The Brewster

So, we talked about the Frontier division with the last installment of this peek-in on mangers. I have no idea how many divisions I’ll get to, but it seemed like a good thing to balance out the Force with a look at a Johnson division…weak though they are. I mean, seriously, if Rockville and Jacksonville weren’t around, or, like, most of the Sunbelt, don’t you think that managing in the Johnson would be the same kind of resume stuffer as, say, a AAA job was? Or, in Wichita’s case, like, AA?

You could ask, then, why not look at the Sub Belt? To that I say maybe a AAA kind of collection is more interesting. So, yeah, how about the Atlantic division?

Ouch, right? What a burn. Ought to start a right good dumpster fire or two when the few fans of Atlantic teams who can read get hold of this and inform the rest of the masses.

So, anyway, let’s strap on the faux analytical hat and talk about these managers, shall we?


ROCKVILLE:
Easygoing Chet Rouse is entering his seventh season with the Pikemen. An ex-minor league player, he’d been with the Tucson/Long Beach franchise as a coach for some time before being hired away by Rockville GM Aaron Weiner, who clearly coveted his reputation as being good with kids as the club made their way up the curve. With four straight post season appearances and a pair od Landis trophies in his rearview mirror, and the inside track to a third looming up ahead, you could say it worked out okay.

Other than his interest in mentoring, Rouse is considered to be pretty much down the middle when it comes to most things. He’s not afraid to bunt with even his superstars, and while he’s been stingy with the free passes, he’ll run a bit. Then again, when you’re up by seven runs by the fourth inning, why call for an intentional walk?

At 61, Rouse says he’s still excited to be managing, and given that his $918K contract will run unto 2040, no one expects him to be going anywhere anytime soon. That said, it will be interesting to see what the club does at that point since Rockville will have transitioned from a youth-driven team to one that is either trying to extend the string with established stars, or doing a transition on the fly. One suspects, too, that by that time Rouse might be interested in a serious payday.

Stay tuned.

ATLANTIC CITY:
Rumor has it that when Troy Coffman was told he was being promoted up the Atlantic City chain to take managerial reins of the team back in 2036, he threw a chair out the window and raged about how unfair the world was. Then his wife noted that the call was actually a positive one, and that Coffman wasn’t being denied the opportunity. “He’s worked hard to get where he is,” she said in an interview afterward. “and, as a lot of minor league umpires can attest to, he’s just never going to be used to calls going his way.”

Regardless, Coffman moved into the Gamblers’ managerial office and guided the team to a somewhat miraculous 90-72 season, appearing in the post season when several pundits said that couldn’t happen. What followed, however, was a 68-94 season that had fans calling for his throat, a few players hiding behind their locker doors, and every chair and window in the stadium shaking in their metaphorical boots. This season has not been considerably better, and it’s probably fair to say that Coffman and the team are beginning to feel the heat from their fans, some of whom are complaining that he doesn’t run or bunt enough, and others complaining that he does them too much. Coffman has, on occasion had gestures for them.

Given that he spent his earliest seasons as a pitching coach in the EBA, and then again with a couple teams in AAA before working his way up the Atlantic City chain as a manager, it’s probably not surprising that the team’s pitching staff has him blowing gaskets right now. Some BBA insiders are wondering if he’ll be lobbying GM Joshua Biddle this off-season to fire current pitching coach John Adams (who he reportedly sees as being too milquetoast for the job)

Coffman’s track record within the organization probably give him that leverage, at least for now. And the fact that he’s working on a relatively cheap $404K contract that runs through 2040 adds to the weight on the balance that says he’s unlikely to be moving any time soon.


MONTREAL:
Kayne Grandage has been the Blazer’s manager since 2027, making him the most tenured manager in the Atlantic division. His reputation was made with a run of eight straight post season appearances. Unfortunately for Montreal faithful, that streak ended in 2034, and though the club made it back in 2036, it appears that was like a last-gap green flash as the sun set. The team won only 76 games last season, and appears on track to lower that total this year.

Some of the issue comes as the result of front-office turmoil, but despite the front office having given him a vote of confidence, some have begun to wonder if Grandage’s time might be passed.

They’re saying it because it’s well noted that the Montreal manager, while dealing with the press, seems far more comfortable and interested in discussing position players while giving short shift to pitchers. He’s also full of stories about aging veterans who, in the past, had stepped up to save the team. With the Blazer’s run prevention squad hitting rock bottom, goes the thinking, and with the team’s new management looking at younger players, maybe the Blazers need someone new. And yet, the club again has supported Grandage, and there’s the fact that the legendary manager is on a $1.5< contract that runs until 2041. So those hoping for a new direction are probably hoping up the wrong tree.

There is always hope, though, right?


BROOKLYN:
When we last looked in on 56-year-old Tomas Valdez, he was guiding an 89-win Brooklyn team that was all-in to make the playoffs, and then didn’t. It was his third season with the Robins after four others with the now-Mexico City franchise and the Vancouver Mounties. His follow-on team this year wasn’t expected to do much, but raised a few eyebrows for a month or two before falling into the tar pits as expected.

Not that those expectations made it easier for him to deal with. There’s a reason Valdez has a side-endorsement deal as the spoksman for Right-Tummy anti-acid company. Valdez has been known to break batter’s lumber and rip the ball from the hands of pitchers as he shoves them off the mound—both of which he’s been doing to excess this season. It’s enough that some have wondered if Valdez is on the hot-seat this season, especially given his $1M salary and the fact that his deal is up after 2038. Alan Ehlers, the team’s GM has been making all the right comments that suggest Valdez might be back, however, and the fact is that he’s viewed as a stronger manager of younger players, for whom the elder’s temperamental moments might serve to be focusing rather than detrimental.

On the field, given the dire straits Brooklyn has found themselves in, Valdez has been breaking with his reputation and calling for more bunts and free passes than one would think—his 25 intentional walks through July were tops in the league. “It’s more a sign of his frustration than anything else, though,” said one baseball insider. “He’s not used to getting this kind of thumping, and it wears on him.”


CHARM CITY:
Tommy Welch, in his third season with the Jimmies, is the Atlantic divisions’ least tenured manager. At $142K per season, he’s also baseball’s least-paid manager—and given that his contract has another year on it, one wonders if that’s due to continue. He’s the kind of guy who has his nose into everything from bus schedules to and from the airports to Carlton Winson’s dietary regimen. GM Brandon Slouck seems to have thought his kind of discipline was a benefit, and perhaps it has been, though it’s not yet seeming to show up on the field in the form of victories.

The hire was an odd one from the beginning, as Welch, who had played in the minors, had been out of baseball for thirty seasons when Slouck contacted him. “We knew we were going full on prospect, Slouck said. “So we needed someone who would bring the discipline.” What they got may be more a guy who brings the OCD.

His strategy is so far down that fans sometimes see his decisions as arbitrary.

It all adds up to the idea that Tommy Welch seems to be one great big, but considerably cheap “meh” in the Charm City manager’s seat right now. Given that the team is likely getting close to ready to push the big green “go” button on their rise to the top, the betting line on Welch remaining in that seat next year is about a pick ‘em, but that the casinos aren’t putting a line up for the following seasons.

You could argue Grandage deserves manager of year consideration but obviously he won’t for lack of victories. He lost couple of his best bats, best reliever and given a pieced together rotation. Montreal on track to win 72 games which is only 5 less than last year. To lose all that and prevent the ship from sinking is impressive. Expect a final decision at conclusion of season. #thereishope

I can't blame the manager. The front office is giving him no talent to work with and the little talent we do have is being played out of position for future gains. That said, the $1.4 million Valdez wants to be extended may be a little steep considering we have some promising young manager candidates building nice resumes. Bench coach Paul Marfrell, Double A manager Ron Voss, and Triple A manager(and former Robin) Bob Brandon could be given the call next year if we decide to cut some salary.

I'd say Rouse's job is safe for quite some time.

aaronweiner wrote: ↑

Fri May 10, 2019 7:08 am

I'd say Rouse's job is safe for quite some time.

Time is rarely in a manager's favor.

Hopefully someone can rise up in the Atlantic soon and push Rockville. There is a very large target on his back.