The Cincinnati Reds have conducted twelve interviews in the ongoing search for a manager. Last week, it was reported that the Reds were going to narrow down the candidates and conduct a second round of interviews:
The second round of interviews is expected to begin next week. According to Williams, no one has been told that they are out of the running. He declined to name the number of candidates that would move on to getting second interviews.
“It will be cut down a lot,” Williams said.
Take this for what it’s worth, but Jerry Crasnick (formerly of ESPN) reports that David Bell and Rocco Baldelli are likely strong candidates:
There's an emerging sense in the industry that David Bell could have the inside track for the #Reds managerial position. Bell is also a candidate for the #BlueJays job. Rocco Baldelli is also strongly in the mix in Cincinnati. His interview went "extremely well,'' sources say.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) October 17, 2018
I wasn’t invited into the room for these interviews, but Bell and Baldelli look exactly like the type of candidate that I’d prefer, at least on the surface. (See Steve Mancuso’s recent report on David Bell for reasons to be optimistic about him.) Fingers are crossed that the Reds don’t screw this one up. It isn’t the most important decision management will make this off-season, but it’s certainly important.
Update: Add Joe Girardi and Brad Ausmus to the list of contenders.
Brad Ausmus, David Bell and Joe Girardi remain in mix for #Reds’ managerial vacancy, sources tell me and @ctrent. Team might be prompted to act sooner than later due to competition for candidates.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 17, 2018
I'm going to laugh for like a week if the Reds hire Brad Ausmus to be manager in a frantic panic that another team might want to hire him.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) October 17, 2018
Maybe Williams can convince Jocketty that Bell is the guy by reminding him he is a former Cardinal. Then Jockety can advise Castellini to hire him
May not be a bad plan.
I’m jumping on the Rocco bandwagon for 2 reasons..
He came from the Rays.
His name is Rocco.
I like your phrase ‘multi-generational nepotism.’ A perfect description of Cincinnati, the big city/small town that we all love.
I like the combination of Bell/Baldelli with either one as manager and the other as bench coach.
I’d like to see us hire Rocco Baldelli and let the “bull-penning” begin. The fifth starter could be Reed, Romano, Garrett and Lorenzen for one or two innings each. The Rays had two pitchers with over 100 innings pitched in 18′ (would have had three if archer wasn’t traded.
Of course shortly after I say I’m all in on Rocco, Ken Rosenthal tweets that Ausmus, Bell, and Girardi remain in the mix..
Thanks for your time Rocco…
If the four finalists are Bell, Girardi, Ausmus and Baldelli, nobody can criticize the Reds for not doing a legitimate search process. They didn’t default to Riggleman or John Farrell from inside. You can debate who they chose as finalists, but not the process.
If the initial finalists are correct, then color me impressed. I was sure the job would go to Farrell. ???
My Christmas wish (or Halloween wish) would be for the Reds to hire a manager that is on the same page tactically and strategically with the Front Office.
Meaning, they understand who is supposed to be playing NOW to get experience or to find out who has talent to be in the Bigs, and strategically, in terms of where the Reds will be in three years.
This was a failing of both Price and Riggleman. They “wanted to win…now!” to keep their jobs, and really, a lot of time was lost because the younger players did not get enough exposure. So they still lost +90 games, and not enough development was done, so …the Reds keep on playing with the same losing hand.
I don’t know bupkis about any of these guys personally, but the Rays have strong history of using advanced metrics to evaluate their players. Baldelli is probably schooled in that. David Bell seems to have gotten a lot more exposure to that in San Francisco. He may be a convert.
To those who say the manager does not win games: no, but the purpose of the manager and Front Office in this era of the Reds is to play young talent, and figure out who is good and who is not, to build a winning team in the near future. Again, this is where Riggleman and especially Price failed.
The future belongs to teams that properly identify their talent and develop it to get the most potential from players, as soon as possible, before they exit as high paid free agents. Most teams cannot afford to keep a bunch of high paid players and pitchers.
Heyman reported on MLB last night that it is down to Girardi, Ausmus, and Bell. Maybe Bell leading the way.
The MLB headline was a bit misleading. Mark Sheldon’s story said: “Joe Girardi, Brad Ausmus and David Bell have all moved through for stronger consideration. It remains unclear if anyone else among the 12 original candidates would get a second interview.” To mean, that means that Giradi, Ausmus and Bell have made the first cut, but that it was unknown if Baldelli or anybody else had.
I didn’t see anything on John Heyman’s twitter that related to the Reds.
It was on the MLB Network show I was watching last night. Heyman was on and they showed the 3 names on a graphic and Heyman discussed the 3 and stated that Bell might be the favorite.
It was early this morning, I may not have been fully awake though.
if Bell is that qualified, why hasn’t he been hired as manager by other teams?
I live in Wisconsin, and on my evening commute I listen to the local sports talk radio show. They are just gushing over the non-traditional approach the Brewers have taken in many areas, like their rebuild (being bold and acquiring Yelich and Cain), moving Shaw to second base to allow the acquisition of Moustakas, and the handling of the pitching in the final weeks of the season and the post-season. They make no bones about the fact that they believe Counsell is taking his orders from the front office. Nobody seems to mind, although in the past most managers would have viewed it as unwanted interference.
It is clear that Harvard-educated General Manager David Stearns runs the show. Right now, that is a drawback for the Reds — it’s not clear who is setting the direction. I’m also skeptical of whether Girardi or Ausmus would be a good fit for a role other than supreme ruler of the lineup card and in-game strategy. The manager’s role is clearly moving in the opposite direction across the big leagues.
Counsell is running the game, but the GM is running the organization. Orders from the top? There should be an agreement about where the team is going. These are highly paid adults, not bickering school children.
The Reds certainly could have gotten Yelich, but were unwilling to pay the price in prospects. Yelich would not have lifted the Reds into contention LONE, but he was a really good player (maybe NL MVP this year) and has certainly made a difference with the Brewers. I liken him to the addition of Joe Morgan to the 1972 Reds. Nobody expected Joe to do as much as he did from 1972 -1976.
I’m not sure what’s with the animosity toward Brad Ausmus here at RLN. He is a recent MLB player with a seemingly modern approach to the game. He has spent time as an adviser within a franchise in his time away from managing.
The real knock against him is that he was coaching a team of old, overpaid veterans pushed by a win now owner to get a WS ring. I’d be pleased if Ausmus got the nod.
I’m not sure about Bell because if he doesn’t do what Big Bob wants there could be 2 people get fired, so he would have to toe BC lone.
It’s worth mentioning that whoever gets the job may not be the Reds’ or candidates’ first choice. Several of these guys are interviewing with multiple teams and multiple factors are in play. Some may just be looking for any chance to manage, some will be looking for teams who can immediately compete, and some may be looking for a potential long term position based on the how the FO’s philosophy meshes with their’s. Here’s hoping that Williams has the stronger hand.
Baldelli or Bell, plain and simple
I think if the perception that this is still a GM/ownership committee decision, then it will likely fail as there are obvious splits of opinions (old vs new school) within the group. How is a manager going to synchronize the play on the field with that of a splintered FO group.
Retire Jocketty, and publicly give Williams a shot to take complete ownership of this. Please, Bob?