Comments on: Maybe the Indians Could Play Detroit, Like, Every Day From Now On

By: Mary Jo

Mary Jo — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:54:30 +0000

Good memory Staphanie! I did say that as much as I would like to see Alomar manage our team someday I would first like to see a better team. I don’t want Alomar to be set up to fail, only to go on and have success somewhere else. I want him to have success with OUR Tribe!

By: Stephanie Liscio

Stephanie Liscio — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:13:34 +0000

I completely agree with you guys…I’ve been working on another post about how this isn’t all Acta’s fault, that there are bigger problems at play here. Alomar and Francona would be good choices, but someone pointed out a while ago (Mary Jo, maybe?) that I worry a little about bringing Alomar into a bad situation. These problems go deeper than the manager.

By: Steve Alex

Steve Alex — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:01:33 +0000

There have been a couple of guys who under-performed this year relative to their talent level. But otherwise, Manny Acta can’t turn injured, old or journeyman backup players into star performers, and I don’t think Shapiro or Antonetti will try to make him the scapegoat for the team’s poor record. The fans knew this wasn’t a playoff caliber team from day one, which is why they stayed away even when the team was in 1st place. Personally, I think Acta’s in-game calls and handling of the bullpen roles are pretty good and contribute to the number of one-run victories we eke out. You can point to the lack of emotion or the six years without a winning record, but the teams he managed were usually in rebuilding years and demanded a patient style. I think the only way Acta will be fired is if the Dolans clean house and bring in a new GM. If that happens, I like Drew’s choice of Alomar or Francona, but the manager is the least of our problems right now. The team needs better personnel decisions and more good players.

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:54:14 +0000

If the Indians do sack Manny Acta, I hope that the replacement is either Sandy Alomar jr. or Terry Francona. Also, I wonder how much of a difference the assistant coaches makes in baseball. Is it possible that Acta, a pretty decent manager, just cannot hire or effectively manage his direct reports and thus the reason the Indians resemble my golf game: Usually have one part of it clicking but two or three other areas that are so devastatingly bad that it doesn’t matter.

By: Stephanie Liscio

Stephanie Liscio — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:31:20 +0000

You know what I’ve been thinking about a lot recently – remember how Buck Showalter was a special assistant for the Indians for a while? What if they would have hired him? Although to be fair, I don’t think Connie Mack could do much with this group!

I do not want Ozzie in an Indians uniform, and I actually love Ozzie. But I only love him from an entertainment perspective…he’s always good for something nutty. It’s much more fun when you can watch all of that nutty stuff go down with one of your divisional opponents! While I don’t want to take anything away from Robin Ventura, part of me wonders if a portion of the White Sox’s success is just due to a lack of Ozzie.

I would advocate for the Indians to kidnap Adam Jones. People may notice that though.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:23:03 +0000

My O’s have been a blast this year. What the Indians need is a shrewd GM who is very, very good at finding diamonds in the rough (see: Guthrie for Hammel and Lindstrom) and a manager who can kick the player butts and get them playing together. Be careful, though. The Orioles pursued Joe Girardi and Bobby Valentine before getting Buck Showalter.

If Ozzie is indeed fired after this year, do you want him in an Indians uniform?