Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Your 2011 Blue Jays Managerial Shortlist


Sure he lacks any experience and kinda sorta might want to still play. Carlos, your highness, I'm here to tell you that your playing days are over - you have a higher calling.

Managing a baseball team is all about managing egos and personalities while not driving your team straight into a mountain. Manage the bullpen, let good hitters get more at bats than bad ones, etc.

Carlos Delgado is an erudite, thoughtful guy with a strong humanitarian background. He's Latin (but not enough to scare away the Dougies of the world) and played the game (at a high level for a long time coughcoughClarencecough) so, failing an upset of everything that is good and just in the world, he'd instantly earn the respect of the clubhouse.

He doesn't come with the built in slurp record of (clowns) like Bobby Valentine or whatever "big name" manager being drudged up as a favor to old allies. Honestly, who cares? Make him a hitting instructor or bench coach to some grizzled old battle veteran so he can "learn the game" or some such nonsense.

There are 146 million other reasons Carlos Delgado might make an interesting managerial choice: he understands the pressures and experiences of signing an insanely high contract extension. He knows, as Adam Lind now does, about balancing the pressing need to deliver the goods with what I can only assume is an overwhelming desire to coast. No Overmanagin' scrub can identify with those traits, though they're the single biggest reason Delgado won't be in a rush to juggle egos and Bob Elliott's Favrian text messages.

Whether he'd handle the pitching staff with The Manager's deft touch or just kind of sitting there in a state of perpetual shock like the previous stunt hire remains to be seen. Misguided as this may be and a sucker as I apparently am, I just want to have a classy, smart, likable guy back in the mix.

9 comments:

  1. Delgado as hitting coach while Butterfield manages? I like the sound of that.

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  2. This is insane.

    And yet, I kinda like it.

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  3. Although you have to know that at a certain point, Carlos would grab the bat out of some guy's hands and say "Gimme that" and head out to the plate himself.

    Would be interesting to give him a year or two as bench coach or hitting coach or first base butt patter.

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  4. Seeing as though my plan coming into the season was to have 'Los play DH / 1B, I'm totally on board with this.

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  5. How many years since the last player/manager?



    YOU KNOW????????????!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!111!1!?1!?1/!?1?1!/!~/21?~4%&*?

    ...MAKE A SPLASH AA!

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  6. I'm down. King Carlos for Hitting Coach. Make it happen, Beest.

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  7. I want Carlos back in TO so bad this almost makes sense.

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