Who would you put on the bench?

[Demreb]

In reading an article today about the Detroit Tigers and how Alan Trammel and Kirk Gibson (and I think one other former Tiger) had suffered through 119 losses last year, but gotten off to a decent start this year.

It got me to thinking about what could have been in 1984. And then if the Cubs had followed the template of the Tigers and brought in former players from '84 to manage and coach, who would they be?

Who would you choose for Manager, bench coach, hitting coach, pitching coach?

[Copperfields]

Interesting question. There are a couple ways of approaching this - who would be the best guys for the jobs vs who would have the greatest emotional/sentimental impact -- for example, is Kirk Gibson a bench coach with Detroit because he actually brings something to the table or because he's an icon? Interesting side note: I went to the Tigers page to find out exactly what Gibson's role is, and discovered their 1B coach is old Cub favorite Mick Kelleher. Wonder what Davey Rosello is up to these days.

This is also difficult because it's hard to know if a guy possesses the communications skills to be successful - great player does not always equal great leader/teacher. Or to quote Woody Allen, "Those who can't do, teach. And those who can't teach, teach Gym. And of course, those who couldn't do anything, I think, were assigned to our school." That's kind of been the Cubs' approach in the past - they seem to end up with the guys who can't do anything.

Anyway, here's a shot at my '84 Cub Alumni Coaching Staff, using a hodge podge of approaches:

Manager: Larry Bowa. KIDDING!!! Wow this one's tough. There's no one who jumps out at me as an obvious choice. My first thought was, of course, Sandberg, but I just can't see him leading a team. I'll have to come back to this.

Pitching Coach: The popular choice would probably be Sutcliffe, but I think I'll go with my personal sentimental favorite, Rich Reuschel. I don't know how good a coach he'd be, but he's my favorite pitcher from my childhood.

Hitting Coach: Gary Matthews - LOVE all those walks! Good things happen when you're patient at the plate. Although, I'm assuming he'd be able to instill his own approach in others, which he seeminly hasn't been able to do yet in the likes of Cory Patterson. If he couldn't cut it as hitting coach, he'd end up in my broadcast booth as color man.

Base Running Coach - Davy Lopes. Perhaps forgoing the obvious choice in Bob Dernier, but I think Lopes was probably a better/smarter base runner than Dernier, whose main asset was speed. Though I still remember Dernier's 1st to 3rd scamper on a routine grounder off Sandberg's bat in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Bullpen Coach - JO-DEE, JO-DEE, JO-DEE...

Bench Coach - Zonk Moreland, just because he ought to be in there somewhere. And Jay Johnstone to keep the guys loose. Actually, put Moreland as 3B coach and Dernier as 1B coach, then bring in Richie Hebner to join Johnstone on the bench.

Water/Gatorade Boy/Equipment Manager - Bull Durham

Back to Manager. Still don't have a clue. Big names I haven't used yet: Bowa (don't want him anywhere near my team), Cey (blah), Dernier (maybe an OF coach, but not manager), Sandberg (jeez, I've got to work him in somewhere - but as I said earlier, can't see him as manager), Sutcliffe, Eckersley, Trout, Lee Smith (none of these guys strike me as particularly bright - Eckersley would be the best of the bunch). Maybe Tom Veryzer, who always looked kind of nerdy/geeky - perhaps there's hidden depth behind those glasses.

Ok, here's what I'll do. Make Sandberg the hitting coach and move Sarge to manager. I'm not at all sure Matthews would make a decent manager, but since there don't appear to be any outstanding candidates from the tactical viewpoint, I guess I'll roll the dice with the White Sox Approach and hope the rah-rah, feel-good choice.

So that makes my staff:
Manager: Gary Matthews
1B Coach: Bob Dernier
3B Coach: Keith Moreland
Pitching Coach: Rick Reuschel
Hitting Coach: Ryne Sandberg
Base Running Coach: Davy Lopes
Bullpen Coach: Jody Davis
Bench Coach: Jay Johnstone and Richie Hebner
Water/Gatorade Boy/Equipment Manager: Leon Durham
Broadcast Team: Rick Sutcliffe, Dennis Eckersley, Steve Trout

David

[Demreb]

OK, I love the effort David put into this. He is exactly right - would we name someone for their emotional value or their talent as coach? Since we don't know these guys personally and can't interview them, I am willing to believe that what I think about a player and their person is what/who they are.

So with that said, here's my staff.

Announcer - Rick Sutcliffe. I would love to have him as the pitching coach, but he is so awesome as an announcer I can't bring him out of the booth.

First Base Coach - Bobby Dernier. I agree with David. Lopes was the better base stealer, but Dernier is my favorite CF for the Cubs. And you can't beat that 1st to 3rd dash in the playoffs.

Third Base Coach - Gary Mathews. We get him on the team and I would love to see how animated he gets as he's waving in the winning run.

Bench Coach - Ryne Sandberg. He's gotta be there. Too quiet to manage, but his talent and brains would be the perfect support for the manager (think Don Zimmer).

Hitting Coach - Bill Buckner. My all-time favorite Cub. Yeah he was traded early in '84, but he was on the team. Great hitter but no so great that he couldn't relate to the players. And what player wouldn't give his all, learning from a guy that played on two bad ankles?

Pitching Coach - Dennis Eckersley. Over 100 wins as a starter and 100 saves as a closer. He understands all aspects of pitching.

Manager - Jody Davis. Former catcher following in the footsteps of other catcher into managers (Torre, Brenly, Scioscia). As a catcher had to know all aspects of the game and I would love the thought of a replay of Jo-Dee as he takes the lineup card to the ump.

Honorable Mentions - Steve Trout in the bullpen and Jay Johnstone on the bench. As much for morale as their baseball knowledge.

Rich