Buck Showalter led the Yankees out of the playoff desert, helped create the Arizona Diamondbacks and did some good work with Rangers. Now he faces his greatest test -- reviving the Baltimore Orioles.
Buck Showalter is looking to rebuild the Baltimore Orioles beyond their current mid-season revival. "All competitive people like the idea sometimes that people say it can't be done," he said. "I love the town, the tradition, the people, the feeling. It's a challenge. It's our challenge."HOT CORNER
Loose lips sink Reds: It’s one thing to run your mouth and back it up on the field. It’s quite another when you talk a better game than you play. Step right up, Brandon Phillips.
Phillips, the former Indian and current Cincinnati second baseman, set the tone for an important three-game series last week with St. Louis by saying he hated the Cardinals, calling them complainers. It touched off one of the ugliest fights of the year and a three-game sweep by St. Louis that may have turned the tide in the NL Central.
The Reds went into the three-game series with a two-game lead. After the Cardinals outscored them, 21-8 in the sweep, while holding Phillips to two hits in 14 at-bats, they left Cincinnati with a one-game lead.
The Cards are 10-5 against the Reds this season.
The other Central: The Twins left U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday in first place by one game after taking two out of three from Chicago. The two teams entered the series tied.
“This is the way it’s supposed to be with these two teams,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told the Associated Press.
While the Reds and Cardinals meet only three more times, the White Sox and Twins play six more times, including a three-game set starting Tuesday at Target Field. The Twins lead the series, 8-4.
Who’s next? The Indians did a great job, as usual, with the induction of Kenny Lofton and the late Cy Slapnika into their Hall of Fame on July 7 at Progressive Field. Lofton, who played 17 seasons in the big leagues, but never found another home like Cleveland, was moved by the honor.
In the years to come, here are five more former Indians who should be voted in: Albert Belle (even if he doesn’t show up), Gaylord Perry, Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser and Jose Mesa (even if he doesn’t show up as well).
Add Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel to the list if they ever retire.
THE RANT
Bo Wyble is taking a lot of grief, but I know how he feels.
Wyble jumped out of the way of a foul ball Monday night at Houston’s Minute Maid Park and let it hit his date, Sara Saco Vertiz, on the right arm. The giggling couple was interviewed on TV right after the incident, while the announcers, during repeated replays, ripped Wyble for his lack of chivalry.
By Thursday, the couple was on the CBS Early Show and the video had reached more than 350,000 views on YouTube. Saco Vertiz told co-host Harry Smith that she and Bo had broken up, adding that it had nothing to do with his act of self preservation.
I know how Wyble feels because, I basically did the same thing. Instead of foul ball, I jumped out of the way of a fleeing rat, pushing my wife, Jackie, into the path of the rodent.
It was winter and we’d just moved into our first house. We were not alone. At first we thought we had squirrels, then mice. Then the exterminator told us we had rats.
Traps were set and the crisis apparently averted. One morning, Jackie said she heard something under a couch in the spare bedroom. I knelt down and looked under the couch, playfully calling, “Here, rat, rat, rat.” When I moved the couch, the biggest rat I’ve ever seen broke cover and headed for the door. I screamed and jumped on the couch, leaving Jackie as the only obstacle between the rat and freedom.
Jackie moved into her parents’ house the same day until the rats were beaten once and for all. She reminds me about it now and then, but she didn’t dump me, and you can’t see the replay on YouTube.
— Paul Hoynes
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Buck Showalter says some people don't get it.
He had a cushy job at ESPN. All he had to do was watch baseball games and talk about them. There were those 2 a.m. runs to Taco Bell with sidekick John Kruk, but no job is perfect.
Why would Showalter give all that up, the right to second guess, the right to pontificate, the right to educate the public on the grand old game, to go back to managing?
It wasn't like he came back to run the Yankees, a team he guided to the postseason in 1995 after a 14-year dry spell. It wasn't the Dodgers either, where the weather is good and the beach close. No, Showalter said goodbye to an ulcer-free existence, where no one ever missed the cut-off man, to manage the Orioles.
Some people think the Indians are stuck in the past. No matter what the current team does -- and that hasn't been a lot lately -- they suffer in comparison to the great teams from 1995 through 2001. In their defense, the Indians have had a couple of winning seasons, including a postseason appearance in 2007, since Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Omar Vizquel and all the other heroes left town.
The Orioles are not only locked in an Earl Weaver time warp, but they're headed for their 12th straight losing season. Not to mention, they play in the toughest and richest division in baseball -- the AL East. This is a division where good teams finish third or fourth. Only great teams need apply for a division title or a wild-card berth.
Showalter is the Orioles' third manager this year. That's never a good sign. Dave Trembley (15-39) was fired June 4. Juan Samuel replaced him on an interim basis. Showalter replaced Samuel (16-31) Aug. 3 with the Orioles owning baseball's worst record at 32-73.
So what don't people get about taking this job?
At his press conference Showalter said, "All competitive people like the idea sometimes that people say it can't be done. I love the town, the tradition, the people, the feeling.
"It's a challenge. It's our challenge."
Most people accept challenges when they have no other choice. Showalter charged into his with open arms and a three-year contract.
"It's not the first time," he said, last week when the Orioles played a three-game series in Cleveland. "You always reach back to situations you've been in."
Showalter managed the Yankees from 1992-95. They made the postseason in his final year for the first time since 1981 before he was fired by late owner George Steinbrenner. Joe Torre took over and four World Series titles rolled into the Bronx in the next five years.
Meanwhile, Showalter was helping in the birth of the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. He managed them from 1998-2000. After being fired, the D-Backs beat the Yankees to win the World Series in 2001.
"It's kind of like raising your daughter and then letting somebody else walk her down the aisle. I hope to get to walk down the aisle here," Showalter told Baltimore reporters when he was hired.
He managed Texas from 2003-06. The Rangers improved by 18 victories from 2003 through 2004 and Showalter was named AL Manager of the Year for the second time. The Rangers fired him in 2006 and he's been cooling his heels for almost four years until now.
The Orioles have responded to whatever Showalter does when he takes over a new team. They're 9-2 through Friday's 5-0 victory over Tampa Bay. They won series from the Angels, White Sox and Indians.
"The thing I like about Buck is the consistency he's shown," said DH Luke Scott. "For the most part you know exactly where you're going to be hitting in the lineup. You have a good idea what position you're going to be playing."
Showalter knows he's benefited from the return to health of Scott, catcher Matt Wieters, outfielder Felix Pie, second baseman Brian Roberts and others.
"I know I've got some bullets that other situations didn't have," he said.
But the challenge, no matter how much ammunition Showalter has at hand, remains the same.