Before Dodgers get back on top they must find new manager

Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Before Dodgers get back on top they must find new manager

COLUMN: Ten years after World Series win, team

in need of true leadership

Only the Dodgers could find a way to lose without even
playing.

Once the most coveted organization in baseball, the Dodgers
can’t even find a guy to sit on the bench and manage them.

Exactly 10 years ago to this day, newspaper headlines across the
world read "Dodgers: World Champs."

That Series-clinching victory against Oakland was the last time
the Blue Crew has won in October.

Boy, have things have changed.

It’s been 10 long years of unlived potential, rebuilding and
"oh, so close."

Now is the time for the Dodgers to bust out of their decade-long
slump and be the team they know they can be. Now is the time for
them to become the Dodgers of yore. But first they need a
coach.

New general manager Kevin Malone has been looking in the right
places and asking the right guys. But they’re giving the wrong
answer – no. It’s quite stunning considering the Dodgers managerial
spot was always the position people wanted but couldn’t have. Who
would turn down a chance to be in charge of the L.A. Dodgers?

Felipe Alou, for one. Alou, who had worked with Malone when he
was GM of the Montreal Expos, was close to signing with the
Dodgers. In fact, he was 10 minutes away from taking the job.

But, like all things for the Dodgers, something went wrong. The
Expos offered Alou a better deal, and he took it. Alou would’ve
been a perfect fit for the Dodgers. Since 1992, Alou has led the
overachieving Expos to the third-best record in the National
League, with the league’s lowest average payroll over that
span.

So why wouldn’t he ditch the lowly Expos to join Rupert Murdoch
and his billions? It’s probably Alou’s loyalty and integrity,
attributes that make him such a desirable manager. But for now,
Alou will remain with a team that makes players good and sends them
away to other teams as gifts.

Alou won’t be in blue, so now who?

Next comes Jim Leyland. He’s won in Pittsburgh, he’s won in
Florida and he’d win in Los Angeles. Leyland was angry that the
Marlins broke up their World Series-winning lineup because of
payroll issues, so the big budget Dodgers should be a quick fix. Or
not. Leyland said "No Way, L.A." and instead took a job with the
Colorado Rockies.

Next up at the plate: Tom Kelly. He’s been mired in the small
market of Minnesota, so there would be no way he’d refuse to come
to Los Angeles. Wrong again. Yes, even Tom Kelly dodged the
Dodgers. Tom Kelly? What’s up with that?

That’s strike one, strike two and strike three.

And it’s not like the Dodgers are a bad team. Managers should be
taking numbers to get an opportunity to lead the team. The Dodgers
have been historically associated with winning. In fact, yesterday
they were named "Organization of the Century" in a study conducted
by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal.

Yet they still can’t find a manager. The Padres are in the World
Series. "The Wayans Bros." is still on the air. Life makes no
sense.

They say forget the past and look ahead for the future, so now
what? There seems to be two guys left who have a good shot at the
mission, if they accept.

Former Orioles head honcho Davey Johnson is the leading
candidate, and ex-Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy is the other.
Johnson seems to be the better choice of the two. He knows how to
win baseball games, and that’s a good thing (in my opinion). His
winning percentage of .575 is the highest among active managers.
He’s won with the Mets, the Reds and the Orioles. He took the reins
of a Mets team that had struggled in its previous two seasons and
transformed it into a winner.

When Johnson coached the Orioles in 1996 and 1997, they were 48
games over .500. This season, without Johnson, Baltimore was 79-83.
Ding, ding, ding. I think we have a winner.

Now, I’m not saying Johnson is the perfect choice for the
Dodgers right now, but he’s the best of what’s left. If they don’t
hire a proven winner, a guy with flair and courage, then they’ll
just remain in baseball mediocrity.

The other possibility is Kennedy, but he’s a riskier pick.
Kennedy, who lives in the nearby San Fernando Valley, has never won
a post-season game.

There is also concern that Kennedy is too lax with his players
and lacks the necessary control.

So I guess the obvious choice would be Johnson, but with the
Dodgers, obvious means nothing.

Malone said the decision would be made by the end of the week,
although major moves aren’t supposed to be announced during the
World Series.

So for now, the Dodgers are still on the road to becoming the
team they once were.

But until they find their next Tommy, someone that will bring
motivation, solidarity and a winning attitude, the Dodgers’ winning
ways will be only a memory.

Kmiotek is a football beat-writer. You can reach him at
[email protected]. Jeff Kmiotek

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