The Seattle Mariners and Bobby Valentine are being mentioned in the same sentence as the topic of a new Seattle Mariners manager keeps getting discussed. Don Wakamatsu was fired as manager of the Mariners earlier this week, and he was replaced by Triple-A manager Daren Brown to finish out the 2010 season.
Brown has been with the organization for quite some time, and he seemed like the perfect pick to work with some of the young players on the Mariners roster. These are the same players he helped to coach when they were in the minor leagues. Despite this, it hasn’t seemed like anyone thinks that Brown is the long-term option that the Mariners are looking for in the major leagues. That has bred at least two strong rumors today about who might replace Brown at the end of the season.
It’s important to mention that the Seattle Mariners organization hasn’t said anything about what they plan to do in the offseason, and there has been no public proclamation that Brown isn’t their “man” for 2011. The common belief, though, is that Brown will finish out the 2010 season, and will be offered his old job down at Triple-A Tacoma for the organization. If Brown turns this current team around, though, anything is possible, and maybe he will be kept up with the big team. That doesn’t seem very likely, though, and it opens the door for discussions about replacements.
The Seattle Times is reporting that former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine would be interested in taking the Mariners managing job. He seems like an interesting choice on paper, and has had a lot of success before this. It has been thought that Valentine would be a good option for any team needing a manager, and the Mariners definitely need one. He isn’t the only name that is being linked to the Mariners job at this time, though.
Over at the Chicago Sun Times, they are reporting that current Chicago White Sox bench coach Joey Cora has also been linked to the Seattle opening. Cora used to play for the Mariners, and was with the team when the franchise made the MLB Playoffs for the first time in 2005. He has been studying behind Ozzie Guillen in Chicago, and Guillen believes that he is ready to have a job of his own in the managerial ranks. He presents an interesting option for the Mariners if they want to bring back someone who was a former player.
If the decision had to be made today between Valentine, Cora, and Brown, it would seem that Valentine could best help the organization. He knows how to win ballgames, he has the experience, and he is a “name” that could help to bring free agents up to Seattle. If the Mariners are intent at moving on after Brown’s interim, then they should definitely begin courting Mr. Bobby Valentine.
