Which Managers Are On The Hot Seat In 2012?

I read a great article this week on MLB.com which ranked the top five managers in both the National League and American League who are starting the 2012 Major League season on the hot seat. I think that the author of this article, Paul Hagan, did a wonderful job of explaining why he’s put these ten managers in this category, but I feel that he could have left a few of these names off the list. The top five American League managers that are on the hot seat for the upcoming season are:

1. Bobby Valentine: Boston Red Sox

2. Buck Showalter: Baltimore Orioles

3. Joe Girardi: New York Yankees

4. Robin Ventura: Chicago White Sox

5. Ron Gardenhire: Minnesota Twins

Do I think that this is an accurate list of skippers with a lot of pressure on them to perform? Absolutely; every single manager holds a lot of responsibility and pressure on themselves to make sure that their team is prepared to play 162 times a year. When that doesn’t happen (which could be often) the media blames them first, which is an unfair accusation. However, do I think all of the managers should be in this top five list? Not a chance.

For instance, does Ron Gardenhire really need to be on this list? This is a manager that has been managing the Twins since 2002, has won 866 games, six AL Central titles, and five 90-win seasons on a small budget. After winning the division in ’09 and ’10, they had a huge letdown with a 63-99 campaign, but there were a few extenuating circumstances, such as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau missing significant time due to injury. The Twins are all about consistency and they believe in Gardenhire, so I don’t think there is any extra pressure from the front office to immediately shoot back up into playoff contention.

The second manager that shouldn’t be on this list is Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees. There is an enormous amount of pressure to managing for a New York team, let alone a team like the Yankees. Each year that doesn’t end in a World Series trophy for the organization is considered a disappointment by ownership. So, I don’t think Girardi needs to be on this list because this type of pressure is continually on him.

That leaves three more managers to choose from; each of these skippers have a lot of pressure on them for the 2012 season, but the AL manager with the most pressure to succeed this year is:

You got it; brand new Boston Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine, is stepping into a world of unrealistic expectations in Beantown. I know Robin Ventura has no managerial experience and Buck Showalter needs to have his team take a step forward this year instead of another step back, but neither of those teams will have to deal with recovering from the enormous collapse the Red Sox will be dealing with. On September 3rd, the Red Sox held a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card. Not reaching the playoffs at the end of the season made Boston the only team in history to have a lead like that so late into the season without making it to the postseason. The Sox needed a culture change in the clubhouse, and that’s exactly what they’ll get with Bobby V.

On to the National League; the top five managers to be on the hot seat in the NL are:

1. Ozzie Guillen: Miami Marlins

2. Dale Sveum: Chicago Cubs

3. Kirk Gibson: Arizona Diamondbacks

4. Jim Tracy: Colorado Rockies

5. Clint Hurdle: Pittsburgh Pirates

I feel that this is another good list; however, there are a few skippers that don’t have any extra amount of pressure on them going into 2012. The best example is Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates; yes, the organization endured their 19th consecutive losing season. However, they were in first place as late as July 19th last year and were over .500 as late as August 2nd. Also, the win total of 72 was the most since 2004 for the Pirates. There is pressure for Hurdle to keep progressing, but I think he’s playing with house money at this point because everyone was shocked at what they did last year.

Dale Sveum is similar to Robin Ventura in the fact that he has never managed a Major League team, but he is not under extraordinary pressure because new President, Theo Epstein, made it pretty clear that they’re building toward a consistent winner at Wrigley Field. Anyone who expects Sveum to take the mess that he has right now to the playoffs is silly. Baby steps.

Again, this leaves three managers remaining on this list, with my NL skipper with the most pressure in 2012 being:

Was there any doubt that the answer to this question wasn’t going to be Ozzie Guillen? All the hype surrounding the Miami Marlins started before the 2011 season even ended because the Marlins front office was so sure that Guillen had to be their next manager, they bought out the final year of his contract with the White Sox. Then, even though they’re entering a gorgeous, state-of-the-art facility, they’ve spent just under $200 million on three players this winter (Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell) to help increase revenue and bring a championship to Miami, since these contracts were awarded to these players on revenue projects. They also traded for oft-troubled starter Carlos Zambrano and Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes just stated this week that he hopes to play for the Marlins. Maybe there isn’t pressure on Guillen to go out and win a championship right out of the gate, but that’s what people are talking about as we’re about a week before Spring Training. Also, Miami has been known to have fire sales when the spending hasn’t produced, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they start trading away these heavily backloaded (wink, wink) contracts if they don’t win within a couple of years, especially since none of the deals they made this year don’t include a no-trade clause. Hmm, interesting.

I wish all the luck in the world to these ten managers as they embark on another season; I hope that they meet the expectations that are set for them and they please everyone, but we all know that won’t happen. So, let’s hope they get close.

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