The Morning Offering - Thursday

Written by Worm on February 09, 2006

Rotogods.com is proud to be your premier source for preparing for your fantasy baseball drafts. We have it all, a message board, um, cool nicknames, uh… well, yeah, we have some things. As part of helping you get up to speed for the upcoming baseball season, we’re planning on giving you a position-by-position look at our player rankings. With any luck, they’ll make sense, god willing they’ll be useful, and maybe with a miracle we’ll actually get through every position by opening day. Anyway, I’ve been studying players and teams all offseason, as I’m sure you know, so I thought I’d get us started off right, by giving you my highly analytical ranking, complete with comments, of the thirty starting managers for the upcoming season. You can thank me when you’ve won your title.

1. Bobby Cox, Braves: The guy never loses, it’s amazing. Well, except in the playoffs, of course. Still, there’s no surer bet to make his team a winner.

2. Ozzie Guillen, White Sox: I like Ozzie’s style, brash, buoyant, effervescent. And he got major mileage out of his last team.

3. Tony La Russa, St. Louis: He’s had his ups and downs, but he is an innovator in the game, and he knows how to manage a winner.

4. Joe Torre, Yankees: Joe may be as overrated since he came to the Yankees as he was underrated before he got there. Still, he’s the perfect man for his job, and no other manager under The Boss has enjoyed his success and stability.

5. Eric Wedge, Indians: He keeps his young teams competitive, and the Indians have become an interesting team under his tenure. A sleeper for sure, but I think he’s ready to make the leap to stardom.

6. Mike Scioscia, Angels: A strong motivator, he meshes well with his teams. He’s a winner with proven results.

7. Buck Showalter, Rangers: All you have to do is fire him, and you’ll win the World Series next year. Hey, he must be doing something right.

8. Terry Francona, Red Sox: Well, he did win the Series with the Red Sox. He obviously has some voodoo skills.

9. Joe Girardi, Marlins: The best of the managerial crop from under Torre’s tutelage, Girardi is a solid bet to get more than expected out of a gutted Marlins team.

10. Felipe Alou, Giants: He’s never won much, but Alou has always had solid teams on the field. A steady hand to captain the ship.

11. Ron Gardenhire, Twins: Remember when the Twins were about to be contracted?

12. Bruce Bochy, Padres: Has there ever been another Padres manager? This guy is respected, and has kept the Padres respectable.

13. Mike Hargrove, Mariners: His halcyon years with the Indians long gone, Grover has a real task with turning around a Seattle team in a several-year tailspin. He has some talent to work with, but it’s still a steep hill to climb.

14. Frank Robinson, Nationals: The team would probably be better off if he were in the lineup. Still, I’d be afraid not to play hard with this guy as my manager.

15. Bob Melvin, Diamondbacks: He’s managed some interesting teams that maybe didn’t look like they’d be so interesting. Props.

16. Jim Leyland, Tigers: Nothing spectacular, but Leyland can manage a solid 162 game season.

17. Dusty Baker, Cubs: Serious fantasy owners know that Dusty is overrated. Sure the players respect him, but his decisions hurt his teams, and he just doesn’t win as much as he ought to with some of the talent he’s managed.

18. Phil Garner, Astros: An okay manager for some pretty okay teams. Getting the ‘Stros out of the first round is a nice accomplishment, though.

19. Ken Macha, A’s: Nothing spectacular. He doesn’t hurt a team or get in its way, which is a good trait in a manger, I guess.

20. Buddy Bell, Royals: Now we’re getting down to waiver wire material. Bell isn’t bad, particularly, but his teams do fail to impress.

21. Charlie Manuel, Phillies: He’s had some success, but his teams don’t seem to achieve to the level they are capable of.

22. John Gibbons, Blue Jays: This year will be a real test of his mettle.

23. Ned Yost, Brewers: The talent is starting to accumulate. Will Yost be able to lift his team out of perpetual mediocrity?

24. Jim Tracy, Pirates: This guy’s managed some of the biggest underachievers in recent history.

25. Willie Randolph, Mets: I love Willie, but he hasn’t shown the results yet to merit a higher ranking.

26. Clint Hurdle, Rockies: It’s hard to say what he’d do with a real team in a real ballpark.

27. Jerry Narron, Reds: The Reds are weird. I blame Narron.

28. Sam Perlozzo, Orioles: Here’s one damned unproven manager.

29. Joe Maddon, Devil Rays: If the Rays finish anywhere other than last, this ranking will obviously have to be kicked up a bit.

30. Grady Little, Dodgers: Being famous for a managerial screw-up that everybody except him recognized immediately lands Little at the bottom of this list. I mean, what was he thinking?!

That’s all folks. Hope this helps. Tune in next time, when I rank bullpen catchers.

-- Written by Worm on February 09, 2006