What to make of the Padres Managerial candidates

If you’re reading this, you obviously know the Padres are looking for a new Manager. Again.

Andy Green seemed like a nice enough guy. He loved the phrase “that’s baseball” so much that hundreds (if not thousands) of Padres twitter folks would mock him repeatedly. Other than that, ya, he was a good guy. Alas, he got fired and here we are. Early rumors had Moises Alou and Carlos Beltran in the mix. Both immediately declined to interview. Alou says he’s not interested in managing while Beltran apparently prefers a better climate like New York. Oh well.

So who are the candidates? Let’s take a peek.

It’s interesting to see Joe Maddon with the highest odds considering his ties to the Angels gig. His time in that organization is similar to Bruce Bochy in San Diego. Difference? Maddon still wants to manage.

Padres owner Ron Fowler has been quoted saying he’d prefer a manager with experience. If that’s the case, it limits the team to Joe Maddon, Mike Scioscia, Joe Girardi, Brad Ausmus, Ron Washington and Bruce Bochy. Bochy, of course, is a long shot due to his retirement. Rod Barajas has a chance to stick as the bench coach, but it’s unlikely he’ll get a real look at the Manager role.

Let’s do a very quick inventory on the “experienced” managers.

Joe Maddon

Maddon served as a coach for the Angels from 1993-2005. He served as the interim manager twice. He became the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006. He served in that role until 2014. He led them to their first World Series appearance during that time as well. From 2015-2019 he served as the manager of the Chicago Cubs where he helped end their 108 year World Series drought. The 65 year old has a 1,225-1,045 career record. He reportedly wants the Angels job, but is the odds on favorite for the Padres gig at this time.

Mike Scioscia

Scioscia served as a coach in the Dodgers organization before becoming the Angels manger in 2000. He led them to a World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants in 2002 after a 16 year playoff drought. He owned a 1,650-1,428 record over his 19 year tenure with the team. It’s worth noting that he didn’t win less than 89 games from 2004-2009. His final 9 years were largely mediocre, which turns many fans off.

Joe Girardi

Girardi became a manager in 2006 with the Miami Marlins. He won the 2006 NL manager of the year award, but not until he was fired for his public spats with owner Jeffrey Loria. After a year in the broadcast booth, he took the New York Yankees job. Despite winning a World Series in 2009, he was constantly rumored to be on the chopping block during his tenure. After finishing with a 910-710 record, his contract wasn’t renewed after the 2017 season.

Brad Ausmus

Perhaps the most uninspiring name on this list, Ausmus has been S-canned by two bad organizations—the Tigers and the Angels—in recent years. Still, Ausmus was a highly respected catcher during his time in the big leagues, and seems to carry a burnished reputation around the game. He was probably ousted to clear a spot for Joe Maddon, so it would definitely appear to be a Beta-move to hire him after missing out on Maddon.

Ron Washington

67-year-old Washington got his chance to manage the Texas Rangers in 2007. The Rangers could be considered the American League lovable losers. Then, he led them to back to back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. Similar to Maddon and Scioscia, he led them to their 1st WS appearance. If not for an untimely error, they would have won it in 2011. Washington has been controversial due to his leaked clubhouse speech, affair and coacaine usage. He was fired with a 664-611 record.

There’s no reason to give detail on Bruce Bochy, as that would just aggravate Padre fans everywhere considering he won 3 World Series titles with the hated Giants.

So, what do you think Padre fans. Do any of these candidates excite you? Or, are you in the “no retread” camp?