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First day on the job:
So many things to do, so little time! The top priorities as I see them:
• Make decisions on team personnel.
• Review open contract offers, free agent list, and arbitration-eligible list.
• Evaluate roster to prepare for winter meetings and the Rule 5 draft.
The field manager decision is the most crucial. Actually, there is no decision to make. I have already decided to fire manager Jesus Perez and his brother, bench coach Jose Perez. My top priority is to quickly make an offer to a manager and make decisions on the other major league personnel spots (some open, some soon-to-be open) before the best available personnel are hired by other teams.
The Philadelphia Firebirds just fired their manager, Chad Byrne. He is the perfect man for our job. Byrne has a career managerial record of 1013-770 with Washington, Dallas, and Philadelphia. He has made the playoffs in eight of his eleven seasons. So how does a manager with a record like that get fired three times?
Bum Phillips, legendary football coach, said that there are only two kinds of coaches… “them that’s been fired, and them that’s gonna be fired”. Byrne was fired by Philadelphia after an 86-76 season, his worst record there. In his previous job, he was fired by Dallas after a 102-60 season because he lost in the playoffs. His first job, with Washington, ended when he recorded his only losing season ever at 79-83. It seems to me that Byrne has been a victim of his own success.
Reviewing the salary obligations and contract status, I was surprised to see a four-year extension offer pending. The player involved is a key young player, and the offer would buy out his last two years of arbitration and first two years of free agency. I questioned the offer because the first year is 40% higher than his arbitration estimate. That’s just bad negotiating, but it is out there now so there is really no choice. The player involved is one of the few real keepers on this team, and we will find a way to work around it in the budget rather than risk alienating him. Fortunately, the other two open offers were only one year deals.
There are some expiring contracts and arbitration tenders to consider, but those can wait for a few days. I need to stay focused on the team personnel right now.
Otto Orcin
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