Originally posted at raisethejollyroger.com
Managing is difficult to quantify, unless you follow a team around for an entire season religiously, like I do with the Pirates (and trust me, John Russell is not getting any manager of the year votes). The conventional wisdom is that you look at the teams that did well, take the one that has the least natural talent, and say the manager made up for it and was one of the main reasons that team was good. I’m not sure I completely believe in that philosophy, but like I said, I didn’t follow the entire NL around all year like I did with the Pirates, so I don’t have much of a choice.
We vote for three managers. #3 and #2 still receive votes that count, but #1 is the winner…
#3 — Joe Torre — Los Angeles Dodgers — 95-67 — 1st in NL West
Clearly, the manager is not the reason why LA won the most games in the National League, but then again there weren’t too many great options around the NL. Torre had a loaded ballclub coming into the year and did exactly what he was supposed to do with it. Throw in the massive distraction that is Manny Ramirez (and that 50-game suspension) and all the craziness that comes with LA, and it was an impressive year. The Dodgers held off the stellar pitching of the Giants as well as the red-hot Rockies, and Torre deserves a bit of recognition for that.
#2–Fredi Gonzalez–Florida Marlins–87-75–2nd in NL East
The Fish didn’t make the playoffs, but this is a prime example of “not a lot of talent but still a lot of wins.” That seems to be a growing trend with the Marlins lately. Of course, Florida’s ownership is crazy and [nearly fired him for not making the playoffs], but seriously, give the man a break! Gonzalez inherited little more talent than JR did and somehow he turned it into 87 wins and only came up 5 games short of the postseason. Behind Hanley Ramirez, the Fish hardly have an intimidating offense. They had one outstanding starter in Josh Johnson, and little else behind him in the rotation. They played in a tough division, yet finished just 6 back of the powerful Phillies. What more can Gonzalez do?
#1–Jim Tracy–Colorado Rockies–92-70–2nd in NL West–won NL Wild Card
It pains me to do this. A lot. Tracy was the perfect combination of a horrible baseball manager and a frustrating personality during his time in Pittsburgh, and here he is as the consensus manager of the year in the NL. Why consensus? Well, the Rockies aren’t exactly a loaded club, which was made evident before Tracy got there. Colorado was 18-28 when Clint Hurdle was fired and Tracy took over. Now, they’re at 90 wins and in the playoffs. The Rox went on possibly the most impressive stretch of the season immediately after Tracy took the job. I have no idea how he managed to create that spark, nor was I happy about it happening, but it’s hard to argue with the facts.
Brian,
I’m glad you went with Fredi as #2, though as a Marlins fan, I’m not a big fan of his. But to be fair to the team, the Marlins had the second best offense in the National League, behind the Phillies. The team had a wOBA around .336 after adjusting for their home park, and if you’re not into the whole wOBA thing, the team scored the fifth most runs in the NL, behind three teams in pitcher’s parks (Phillies, Brewers, Rockies), and the Dodgers. To say that their offense was little behind Ramirez is ignoring a lot of good players.