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Felipe fits
Experienced Alou is the right man to guide veteran Giants
Posted: Wednesday November 13, 2002 2:32 PM
Felipe Alou was named to replace Dusty Baker as skipper of the San Francisco Giants Wednesday. CNNSI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci about the hire and other managerial doings around baseball.
CNNSI.com: Alou wasn't someone we heard mentioned much as a potential candidate for the Giants job. How much of a surprise is this hiring?
Verducci: When you really examine it, it doesn't seem all that surprising. The Giants wanted someone with experience, and this is an organization that likes to emphasize its ties to the past. Felipe is a former Giant and was popular in San Francisco. Through the years the Giants have brought back former players such as Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey and, Juan Marichal in advisory roles. When San Francisco signed Barry Bonds as free agent, it also emphasized its ties to his dad, Bobby, who was a popular in the Bay Area.
CNNSI.com: The Giants are a veteran-heavy team. Did they have no choice but to hire a well-respected, battle-tested skipper?
Verducci : The Giants had to bring in someone with experience and a reputation as a players' manager, and they did. Alou is not a strict disciplinarian and doesn't have a lot of rules; he trusts his veteran players and gives them a lot of latitude. That's the right approach to take with a guy like Bonds and some of the other veterans on the club. It would be very difficult for someone who never managed in the big leagues to come in and take over this particular Giants team.
CNNSI.com: Do you think the Giants consulted Bonds about the hire?
Verducci : I don't think they had to run this or any of their other decisions past Bonds. And you don't want to bring in a manager just because of one player on your team, either. I don't think San Francisco is ready to give Bonds a consultant's job yet.
CNNSI.com: Alou's hiring was precipitated by Dusty Baker's departure. Baker is expected to sign with the Cubs. What's the latest on that situation?
Verducci : Baker-to-the-Cubs will get done. Dusty is going to try to get every last dollar out of Chicago, even though his only other option, really, is to sit out a year. There are no more managerial chairs to fill, at least none that he's being considered for. And Baker is the guy the Cubs want. They've made that clear. At this point Dusty knows the Cubs have made him the team's priority and they have to close the deal. That is Baker's leverage right now. The Cubs have made a big fuss about going after Dusty Baker, the high-profile manager they've wanted all along. And now, Chicago can't let him get away. It's a deal the organization has to close, and one I think it will close.
CNNSI.com: Are the Cubs considering anyone else for the job?
Verducci : No. This is Dusty's game, and I think they'll get it done.
CNNSI.com: The other managerial opening is in Seattle. Where do the Mariners stand in their search?
Verducci : I think the Mariners will have a new manager within 48 hours. Seattle had its four finalists -- Buddy Bell, Sam Perlozzo, Jim Riggleman, and Bob Melvin -- in town yesterday. The club sent the foursome home, telling them it will let them know who wins this thing in the next day or two.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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