Tracy Ringolsby's weekly baseball notes package

By TRACY RINGOLSBY
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Bud Black seemed to be a surprise choice to be the new manager of the San Diego Padres.

Truth is, had Black been interested, he would have managed long before now.

For the longest time, Black didn't even consider managerial overtures. He enjoyed being the pitching coach with the Los Angeles Angels, and if he was going to make a move, he wanted to be in the front office, training to become a general manager.

Five years ago, he declined to interview in Boston. Last year, he passed on candidacy with the L.A. Dodgers. This year, though, Black showed an interest, particularly in the Padres, because of the proximity to his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Black is a student of the game. He is an excellent communicator. And he has a sense of humor. Yes, he is a former pitcher. There is a baseball wives' tale that pitchers don't make good managers.

Try telling that to Tom Lasorda, Fred Hutchinson, Bob Lemon or even Roger Craig. They made a living pitching and eventually got rich managing. So did Dallas Green, George Bamberger and Larry Dierker.

The bottom line is that former pitchers have been given fewer opportunities to manage than most because of the assumption they aren't as well-rounded as others who played the game.

As big a factor as any in determining a successful manager is having successful talent. When the New York Yankees hired Joe Torre, the media ripped the move, pointing out Torre's managerial failures with the N.Y. Mets, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. Now, the New York media are promoting Torre's eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

Black also had been a candidate in Oakland, which, along with Washington, still is looking for a manager.

For Oakland, make Athletics bench coach Bob Geren, a childhood friend of general manager Billy Beane, the favorite, with Colorado Rockies bench coach Jamie Quirk a sleeper. Ron Washington had been considered a rival to Geren, but Texas erased that decision by hiring Washington on Monday.

Washington was enough of a favorite of Beane that Beane refused to allow him to leave when Art Howe became manager of the Mets.

The Nationals appear set to hire Mets third-base coach Manny Acta. Club officials have contacted candidates in recent days, including Philadelphia Triple-A manager John Russell, to tell them they aren't getting the job.

Acta just returned from Japan, where he was a coach on a major league all-star team.

There was talk, however, that Joe Girardi, who earlier pulled out of consideration, is having second thoughts and might ask for an interview with the Nationals.

The Padres job opened when Bruce Bochy, who had a year left on his contract, was given permission to interview with the San Francisco Giants, who hired him.

Overheard:

_Put Philadelphia high on the list of teams that will pursue free agent Alfonso Soriano. Phillies general manager Pat Gillick made strong efforts to acquire Soriano when Gillick was the general manager in Seattle. Soriano is going to want at least a six-year deal.

_Left-hander Mark Redman, selected the Kansas City Royals Pitcher of the Year, feels so good about what he learned in one year with pitching coach Bob McClure that Redman wants to remain with the Royals. McClure helped refine Redman's curveball and taught him a cut fastball.

_The Dodgers' need for pitching has general manager Ned Colletti setting his sights on Jason Schmidt, whom Colletti knows well from his days as the assistant general manager in San Francisco. Colletti also plans to re-sign Greg Maddux.

It's a fact:

There have been only five full-time major league managers who never played professionally. Ed Barrow, Hugo Bezdek and Judge Fuchs managed before 1930. More recently, John Boles managed the Florida Marlins in 1996 and 1999 to 2001, and Carlos Tosca managed Toronto from 2002 to 2004.

Two cents' worth:

Chicago has become a White Sox town.

And the White Sox have the statistics to prove it, thanks to Scarborough Research.

A study of Chicago consumers showed that 57 percent had watched a White Sox game on television, attended a game or listened to a game on radio between September 2005 and August 2006. The Chicago Bears came in second, at 56 percent, with the Cubs third, at 55 percent.

The White Sox are obviously doing something right.

In 2003, only 32 percent of the Chicago consumers had watched the White Sox, and in 2004, the Cubs had a 59 percent following, compared with 35 percent for the Sox.