So BEGINS!

This begins my quest to have Buddy Bell replaced, for numerous reasons... first being, "his" book is fraggin' boring and I can't get passed the first chapters.

second, this isn't the team for him and never will be. He clearly needs better, older talent to be an effective coach (and this is giving him the benefit of the doubt). Some of my friends, while not liking him as our coach, still think he COULD be a good coach and since I respect said friends, I am willing to concede some ground.

I don't think he can ever be a good coach. He was a loser player, coached for loser teams, and now managers a team with the psychological outset of losers. We're the self-fulfilling prophecy. The kid who is told he can't get the pretty girl, but could if he had more confidence. Buddy Bell isn't that guy. We need a coach who won't take shit from anyone (especially Fatty Hernandez who doesn't care enough about hte game to lose 30 pounds).

We need a coach who doesn't think so highly of veterans with nothing left; i.e. Scott Elarton; you don't put an old man throwing 86 MPH out in the 8th inning when he's pitched over 100 pitches and hasn't thrown strikes all night. You can be the smartest pitcher in the world, but some nights you don't have command and you get TIRED!

Who do I want, the dear reader may ask? I don't know. But I know what characteristics in a manager that I want. I want a manager who will be firm, not listen to his player when he knows he's done for the night, overmatched. Someone who garners respect from players, fans, and media personnel. Someone that regards statistics with some dignity, who doesn't run SISCO out every night for the lefty matchup when it doesn't work, or puts Dessens in with runners on when the stats show that OPPONENTS are hitting over .280 on him (and the case where this happened, guess what, they SCORED). I want a smart manager that understands the game, understands his opponents, and most importantly, knows how to win. Tony Pena knew how to win in 2003, he went crazy in 04/05, but for one year, we had the coach we needed. Moore needs to find that coach, but one that is more consistent and doesn't rely on the same tricks (We Believe, Together we Can). Dayton, find some crafty veteran manager or some guy I have never heard of, but if you're going to retread someone, find someone who knows how to be a winner and that gets respect.

Why respect? B/c this team has no pitching, which means we won't be good for quit a time... BUT, as an organization, we need to get respect from the league to get decent free agents and some good face time on ESPN where the AREN"T making fun of us. Dayton's hiring was one step forward, banning reporters was 4 steps back. Get respected manager (a player's manager) and get interest from players around the league. Perk players and fans' interest alike.

I beg you.

My only question is, do you fire Buddy now or at the end.

There are pros and cons to both. Fire him now and you may hinder his bad ideas and poor development of the players. Fire him now, though, and you may not get a decent manager. Fire him now if you know who you want and he's currently not working b/c if we get a headstart this season, then next may not be such a wash after all.