Former Buffalo Bisons' manager Torey Lovullo, who has managed for Cleveland's farm system, for the past eight seasons, has jumped to the Boston Red Sox organization. He will manage the team in Pawtucket next season.
Lovullo once played for Red Sox manager Terry Francona when they were together with the Phillies in 1999, and has worked with Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell when they were both in the Cleveland chain.
I'm going to give the Mets props twice in the same day? I must be going soft -- or the Metsies, for once, are using their heads. Bringing ex-Bisons manager Terry Collins on board as field coordinator, a move announced Tuesday night, is a terrific choice on several fronts. Collins has field coordinator/farm director experience with the Dodgers. He knows talent. He's organized. He's passionate. And he's an outside voice who can come in and give the Mets a new view in the wake of the Tony Bernazard fiasco.
Two more angles you shouldn't discount:
---Jerry Manuel's replacement: What if the Mets start poorly next year? There really are no choices on the current staff to replace Manuel. For all the talk about beloved '86 Met Wally Backman, he was just hired to manage the Class A Brooklyn team in the New York-Penn League. Foolish to think the Mets would shoot him to the big leagues. But Collins is now in house with six years under his belt with Houston and Anaheim and two more in Japan. Hmmmm.
---The Buffalo factor: Collins, of course, is revered in Buffalo. Especially by ownership and the front office. I've talked to him a few times in the years since he left and he talks about his time here wistfully. It's widely known he was going to be Bob Rich's choice as manager if the Herd had gotten a 1993 NL expansion team. You would think he would make sure the Bisons are taken care of the right way (Memo to the Mets: A full roster is a requirement every night in Triple-A).
Now that J.P. Ricciardi is gone in Toronto, an affiliation with the Blue Jays in 2011 is certainly plausible if the Mets flame out here next year. Collins can help bridge the gap between the folks at Citi Field and the folks at Coca-Cola Field. Somehow, I doubt he'd sit by idly if the Triple-A team in his system was 2-17.
There was no question about Bones. He did a terrific job as the team ERA was under 4.00 for most of the season, a remarkable figure given the team's record. Jonathon Niese and Nelson Figueroa had great Triple-A seasons and were solid options for the big-league rotation and the Herd staff's ERA was just 2.86 in July.
What about Oberkfell? There were times during the team's 2-17 start when I wondered if he was about to be sacrificed in a quick-fix by the Mets. Instead, overmatched hitting coach Luis Natera got a much-deserved whacking. I want to see how Oberkfell does with a real team, not the sadsack bunch thrust in his face by deposed and despised minor-league poobah Tony Bernazard. The players respected him and he definitely did better in the second half with a more veteran team.
Here's hoping the Mets move faster on the minor-league free agent front than they did last winter. Barring injuries (no sure bet in this organization I realize), Oberkfell should have Fernando Martinez and Nick Evans for full seasons. And other hot prospects like C Josh Thole and 1B Ike Davis should be impact players here as well.
One memo to the Mets: See about trying hitting coach Jack Voigt at third base. There were nights when Oberkfell was a disaster there.
The American League MVP winner will be announced Monday at 2 and it should be an interesting vote, unlike the slam-dunk for Albert Pujols that should be certified when the National League winner is announced Tuesday at 2.
Here's the MLB.com recap of the top AL candidates. My pick would be Joe Mauer of the Twins. Yes, he missed some time early in the season but shouldn't be held against him. He still played 138 games, batted .365 and excelled at the game's most complex position. And his team rallied late to make the playoffs.
If I had an official ballot (I'm not on either committee), I would vote 1-Mauer 2-Mark Teixeira 3-Derek Jeter. In the NL, it would be 1-Pujols 2-Hanley Ramirez 3-Prince Fielder. You can get a look at the National League "race" here.
Here's a blast from the past: Former Bisons star Alex Ramirez was named MVP of the Japanese League for the second straight year on Wednesday. Now 35, Ramirez led the Yomiuri Giants to their first Japan Series title by leading the league with a .322 average, 31 homers and 103 RBIs. He has become an icon during his nine-year career in Japan
The 35-year-old Ramirez hit .322 in helping the Yomiuri Giants to their first Japan Series championship since 2002. He had 31 homers and drove in 103 runs in 144 games this season, his ninth in Japan. He's the fastest American in history with 1,500 hits in Japan and he has 287 career home runs
"A-Ram" as he was known here, played in Buffalo from 1997-99 and was a key member of Buffalo's 1998 International League champions . He hit .299 with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs that season to earn the club's most valuable player award. His home run and RBI totals, and his 28-game hitting streak still stand as modern-era records for the Bisons.
I thought Zack Greinke was a fairly obvious choice for AL Cy Young but the NL is no open-and-shut case. It gets announced Thursday at 2 and it's a tough call. You can read MLB.com's summary here. There are a bunch of names in there but I really think it comes down to three: The St. Louis duo of the Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright and San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum.
Linceum (15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 K) won it last year when he was 18-5 and was brilliant again. Carpenter (17-4, 2.24, 144) once again looked like he did in the 2005-06 range and Wainwright (19-8, 2.63, 212) has established himself as an ace three years after ending the World Series as an untouchable rookie closer.
I really like Carpenter in this one. He was 12-1 from June on and his one-hitter Sept. 7 in Milwaukee was one of the most dominant games I watched all season. He's had an amazing run back from Tommy John surgery and this would definitely be the capper. I don't have an official ballot in this race but mine would read 1-Carpenter 2-Lincecum 3-Wainwright.
I was one of the 28 voters for this year's American League Manager of the Year award, which was given to Los Angeles' Mike Scioscia today. The Baseball Writers Association of America requests we keep our votes secret until the winner is announced and now I can let the cat out of the bag: I had Joe Girardi first, Scioscia second and Ron Gardenhire third.
There is certainly a lot of anti-Girardi sentiment along the lines of he's supposed to win big with all that talent. But 103 wins are 103 wins, folks. And A-Rod was gone for 38 games. And the Yankees were struggling along until June but Girardi didn't panic. He mixed in the Brett Gardners of the world and allowed the clubhouse to change with the more light-hearted personalities of Nick Swisher and A.J. Burnett.
Girardi also relaxed his personality as well. Uptight like he was in Florida wasn't going to work in New York. It didn't work well in 2008. His personal evolution was certainly a key factor in the Yankees' run.
Scioscia did a great job in Anaheim, particularly in the wake of Nick Adenhart's death. And he's had an amazing run the last eight years. No problem whatsoever with him winning the award. Gardenhire kept the Twins together until they could finally overtake the Tigers. Another great job with a small-market team that might become even more dangerous with all the revenue from a new ballpark starting next year.
Awards continue Wednesday at 2 as the AL and NL Manager of the Year citations are announced. Full disclosure: I was one of the 28 voters for the AL award and the Baseball Writers Association of America has requested we not reveal our ballots until the winner is revealed (we voted for a top-three).
You can see a full discussion of the candidates for the AL award here. Pretty obvious the main candidates are Los Angeles' Mike Scioscia, Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire, New York's Joe Girardi, Texas' Ron Washington, Detroit's Jim Leyland (save for the last week!) and Seattle's Don Wakamatsu. It should be a very interesting vote.
In the NL race, Colorado's Jim Tracy appears to be a clear favorite. But there will certainly be sentiment for Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Charlie Manuel and Fredi Gonzalez. If I were voting, I would tab Tracy-Cox-La Russa 1-2-3 (voting, remember, does not include the postseason).
Andrew Bailey of the A's and Chris Coghlan of the Marlins were named American and National League rookies of the year, respectively, today by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Hmmm. If I had a vote, I had Detroit's Rick Porcello ahead of Bailey in the AL and the duo of Philly's J.A. Happ and Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen ahead of Coghlan in the NL.
Voting for all awards was done prior to the postseason. Writers generally vote for one category. This year, I was a voter for American League Manager of the Year and it's requested we not reveal our ballots until the award is announced (it will be on Wednesday). So I'll fill you in then.
In the meantime, be sure to keep watch here for polls on the upcoming awards. On Tuesday at 2, the AL Cy Young Award will be announced and that will be interesting.
If I were voting, my ballot would look like this: Zack Greinke (left), CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera. I'm contradicting myself a little because I would pick Happ over McCutchen on the basis he helped his team, so I should probably vote for one of the Yankees over a Royal.
But Greinke's numbers were truly spectacular (MLB-best 2.16 ERA, 242 strikeouts as part of a 16-8 season) and I'm not as concerned about his won-loss record. There are cases to be made for guys like Sabathia, Rivera, Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Scott Feldman and Roy Halladay but I go for Greinke. How about you?
Back from a post-World Series vacation and keeping an eye on the smoldering hot stove, which will heat up next month at the Winter Meeetings in Indianapolis. Here's some moves in the dugout I found interesting:
---New Indians manager Manny Acta made three more additions to his staff today, including the hiring of former Bisons pitching coach Scott Radinsky as his new bullpen coach. Acta went with an outsider, Steve Smith, as his third base/infield coach, a post some thought could go to Torey Lovullo. The first base coach slot is still open and Lovullo probably has a chance for that.
---One I missed during the chaos of the Series: The Orioles named Jeff Datz, former Bisons manager and deposed Indians bench coach, as their new bench coach under Dave Tremblay. Here's more from Datz on how the interview process went down.
---Also today: Ex-Met Wally Backman, exiled to independent ball after a misdemeanor assault charge and DUI ended his four-day stint as Diamondbacks manager in 2004, was hired by the Mets to manage Class A Brooklyn in the New York-Penn League
------------
Elsewhere, have you seen the new national AT&T ad featuring a fictional Bison getting called up? The ad was filmed in Lake Elsinore, Calif., and not at Coca-Cola Field but it prominently features "Buffalo" on the player's jersey and his phone. Why the Bisons? AT&T has long been one of the team's top national partners. Check it out here:
