Aloha Ka Punahou 2002.08
Second in a two-part series covering the Tropics unorganized organizational changes in managers and coaches for 2002
Updated to include the hiring of the "missing coach"
Mauna Loa eruption churns Tropics personnel
Of seventeen personnel positions, only two remain unchanged from 2001
Al Hoot sits down with Aloha Ka Punahou to discuss all the moves
Earlier we reported that Jorge Ortíz, Hawaii skipper from 1995 to 1997, had been
(re)hired as manager for 2002, only to run into Juan Rúbio tacking his name plate to the
manager's door two weeks after leaving the team. While the Tropics have not issued a
statement clarifying this indelicate situation, it forms only part of a Mauna Loa-induced
maelstrom that has churned the organization's personnel.
Only Tropics trainer Xin Tian and Medford Mules (Single-A) hitting coach Curtis
Glover retain their positions from last year. And Al Hoot has revealed that Glover had
nearly lost his job. Eight [Edit: nine] coaching positions (including Ortíz as manager)
have new hires and six positions have been filled by shuffling returning personnel.
So did the Tropics new general manager fire eight coaches? “I don't quite remember,”
says Hoot, “Lilo Stitch and I—or is it Stitch Lilo?—anyway Lilo and I were working
late into the night after my welcome luau, working on getting the team's coaching in
place. I recall we fired three or four folks, including Titley [Brian Titley, last season's
manager for Medford], but eight? Hmmm...that seems too high. But Lilo, er Stitch, he
just kept passing the oke ['ökolehao] and we just kept crossing out names.”
“One person I know we didn't rehire is Juan Rúbio—yet here he is again.” But Rúbio
doesn't count among the eight [nine] newly-hired personnel, but among the six who
slid down or across the team's organizational chart.
Brian Miller refuses to shift from Hawaii
Of these, Brian Miller has moved from Hawaii pitching coach to bench coach, after
refusing to take the helm in Death Valley (AAA) when Bob Waycott begged for a
transfer after managing only one season in the desert. Waycott was granted his transfer,
all the way down the ladder to Rookie League Gaylord Sting Rays. Asked how Waycott
was liking his new environment, Hoot replies, “Hell, I don't even know where Gaylord
is, although some say near Garden City.” But then there are more than a dozen Garden
City's in the US.
Marcel Schutters is another manager on the downward slide, replacing Titley at
Medford (A) after managing two seasons at Carson City (AA). “I would have liked to
have fired his ass, his and Waycott's. Neither one of them can manage to change a
diaper, yet we thought it best not to dump two million dollars of contract.”
John 'Science' Bibler
John Bibler, who makes a science of studying hitting, has moved from bench coach to
hitting coach at Hawaii. “Bibler's a real team man; he says he would teach hitting at any
level in the organization, even at Gaylord.” For awhile the Tropics thought Bibler might
be coaching at Death Valley (AAA), until rumors of offers, if they were ever made, to
the likes of Jose Sosa and Júlio Luna for the job in Hawaii did not pan out. “Hell, we
offered Sosa 50% more than he's making now [managing Montreal]...that shows
you...well, that shows you something. After all, he was a Black Sox.”
Jared Chambers HC moves from Hawaii to Death Valley
Instead, Jared Chambers, last year's hitting coach at Hawaii accepted the same job at
Death Valley. Miller, Bibler, Chambers, Schutters, Waycott, and Rúbio, if he manages
at Death Valley, are the six returning coaches with new jobs. Meanwhile eight positions
have new hires.
Tim Helton PC for Hawaii, was with Phoenix Talons in 2001
Alberto García PC for Death Valley: was with 1st place Bison in 2001
Ortíz ostensibly takes over at Hawaii as manager, returning after helming Montreal the
past four seasons. Tim Helton joins Hawaii as new pitching coach, after leaving the
Phoenix Talons. Alberto García takes over as pitching coach at Death Valley, coming
over from the Buffalo Bison. “ García was actually hired to coach at a different level in
our organization. We had an agreement in principle with another coach who opted to
sign elsewhere,” says Hoot. “But with Rúbio, García, and Chambers at Death Valley,
the Scorpions are a lot better off than they were before I got here.”
Hugues Amato
Carson City (AA) has a trio of new personnel. Hugues Amato of Italy will helm the
team as a rookie manager; Lynn Eaves as a freshman pitching coach; and Edward
Plugge of Brussels, Belgium as a newbie hitting coach. “Yeah, they're all newbs,
frankly, but again, their résumés speak better than those of the guys who were there
last year.”
Schutters and Glover will be joined at Medford (A) by Gabriel Ortega as a first time
pitching coach. “Yeah, with a dearth of top notch coaches in the MBWBA, and some
guys abandoning the league for the hip Euro-league, outstanding coaches at this level
are hard to acquire.”
Finally, sharing Waycott's new home in Gaylord is Orran Salthouse of Dublin. “He's
actually a decent hitting coach. Ireland has an up-and-coming baseball programme,
including a new Euro team in Belfast. But Salthouse confided in me, over a Guinness,
that any Dubliner worth his salt wouldn't coach or play in Belfast.”
Edit: Jesús Najcrea has been hired as pitching coach at Gaylord.
As for Ortíz and Rúbio? “I say let them each manage Hawaii for half a season and half
in Death Valley.” But many times I'm not the one who has the 'say' around here, I'm
finding out,” says Hoot, pouring another mug of oke. “Here's to 2002: May God grant us
a year of peace and may Don Ho grant us a respectable team to put on the field.”
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MAUNA LOA, world's largest active volcano
Some effort was made in faithful reporting; please report errors of fact and broken links to the Aloha Ka Punahou at this address.
