas for instruction shouldn’t be viewed as a consensus opinion — and beloved by the brass. He’s a hard worker who played under two of the best managers ever in Cox and Whitey Herzog, and he’s also a bit of a hard nose. (He rides a Harley!) Which, coming after the gentle ways of Bobby Cox, might not be a bad thing.
5. Scott Ullger, Twins third base coach: If Gardenhire is the best — and he is — why not grab his chief lieutenant? Ullger is a lifer in the Twins’ system and has managed in the minors. Plus, you have to admire a guy whose official bio reads: “Experience: A lot.”
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553 comments Add your comment
yogi2
September 21st, 2009
6:43 pm
Hire Barry Bonds.He knows how to get results immediately
Sonny Clusters
September 21st, 2009
6:53 pm
Clusters never did any managing but we could do it if asked. We was taught right from left and high from low and we was always running hard when we was playing ball. Clusters have good hygiene and personal habits and not a single Clusters is a nose picker. Mostly, Clusters is a proud family. There is a sportswriter in the family but we don’t talk about him much and he is only married into the Clusters. When Clusters gather for a family reunion it is always very athletic and brainy. Athletic and brainy seems like what a manager needs. That, and some good pitching and hitting and solid up the middle. We was wondering if Mark might ask Bobby who he’d like to see replace him in the dugout.
VaBraveFan
September 21st, 2009
6:53 pm
The Braves need someone that has been involved with the Braves.
Ned Yost, Eddie Perez, Glen Hubbard, Pendleton , someone that the players will respond to and want to play for. I’d like to see Eddie Perez givin a shot. Alot of former catchers have made good managers.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
September 21st, 2009
6:56 pm
Stallings has been living under a rock. Mark Bradley wouldn’t be writing this unless he knows something we don’t…..
Marc in FL
September 21st, 2009
6:56 pm
Let’s hire Mike Maddux, you know, for no real reason, just because
TIWAS
September 21st, 2009
6:57 pm
Find a manager who can give you 10 to 15 years. Why choose an AL guy who plays with a DH and won’t understand hitter rotations? Bobby Cox is a genius with the lineup. That’s why I’d choose TP, first, who has played in the Cardinal and Braves organization under 2 great managers. What has Eddie Perez organized?
Bob Horner had a sweet compact swing
September 21st, 2009
6:57 pm
Virginia “old” fan….I’m okay with Pat Corrales…you spelled it right…half the team is Latino…why not a latino Mgr…maybe he can spark those those guys….
UGA242
September 21st, 2009
7:01 pm
It is out of pure ignorance that people would vote for Terry to be the replacement. For the entirety of his stand as our hitting coach, our batting has been horrendous. He caused Andruw to fall apart and he’s messing up Chipper. What a terrible choice it would be to promote him to manager, when the day arrives.
bowman
September 21st, 2009
7:08 pm
Another stupid blog by Bradley. There’s a reason he’s known as “Mr. I’m on, and now off, the bandwagon.” Nobody is more wishy-washy that Bradley, except when he decides the bury the dagger in someone’s heart, and then he’s ruthless. Bradley has decided Cox must go but Atlanta Braves’ management hasn’t. Bradley has decided it’s time to list successor candidates but Atlanta Braves’ management hasn’t. Guess who will have the final decision? Not Bradley.
As to the “prospective choices,” what is the matter with the respondents? The leading vote getter, as if it mattered, is Terry Pendleton. Other than his MVP season, what has the chubster contributed to the Braves success, or lack thereof? Hitting coach? Please. When has the Braves hitting looked exceedingly successful? When Chipper Jones or Brian McCann, the team’s best hitters, have a problem who do they call? Not TP, but their fathers. It’s a shame that Bradley would list TP as a candidate, and it’s an indictment of Braves fans that they would chose him over more qualified candidates, even if they aren’t former Braves.
bowman
– -
“Art will always be Art.” – Goethe
Hillbilly Deluxe
September 21st, 2009
7:09 pm
Mark,
Many times you’ve said Bobby Cox is the best manager you’ve ever seen and he’s still an active Major League manager. Then today you say Ron Gardenhire is the best manager in baseball. Forgive me for being a tad confused here. (I do think Ron is a fine manager).
I do agree I’d rather see most anybody with a pulse over Bobby Valentinne.
chuck
September 21st, 2009
7:10 pm
how about Ryne Sandberg young enough to identify with the younger players, but please not Pendleton he is what killed the free swingers Frenchy and Andruw he took them from their game.
MAD-DONNA
September 21st, 2009
7:15 pm
Chuck, can you please do better than that?
BIG MAC
September 21st, 2009
7:15 pm
Anybody on this board who thinks that TeePee would be a good manager loses instant credibility in my book…how many Braves have improved as a hitter under him? I’d put Yost, Gonzalez, Snitker or Wellman in front of TP from the ‘hometown’ list & the only guy behind him would be Guillen who is a 1st class jerkoff. All I know is that Cox got a lot of credit for being “GREAT” when all he and Leo had to do was pick a Hall of Famer to win 3 of 5 most of the 1990’s. I figure 75% of D-1 coaches could have accomplished the same results with the teams of the ’90s.
Nelson
September 21st, 2009
7:17 pm
1-Chino Cadahia
2-Ned Yost
3- Jack Mc Keon
4- David Justice
5- A manager from Cuba who knows English ( is cheap and very reliable).
Nelson
September 21st, 2009
7:18 pm
Enter your comments here
Sonny Clusters
September 21st, 2009
7:27 pm
Chino Cadahia is on our list, too. Chino looks a lot like a manager and he seems to have the requisite scratching and spitting down. We have never seen him nose pick but he probably can. When Escobar gets pulled out of the lineup it’s Chino that goes up to him and talks with him and explains that some players can run “easy” to first base and some have to run hard. Chino might be just the one to replace Bobby. He is a former catcher and catchers sometimes make good managers. He already has a uniform.
Riaan Spanjer-Furstenberg
September 21st, 2009
7:30 pm
How about me?
Dubbs
September 21st, 2009
7:39 pm
Torre Tyson, Yankees A manager….and Pujols’ trusted hitting confident
phil
September 21st, 2009
7:43 pm
As long as the Braves refuse to put money into the team it doesnt matter who manages they will be a non-playoff team. The one thing that Cox needs to do is to make changes. Chipper needs to go to first base. Less wear and tear on his body compaired to third base. Go get a CLOSER. How many games have been lost due to the bullpen. I say bring in Maddux as the pitching/bench coach. He has stated that he would like to be a bench coach how many times have we heard stories of him calling outs from the bench before the pitch. Go get a hitting coach who is a instructor, not somebody like TP who just coaches. Bottom line is as long as the Braves owners treat them as a busniess that is decided by profit and loss and not by winning championships the braves will struggle.
billy ray valentine
September 21st, 2009
7:44 pm
Mark,
What about Dave Brundage at Gwinnett?
Jose Chung
September 21st, 2009
7:51 pm
Please, ANYBODY but Pendleton!
jacket3
September 21st, 2009
7:54 pm
bring Mazonnie out of selling cool aid and swimming in the pool. He had the best rotation in the majors for years, and he knows how to coach….or I’d go with that UNKNOWN guy at GT. How many major leaguers has he turned out and how many times has GT been in tournament ball in the last 25 years??
jacket3
September 21st, 2009
7:56 pm
The GT guys is Danny Hall…better than a lot of the major league managers, hands down.
mikey
September 21st, 2009
7:56 pm
T.P. has not been sucessful as a hitting coach, why promote him over everything? Hire Leo!
VaBraveFan
September 21st, 2009
8:01 pm
Everyone thinks 1st base is so easy to play……… alot more footwork involved. Deal with holding runners. and we always see mistakes involving the 1st basman making the small tosses to the pitcher covering. Chipper at 1st could be even worse. Considering he’s never played a game at the position, high bad throw he goes to jump for it comes down on the bag spring ankel, or can he cant one hop throws from the other infielders?? He’s been horrible at 3rd this year and he would prolly be worst at 1st.
Doctor Bird
September 21st, 2009
8:03 pm
Keep Bobby as long as he wants to manage. Everyone always rips on Bobby…. tell me one manager who makes great decisions all the time? None, they all make bone headed moves. At least players like Javy Vasquez can appreciate and thrive under Bobby after being under asses like Ozzie Guillen. Making bone headed moves is more than compensated by having a good/professional club house with players that WANT to play for you.
Luman Harris
September 21st, 2009
8:04 pm
I would like to add another name… Bobby Cox. To paraphrase Ted Turner, the guy we are looking for to replace Bobby Cox is Bobby Cox. From 1966 there are only two things to consider. Exhibit A is the Braves without Bobby Cox. Exhibit B is the Braves with Bobby Cox. I cast my vote for the Bobby Cox Braves.
When you think of all the division achievments, League Championships, and the ONE World Series that everone likes to harp, the Braves have not exactly presented the most threatening line up. They have had good players. Good guys for the community. Players of character and team. But with all the success this organization has had, how many players other than Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz are HOF material? There is Chipper, of course. I hope he gets it.
The Braves are who they are because of Bobby Cox. Players come to Atlanta and all of the sudden, they are better than ever. Players leave Atlanta and you never hear anything about them again. These players may be inspired but some of the credit has to go to the manager that knows how to best use the talent.
Every year the Braves break camp with a chance. As a fan that is all you can ask. If you want something else, there is a place for you. Without Bobby Cox all you have is Cubs. They stopped blaming the manager years ago. Now days the blame goes to a goat, a black cat and a guy wearing goofy head phones. A good day is when their star hits a homerun! A good year is when the Cubs are out of it in August. That’s when the Bears start.
Until Bobby quits, he is my vote for manager.
blankfan
September 21st, 2009
8:04 pm
Enter your comments here Is Ozzie available
Mark Bradley
September 21st, 2009
8:05 pm
Bobby Cox at his best is the best I’ve ever seen. But I’ve also noted that I don’t believe this has been Cox’s finest hour.
VaBraveFan
September 21st, 2009
8:12 pm
I think its time for a change, but if they decided to bring back Bobby for another year i will suppoort there decision.
I think we need someone younger and someone thats been involved with the Braves. We need a manager that will mix up things when there not working and try different stradegies instead of using the same gameplan everynight.
One thing about Cox we will miss is him protectiing players and arguing the calls and Getting thrown out of games. Cause no one else does it like Bobby.
Duke DeLuca
September 21st, 2009
8:19 pm
If these are the 5 best replacements for Bobby Cox, then these are also the best 5 reasons to keep Bobby Cox that I can think of.
kenneth
September 21st, 2009
8:20 pm
What’s Jeff blauser doing these days?
Larry
September 21st, 2009
8:22 pm
Mark,
Do not listen to the girly men like Ken Stallings. He’s literally asking you to avoid your honest opinion to maintain the favor of your fellow writers and to retain access to the Braves personnel. As I wrote in your other column, you now have my utmost respect for at least debating the possibilities and this is the very best type of journalistic integrity.
Stallings,
Grow a pair!
Larry (1-14)
kenneth
September 21st, 2009
8:23 pm
Russ Nixon? Chuck Tanner?
kenneth
September 21st, 2009
8:24 pm
What about getting Klesko as hitting coach if TP gets Bobby’s job?
Tommy Hawk
September 21st, 2009
8:31 pm
Glenn Hubbard will be the next Braves manager.
311
September 21st, 2009
8:34 pm
Bob Rathbun
billy ray washington
September 21st, 2009
8:44 pm
Hey dis Billy Ray here.
All you rednecks who think my man Terry is not qualified are nothing but a bunch of racists.
Yet you want that fat man Mazzone to be manager, shoot, even that bumbling boobie cox couldn’t screw up that rotation. Mazzone did nothing but rock back and forth and watch the 3 hall of fame pitchers do their thing. McDowell has one of the best rotations in baseball, but all you wannabes talk about the “good ole days”..
What a bunch of losers.
NC Dawg
September 21st, 2009
8:48 pm
Joe Torre.
Cecil34
September 21st, 2009
8:51 pm
Musing about replacing Cox reminds me of Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys. One of the finest men to ever associate himself with the NFL and a innovative class act. Great coach. Successful for most of his career.
Almost every Dallas fan despised how Jerry let Tom go. It was not handled well and Jerry, being the novice owner he was at the time, blew it.
Having said that, most every true Dallas fan will also tell you – that it was time for Tom to step down. Coach Landry was having an increasingly hard time understanding the psyche of the young players and creating a viable gameplan that would utilize the talents of these guys. The flex defense had long been figured out (counter with West Coast) but Tom just did not adapt.
Jerry brought in Jimmy Johnson, a enthusiastic young college coach who breathed new life into the team. How?
New offensive and defensive philosophies as well as a keen eye for judging talent. And the moxie to lead a team, not just “manage”.
There is a difference.
It is time to go in another direction – Damn right Mark.
Call Jimmy!
Mark Bradley
September 21st, 2009
9:02 pm
It’s a fine line to walk for a player, and it’s the same for a manager: How long is too long? Do you retire at the first sign of diminishing returns, or do you keep going in the hope that it was only an aberration? There’s never a single answer to that. It’s a case-by-case thing. And I don’t know what Bobby Cox will decide.
I do know his team is beating the Mets tonight.
Repeat History
September 21st, 2009
9:07 pm
The last time Bobby Cox left, didn’t they bring in Torre?
Try that again. Buy him out in LA, besides, the Braves surely made a good impression on him when they caught the Dodgers by surprise in that west-coast series recently.
Cecil34
September 21st, 2009
9:08 pm
Mark, more often than not, the player or coach waits too late to make the right call.
I can go on baseballreference.com and pull up scores of hall of famers whose last year or two in the league was abysmal. Just a year or two too late.
I think several years out of the playoffs is a good starting point for analysis of whether it is time or not….
Mark Bradley
September 21st, 2009
9:12 pm
I’m also thinking of Bobby, believe it or not. I don’t want to see him not succeed. I have too much respect for the man. And I don’t like the feeling when even I start asking myself, “Is that good managing?”
Cecil34
September 21st, 2009
9:20 pm
I sure didn’t want to see Coach Landry not succeed either – and I have the utmost respect of what Bobby has accomplished in his career.
But when you get 68, and I am only 49, but when you get 68, is it all working like it used to upstairs?
Is the impetus for having daily enthusiasm for the game and being mentally in the game really there every night?
Sometimes I really wonder…..
Cecil34
September 21st, 2009
9:23 pm
At what point does a 68 year old manager’s mental faculties start to slip? Perceptually or inperceptually?
I have seen signs….
mebeingme
September 21st, 2009
9:23 pm
If the Braves hire TP………I will NEVER return to the TED until he leaves! He’s an AWFUL coach.
UGAKev {true dawg fan}
September 21st, 2009
9:24 pm
Don’t laugh but how bout Bobby Valentine
Don
September 21st, 2009
9:24 pm
The Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez is the right man! Can’t believe he wasn’t listed in your top 5. They should do what they need to do to bring him back to Atlanta.
GREG MADDUX
September 21st, 2009
9:25 pm
<———– BAM, NUFF SAID RIGHT THERE. GLAVINE OR SMOLTZ WOULD BE MY PITCHING COACH AND CHIPPER MY HITTING COACH ONCE HE RETIRES NEXT YEAR.