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The Red Sox manager search has finally kicked off with Glenn Hoffman receiving the first interview. Hoffman was interviewed Monday, by Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino for seven hours. Maybe it’s just me, but once you break the four hour mark, and interview ceases to be, and it becomes more of an inquisition. I digress.

A few weeks ago, I had the residents of Dewey’s house submit names that they most wanted to see be the skipper of the Red Sox. Here were the top 10 names:
Bud Black
Bruce Bochy
Larry Dierker
Carlton Fisk
Whitey Herzog
Glenn Hoffman
Davy Johnson
Jerry Remy
Joe Torre
Bobby Valentine

Dierker was the overwhelming choice by my readers, totaling two more votes then Bobby V.

What’s interesting is that the only person still in the running is Hoffman, with everyone else never being a serious candidate, or taking another job (Valentine), or declining to be near his family (Black).

However, there is one other official candidate, and a slew of others. Here, I will talk about the three men most likely to get the job.

Glenn Hoffman - Dodgers 3rd base coach
Hoffman managed the Dodgers in 1998 to a 47-41 record after Bill Russell was fired. Russell led the team to 36-38. Hoffman comes from a baseball pedigree that includes being drafted by the Red Sox, and being a no-hit, good-field shortstop for the Sox, Dodgers, and Angels. His brother is Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman was interviewed Monday by Epstein and Lucchino as I stated, for seven hours. Hoffman seems to be all right with using statistical analysis along with scouting information, something the previous manager didn’t do. Hoffman is also extremely laid back, which may or may not be a good thing, since Grady was too.

Terry Francona - Athletics bench coach
Francona also has the “baseball name”, as his father played in the big leagues. Francona was a no-hit, no-field first baseman who stayed in the big leagues for 10 seasons. He must have had “veteran leadership” in spades, which is good for a manager, I suppose. He is another one that seems to be loved by everybody. Francona was interviewed by the White Sox, who hired Ozzie Guillen, and by the Orioles, who seem like they are hiring Lee Mazzilli. Francona’s managerial experience is pretty ugly, compiling a 285-363 for some Philly teams that weren’t exactly wealths of talent. However, he is probably most responsible for Rico Brogna’s career, since he was essentially the same player as Francona.

Joe Maddon - Angels bench coach
Maddon is a dark horse in this game. He has served as an interim manager twice. He served the backend of a horrible 1996 Angels team, that started with Marcel Lachemann, then went to John McNamara. Maddon managed the death spasms of that team to a 8-14 record. He had a more fulfilling experience cleaning up after Terry Collins was booted in 1999. On a team that was 51-82 when Maddon was tabbed, finished a more respectable 70-92 (that means Maddon went 19-10). Maddon comes with the endorsement of Mike Scioscia, and he is campaigning for the job. Maddon’s claim to fame so far is that he prepares the hybrid scouting/statistical reports for the Angels, and he said that if they “had computers 50 years ago, Branch Rickey would have made them popular.” In 2000, when the Angels hired Scioscia, they directed him to keep Maddon on staff, because of his strategic and communication skills.

My take
Of these three guys, I think that Maddon is the best fit. Not only does he seem to genuinely want to come here, but he’s saying all the right things to me so far. I wouldn’t touch Francona with a 30 foot pole, and Hoffman doesn’t blow me away, although I wouldn’t be upset if he was hired. Angels’ General Manager Bill Stoneham has said that he will not refuse permission to speak to coaches up for managerial jobs, and because this amounts to a promotion, the Angels can’t demand compensation. So, although I reserve the right to change my mind, the Official Man that We Will Hate Next will be Joe Maddon .

One final aside…Fox canceled Skin. I think that Skin had potential to be a great show, but they busted their wad on the first episode. I found the kids annoying and the only other character that was even likable was the pornographer. The DA was wooden and unbelievable. Jerry Bruckheimer blew it by making the show too hokie, and Fox doomed it by hyping it so much that people were sick of it before the first episode aired. All and all, a pretty painful run, and a well deserved death. Now if we can only get Olinda off of Joe Millionaire…