Did two posts (here, and here) last month on the likeliest successors for each of the 30 current active big league skippers.
Since I’m delighted to post successful forecasts here, it’s incumbent on me to mention the other kind, in the wake of Trey Hillman’s dismissal as manager of the Royals, and his replacement by Ned Yost.
ATLANTA: Maybe Chico Cadahia or Eddie Perez, but I think the best bets are two former Cox lieutenants, Fredi Gonzalez of the Marlins, and ex-Brewers boss Ned Yost. If the latter were the obvious choice, he’d probably be back on the staff, not an advisor in KC.
KANSAS CITY: John Gibbons. Hiring a recently dismissed, no-nonsense ex-manager as your bench coach, is the standard process for anointing an heir apparent.
There’s an old Monty Python sketch about a terrible stage actor who ranks the difficulty of each role based on how many words it has. “But,” he adds, thoughtfully, “it’s not just about knowing all the words. It’s also important to get them in the right order!”
Sigh. Right guy, right logic, wrong prediction!
