We have come to the time in the season where, aside from the pennant races, the subplot story is the managers -- managers who are going to be fired, managers who might be fired and managers who are vying for Baseball Writers Association hardware at the end of the year.
We start with the latter group where Alex Cora of the Red Sox, Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays and Bob Melvin of the Athletics are in a fierce contest for American League manager of the year honors while, barring a huge collapse by his team, Brian Snitker of the Braves looks to be the overwhelming favorite to win the National League award. Coming off a 72-90 season last year, no one expected the Braves, with so many young, inexperienced players sprinkled throughout their lineup and pitching staff, to unseat the Nationals as NL East champions, but Snitker is doing just that. Assuming the Braves hang on -- and the slumping Phillies don't seem to be up to the challenge of catching them -- it'll be their first NL East title (and winning season) since 2013.
Over in the American League, Cora undoubtedly will get strong support for leading the Red Sox to their first 100-win season since 1946 (and possibly their best season ever) in his rookie season as a manager. Still, there are those who will say Cora had the best team -- especially after the Red Sox signed J.D. Martinez to finally fill that gaping hole in the middle of their lineup left by Big Papi David Ortiz's departure in 2016 -- and how do you overlook the jobs both Melvin and Cash have done.
After starting off 1-8, having jettisoned all of their best hitters, Evan Longoria, Steve Souza Jr., Logan Morrison and Corey Dickerson over the winter, the Rays looked like they were going to be one of the worst teams in franchise history. But little by little they began scratching their way back, climbing over .500, 62-62 on Aug. 18 from where they've gone 14-3 since, en route to likely their first winning record since 2013. Who'd have thought the Rays would be playing meaningful games in September, but the folks in Tampa Bay have not given up hope the Rays might actually steal a wild card.
Likewise, no one gave the A's much hope of doing anything this season after three consecutive losing years -- and on June 16 they were in fourth place in the AL West, 34-36. Since then they've been one of the hottest teams in baseball and if Melvin is able to navigate them past the Yankees for the top seed in the AL wild-card game, he has to get strong consideration for manager of the year.
Now on to the endangered managers.
The only manager in baseball assured not to be coming back is John Gibbons in Toronto -- a fate the affable Gibby seems to be just fine with. At 56, Gibbons has let the Blue Jays know he has no appetite to preside over a rebuild, which is what it's going to be in Toronto for the next couple of years, but he'll still be paid for the last year of his contract in '19. Still uncertain is the fate of three other veteran managers, all of whom have experienced the highest levels of success with their respective clubs but are each struggling through woeful seasons in the last year of the contracts -- Mike Scioscia with the Angels, Buck Showalter in Baltimore and Ned Yost in Kansas City.
Earlier this year, the usually accurate Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that, with his contract expiring and the Angels heading toward a third consecutive losing season, Scioscia, 59, had decided to step down after the season. But Scioscia flatly denied the report a few days later, calling it "poppycock," and it's anyone's guess whether GM Billy Eppler wants a younger, more analytical manager or whether Scioscia really has tired of the seemingly hopeless situation in Anaheim and would like to test the free agent market.
It's an even more dismal outlook for the 62-year-old Showalter in Baltimore where he's experiencing by far the worst season of his 20-year managerial career. For the past few years, he's been locked in a power struggle with GM Dan Duquette, who seemed to have won out when he was allowed to execute the massive dismantling of the roster at the trading deadline -- Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Kevin Gausman, Jonathan Schoop, Darren O'Day and Brad Brach for 10 prospects now among their top 30 and a whole lot of international draft money. But Duquette's contract is also up and Showalter is believed to have enough gravitas yet with Oriole ownership that the decision to stay or leave is still his. If so, does he have the stomach for a rebuild?
As for Yost, 64, who's also in the midst of a rebuilding job with the Royals, he's said it would be much easier for him than a new manager unfamiliar with the players to oversee it. Best guess, he signs on for one more year.
Sports on 09/10/2018