Obsessive Manager Watch: Ross Was Always a Great Candidate, Up-And-Comers, Padres, Phillies, Pirates

Despite the World Series approaching, we’ve still seen only one of eight managerial vacancies filled, and it was the one everyone knew was coming (Joe Maddon to the Angels). I’ve gotta believe there will be more announcements on Monday, the day before the World Series begins (or tomorrow, if the ALCS ends tonight).

From the circuit …

  • Because of his closeness to the organization, and his role in the minds of Cubs fans – Grandpa Rossy, the World Series home run, Dancing with the Stars, all that stuff – I think many have been too quick to forget what David Ross’s reputation around the game was long before he even came to the Cubs in 2015. He was regarded, almost uniformly, as a future manager at that point for a lot of reasons, and none of them had anything to do with his relationship to this front office or these players.
  • Patrick Mooney offers a great pice on Ross’s career, and his trajectory as a future manager:
  • When Ross is ready to manage – and he’s ready for this Cubs opportunity – he should be regarded right up there as among the best candidates for the Cubs.
  • Per reports – and what we just kinda know – it seems like Ross and Joe Espada remain the favorites, though the Cubs are still working through a process that could include one more interview (Yankees bench coach Josh Bard?).
  • Sticking with The Athletic, Eno Sarris wrote up little profiles on the up-and-coming manager candidates around the game, and it’s littered with guys the Cubs have interviewed (Ross, Joe Espada, Will Venable):
  • Meanwhile, the Padres’ search reportedly is down to Rangers minor league development coordinator Jayce Tingler (one of the names on Sarris’s list) and Braves coach, and former Rangers manager, Ron Washington. Clearly, AJ Preller is content to dip back into his Rangers roots for his next manager, though the two options are extremely different.
  • The Phillies and their owner continue to focus on established, long-time managers like Joe Girardi, Dusty Baker, and Buck Showalter, with the latter perhaps the favorite:
  • Showalter has had a very long and successful managerial career, so it’s hard to criticize the decision, even if I think it’s very bizarre that it’s the owner making the calls. After going with an up-and-coming, development-and-data type like Gabe Kapler, perhaps an older school, seasoned manager is what the Phillies need anyway. I don’t know. Usually these kinds of hierarchy issues present in other problematic ways down the road.
  • Lotta candidates for the Pirates, including well-regarded (and beautifully-named) Cardinals coach, Stubby Clapp:
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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