|
What seemed like a no-brainer in Valentine become the O's skipper is seeming less likely this morning.
For Bobby's part, I think the older a manager gets, the less patience he has with wholesale makeover projects.
O's value experience in manager search
"The Orioles' search for a new manager could continue after the season is over with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail reiterating on Monday that there is no timetable to name ex-skipper Dave Trembley's long-term successor.
"I would be very surprised if anything happened at all before the All-Star break. I find that to be the earliest scenario," MacPhail said. "We still have people to talk to and that's been helpful to us. We have the benefit of time. We might as well take advantage of it, and meanwhile Juan [Samuel] still gets the opportunity to continue to manage the club."
MacPhail said the organization has a list it is working on, and he has begun meetings with several candidates, with Bobby Valentine and Eric Wedge reportedly among them. Valentine, a current ESPN baseball analyst and former Mets skipper, confirmed to MLB.com that he met with MacPhail on Friday, while Wedge could not be reached for comment.
Two other rumored candidates for the position -- Phil Garner and Buck Showalter -- both told MLB.com they have not been contacted by the Orioles for the managerial vacancy, but both said they wouldn't be opposed to listening to what MacPhail had to say.
"I made no secret of the fact that given the young makeup of our roster, we will probably place a high premium on experience," MacPhail said. "And preferably experience where they've shown some success and hopefully had some postseason success."
In that respect, Valentine would fit the bill. He posted a 1,117-1,072 record in Texas and New York, guiding the Mets to the World Series in 2000. Speaking on Monday on the Michael Kay Show in New York, Valentine said both MacPhail and Orioles owner Peter Angelos seemed to be making a conscious effort in fixing the myriad of problems facing a 17-47 Baltimore squad.
"It's a big challenge," Valentine said on the show. "I like big challenges, but I like to have some reward too, and the reward is in the standings and their standings don't look like they're going to turn around very quickly." |
| 
