The Secret Weapon at the helm?

by Oregonian Redbird on Sep 20, 2007 2:47 PM EDT Comment 34 comments

I don't really post diaries, because I don't usually feel like I have much to say that other people aren't already talking about. However, since I don't think anyone has suggested the potential for Jose Oquendo to succeed Tony LaRussa as manager of the Cards, I think I'll do it.

I know the Cards' fan base is somewhat bipolar when it comes to LaRussa. I love him, and though I don't always agree with him, I think he's great for the club. Certainly, others feel quite differently, and there have been plenty of rumors suggesting he will leave after this year. If that happens, I'll be disappointed. But, for me, the silver lining on that dark cloud would be if management decided to interview and hire The Secret Weapon as the new manager. Oquendo managed Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, and LaRussa and the players have commented on multiple occasions that he will make a great MLB manager someday. If LaRussa stays at the helm 3-4 more years, that's great, but we can't expect Oquendo to remain the 3rd base coach that long. Someone will nab him. So while I'm not hoping for LaRussa to leave St. Louis, if he does, I hope Walt and company give serious consideration to offering the position to The Secret Weapon. Am I crazy?

And the other added bonus is this: when our catcher's get hurt, instead of signing another Stinnett, we can just watch the manager put on the pads and get behind the plate!

0 recs | Comment 34 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I'd like to know more about Oquendo

what his leadership style is, how he gets along with players, etc. My only concern (and it's based on very little) is I sometimes think he's not aggressive enough in allowing players to run home. I wonder if that's the case, whether he would be too convervative (not really a risk taker) in managing the whole team. One could argue that that could be a positive as well for him.

by nycardfan on Sep 20, 2007 2:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oquendo

is one of the more aggressive 3b coaches in the league.

by outraged on Sep 20, 2007 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Over aggressive

Earlier when we had no offense at all people were complaining about him being overly aggressive since we had several people thrown out at the plate. He seems to follow what Tony wants from the 3B coach.

by StLHugo on Sep 20, 2007 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

thanks, that's good to know

maybe because we've had no run production recently and I want people to get home, I've gotten that wrong impression.

by nycardfan on Sep 20, 2007 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

how many games you actually get to see, or if you have to follow via gameday or whatever, (I assume, from your moniker, that you live in NY) but Oqendo does tend to be very aggressive. The lack of production this season could skew your perception, but I think Oquendo may actually come off looking even less aggressive than he really is due to the severe lack of speed on this team. There are a lot of situations where a runner would be out by 20 feet, and so Oquendo probably ends up holding more runners than he would like, and more than a whole lot of other third base coaches have to.

Oh my god! Was that an iceberg? No, these chairs are just all out of whack.

by the red baron on Sep 21, 2007 7:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for your post

you're right, living in NY makes it tough to follow Card's games--everything is Yankees, Mets and Red Socks. I go to games once a year when I visit family in St. Louis. Also, I haven't been able to pay close attention to the Cards for a few years because of pre-tenure demands (baseball is defiitely a distracton!). This is the first year in a while that I've had the luxury to really watch them closely again (via gameday and MLB.TV).

I probably did get that misimpresssion because of the team's lack of speed and also because commentators have questioned whether someone should have come home a number of times. I've never had questions about Oquedo before. But this has been a strange year to finally have the time to fully tune back into my team. I'm sure I have lots of misimpressions because of the kind of year it's been. I guess on the plus side, for me, even when they've been losing, I've enjoyed just having time to watch them again. Although I have to say the 18-1 game definitely tested my patience!

by nycardfan on Sep 21, 2007 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oquendo

Oquendo has been widely believed to be the defacto replacement unless something huge was to happen to oust him from the job. I have seen it discussed many times so you aren't crazy and I think he would do a good job.

by StLHugo on Sep 20, 2007 2:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Experience?

How much experience does Jose really have in a managerial capacity though? WBC manager doesn't say much...the jobs he has interviewed for, he didn't make it close to the final list.

Can he handle a pitching staff?

I think Jose has a lot of baseball knowledge to contribute, but worthy of a Top 4 job in all of Baseball????

by whatapartier on Sep 20, 2007 3:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Exp

All good points, I don't know what sort of experience he's had as manager. He retired in 1995 and has been a Cardinals coach since 1999. The Cards' website says his only managerial experience is with the New Jersey affiliate, which he led to a 34-41 record in 1998.

That being said, he has a good report with both the Cardinals players and LaRussa, which I think is important. He has been working with Tony for 8 years, and while it doesn't substitute as managerial experience, he's been learning from one of the best. And Tony must feel that he's really got some great potential, as much as he mentions Oquendo as a certain future manger. He'd have to find a good, experienced pitching coach. Maybe Dunc would stick around!

"Sometimes beating these last-place teams is like trying to chase kitty-cats in the park... you just can't do it!" - Mike Shannon

by Oregonian Redbird on Sep 20, 2007 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

He did manage the Puerto Rico team in the WBC. Not many games, but it's something.

I think he's a decent choice going forward if the Cards decide to go with a youth movement.

"I'm hungry. Not for food. Just for baseball" Amaury Cazana Marti

by bobbyballgame1 on Sep 20, 2007 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Experience is very overrated

It doesn't take a lot of skill to reconize that a pitcher is tired and needs to be replaces. It doesn't take a lot of experience to reconize "important" points of the game where you use the better relief pitchers.

Putting a lineup together isn't hard either. So that leaves, getting along with the team, which he does.

He would be an upgrade over tony who has lost the ability to make rational decisions.

by DriverZn on Sep 20, 2007 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about as Player-Manager?

by secretweapon on Sep 20, 2007 3:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I know this will sound crazy

and will never happen because of a lack of experience, but the person I'd like to have manage the Cards some day is Edmonds. TLR calls him right now, sometimes affectionately and sometimes with irritation, a junior manager.

Especially wiith a team that is going to be young, I think Edmonds has a really unique leadership style that motivates players to push themselves to the fullest. Everytime I've heard a young player interviewed about who on the team has influenced them most (this includes Wainwright, Thompson, Ankiel, Ludwick, and Schumaker), they mention Edmonds.

They talk about how he has helped them with specific technical advice in the field, the plate, or on the mound, as well as how their general attitude can make them better players. Even Wainwright treats Edmond's advice with a kind of awe and reverence. When he gives advice, Adam has said he takes it as something that is really special. It makes him want to go out and be that much more successful.

Also, Edmonds doesn't treat anyone like a peon. Even after Thompson was ejected from the rotation, I remember Edmonds standing next to him for a long time in a game, pointing things out about the pitching and catching. Thompson was transfixed. Edmonds expended the same kind of energy with Skip at the beginning of the season, even though he could have only been up in the majors for a few weeks.

Finally, if not for Edmonds, I don't think we would have won the world series. He was the one who closed the clubhouse doors last year and brought the team together in a kind of us against them spirit. Devising the game ball helped to focus everyone on one game at a time. And he made them believe that they could win against the odds.

by nycardfan on Sep 20, 2007 4:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dream Team

My current dream team of former or current cardinals players:

Manager Oquendo
Pitching Coach Matheny
Bench and outfield Edmonds
3rd Base and infield Rolen
Hitting coach Mrs. Pujols (j/k)

Not sure who I would put at first base or who the real hitting coach would be but I think Rolen would be good at teaching infielders and since he has played 3rd I think he has an understanding of when to go and when not to.

by StLHugo on Sep 20, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that sounds great to me

by nycardfan on Sep 20, 2007 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pitching coach

How about Percival (I know he's only been a Card for a shor time). But he was first a catcher and then one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Piniero was saying the other day on the radio that he's found Percival to have been especially helpful. I've heard other guys say similar things. And TLR raves about what kind of presence he's been with the pitching staff.

by nycardfan on Sep 20, 2007 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Same Rules

Manager: Oquendo
Pitching Coach: Matheny (With a nod to Cal Eldred)
3B/Infield: Ozzie
1B/Outfield: Larry Walker
Bench: Craig Paquette
Hitting: John Mabry
Bullpen: Tony Fossas

by liam on Sep 20, 2007 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember hearing

that Gary Bennett helped Duncan out with the pitching gameplan before every postseason game last year, and that he had some great input for Duncan to use. I wouldn't mind seeing him as the pitching coach.

Re-acquire Edgar Renteria

by Mr Redbird on Sep 21, 2007 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I concur

with the suggestions of Mattheny or Bennett for pitching coach, Edmonds for bench coach, and Clark for hitting coach. I don't know if Rolen is the coaching type though.

If the FO is looking inside the org, Pop Warner might get some consideration for a position - he seems to be getting a lot of press and apparently works well with the youngsters.

by hit and run on Sep 21, 2007 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can also see this working out well.

Not sure if he would want to do it. He seems to have a special talent for seeings things others don't.

by DriverZn on Sep 20, 2007 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Thrill

Will Clark as hitting coach? Can we count him as a former-Redbird?

"Sometimes beating these last-place teams is like trying to chase kitty-cats in the park... you just can't do it!" - Mike Shannon

by Oregonian Redbird on Sep 20, 2007 4:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I knew I was missing someone obvious, I was thinking Walker but he has said he doesn't think he could teach hitting, and Big Mac doesn't want anything public but Clark would be good.

by StLHugo on Sep 20, 2007 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would like to see a change in

management for a lot of reasons. If LaRussa leaves, I'd like to have someone who DOESN'T have a fixed idea of what the players can and cannot do. A fresh pair of eyes to evaluate everyone's strengths and weaknesses from the 40-man on down.

by jillsinmo on Sep 20, 2007 6:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i agree

# 1 is i want to see larussa back.but if he doesnt i think they need to bring someone in from outside the organization.

just names to throw out there. none of which i would be very excited about.

jim riggleman
bob brenley
dusty baker
buck sholwater

i guy i woulnt mind to see would be joe giardi.

overall not much to choose from some hopefully tony will come back

HURRY BACK CARP AND MULDER

by LaRussa4President on Sep 20, 2007 8:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would like ot see...

Either Girardi (its a crime he's not currently a manager) or Orel Hershiser.

let anthony reyes pitch and learn from his mistakes.

by thefordhamflash on Sep 20, 2007 9:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

how about

Terry Pendleton? I would diffenantly interview him. I would also call Tony Pena. Brently, and Giradi are two names I like. I would also like to talk to Davey Johnson.

by nybirdfan on Sep 20, 2007 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What about Andy Van Slyke or Tony Pena

Two former Cards that were fan favorites and are both coaches in the majors now.

Not sure either will get a interview or would want to manage, but they are a couple of names to throw out there.

Pena had a good year with a young Royals team a few years ago that didn't have nearly the talent that the cards have now (Pujols/Rolen/Ankiel/Molina ect.) so I think Pena would be an option since he does have MLB manager experience. Although he does have a little temper, which could help provide a little spark at times too.

by KYCards on Sep 20, 2007 10:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

potential bench coach for Jose

The obvious guy is Whitey Herzog to be the bench coach for Oquendo. Whitey has said that he missed the game, and this would be the perfect spot for him and the team. He would be helping one of "his guys", and not be thought of as the "manager waiting in the wings"- which he has said he wanted to avoid.

by gman on Sep 20, 2007 11:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

whitey

herzod back in a cardinals uniform would be very interesting. a bench coach would be perfect for him. but i still want larussa back. and i cant see larussa making herzog a bench coach.

one interesting name is davey johnson. he is a good baseball man.

HURRY BACK CARP AND MULDER

by LaRussa4President on Sep 21, 2007 5:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

oops

herzog

HURRY BACK CARP AND MULDER

by LaRussa4President on Sep 21, 2007 5:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My coaching staff

in a couple of years, at least, might go something like:

Jose Oquendo, manager
Mike Matheny, pitching coach
Jim Edmonds, hitting coach
Larry Walker, bench coach

A lot of young players the last couple of years have talked about how much Edmonds has helped them with little adjustments, and I think he would make a great coach in a few years. Walker is still beloved, (he's been around ST the last couple seasons and all) and Matheny was an extremely intelligent student of pitching. Another candidate for pitching coach on my dream team? Greg Maddux. He'll be available in a couple years. Seems to know something about piching. Might not be bad.

Oh my god! Was that an iceberg? No, these chairs are just all out of whack.

by the red baron on Sep 21, 2007 7:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maddux

Plus you can pay him in poker chips and scotch!

Well, let's go to the old mill anyway -- get some cider!

by Alxfritz on Sep 21, 2007 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oquendo

As a Secret Weapon fan growing up, I have thought about this for the past couple years. Oquendo had been aggressive as a third base coach early in his career but now he seems to have settled down somewhat.

One pro for him that is very important in today's game is that he would connect very well with the Latin American players.

This would be the best hire should Larussa leave for the Mariners/Redsox/animal shelters.

by wcheuk on Sep 21, 2007 9:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs