"Yankees Coaching Staff in 2006 Includes Four Ex-Managers" by Dimitri Cavalli in New York Sportscene...

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    1h e N e w Y o r k Y a n k e e s b e g a n t h e o f f - s e a s o n b y o v e r h a u l in g t h e i r c o a c h i n g s t a f f . T h e Y a n k e e s a n n o u n c e d t h a t c o a c h e s R o y W h i t e ( f i r s tb a s e ) , L u i s S o j o ( t h i r d b a s e ) , a n d N e i l A l l e n ( b u l l p e n ) w o u l d n o t b e b a c k i n 2 0 0 6 . T h o s e d is m i s s a l s a n d t h e d e p a r t u r e s o f p i t c h i n g c o a c hM e l S t o t t l e m y r e , w h o d e c i d e d n o t t o r e t u r n f o r a n 1 1 t h s e a s o n , a n d b e n c h c o a c h J o e G i r a r d i , w h o l e f t t o m a n a g e t h e F l o r i d a M a r l i n s ,c r e a t e d f i v e v a c a n c i e s f o r t h e Y a n k e e s t o f ill. ( O n l y D o n M a t t i n g l y , n o w i n h i s t h i r d y e a r a s t h e h i t t i n g c o a c h , w a s k e p t . ) B y N o v e m b e r , t h eY a n k e e s f in a l i z e d t h e i r c o a c h i n g s t a f f f o r 2 0 0 6 : T o n y P e n a ( f i r s t b a s e ) , L a r r y B o w a ( t h i r d b a s e ) , L e e M a z z i l l i (b e n c h ) , J o e K e r r ig a n ( b u l lp e n ) ,R o n G u i d r y ( p i t c h i n g ) , a n d D o n M a t t i n g l y ( h i t t i n g ) . T h e c o a c h i n g s t a f f i n c l u d e s f o u r e x - m a n a g e r s : P e n a , B o w a , M a z z i l l i , a n d K e r r i g a n . T h em e d i o c r e 1 0 8 9 Y a n k e e s u n d e r m a n a g e r D a l l a s G r e e n a l s o h a d f o u r e x - m a n a g e r s i n c o a c h i n g p o s i t i o n s : P a t C o r r a l e s ( f i r s t b a s e ) , L e e E l i a( t h i r d b a s e ) , C h a r l i e F o x (b e n c h ) , a n d F r a n k H o w a r d ( h i t t i n g ) .

    Tony Pena replaces Roy White at first base. In 1980, Pena madehis major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher. Hesoon developed in to one o f the best catchers in ma jo r l eaguebaseball. A five-time All-Star, Pena won the Gold Glove four times.Less than a week before the start of the 1987 season, the Piratestraded Pena to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his f i rs t year as aCardinal , Pena got to p lay in h is f i r s t World Series, but theCardinals lost to the M innesota Tw ins in sev en games. From 1990 to1993, Pena was the Red Sox's everyday catcher. He then spent 1994-1997 as a backup catcher with the Cleveland Indians, ChicagoWhite Sox, an d Houston Astros before retiring.

    Pena resigned on May 10.The Yankees are also counting on Pena to actas a liaison to the Yankees' Latino players, a rolepreviously played by Luis Sojo. Pena will also helpout as a catching instructor.Larry Bowa, the new third base coach, has enjoyedsuccess as both a player and a manager. Bowa spent12 seasons (1970-1981) as a s h o r t s t o p for thePhiladelphia Phillies. He made the NL All-Starteam five times and won the Gold Glove in 1972and 1978.In the 1980 World Ser ies , Bowa

    " T H E Y A N K E E S A R E A L S O C O U N T I N G O N P E N A T O A C T A S A L I A S O N T O T H E Y A N K E E SL A T I N O P L A Y E R S A R O L E P R E V I O O S L Y P L A Y E D R Y L O I S S O J O . "Fo r three years, 1999-2001, Pena managed the New OrleansZephyrs, the Astros' Class AAA affiliate. In 2002, Pena began theseason as the Astros' bench coach but was hired as the mana ger ofthe Kansas City Royals on May 15. In Pena's first full season asmanager in 2003, the Royals go t of f to an impressive 17-4 start. TheRoya ls , w ho playe d un der .500 ball in the last months of theseason, finished in third place with their first winning record, 83-79, since the s t r i ke- sho r t en ed 1994 season . Pena' s success inturning the R oyals around earned him the AL Manage r of the YearAward fo r 2003.Pena's success was short-lived. In 2004, the Royals lost 104games. After the Royals got off to a disastrous 8-25 start in 2005,

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    contributed nine hits as the Phillies def eated theRoyals in six games. On January 27, 1982, thePhi l l ies t raded Bowa to the Chi cago Cubs .Bowa's hitting and f ielding gradually declinedwith age, and the Cubs released him on August13, 1985.He then finished his career with theNew York Mets.In 1986, Bowa became the manager of thethen-Las Vegas Stars, the San Diego PadresClass-AAA affiliate, an d guided th e team toth e Pacif ic Coast League championship . Ayear later, B o w a returned to the m a j o r

    By Dimitri CavalliApril 2006

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    B B y D D i m i lr iC a v a l li -P h o t o sb yf r i cInez

    leagues to man age the Padres. Bowa, however , was unable toduplicate the success he had with theStars, and thePadres finishedin last place with a 65-97 record.After going 16-30 in 1988,thePadresfiredBowaon May 28.From 1988-2000, Bowa coached third base for the Phillies (1988-1996), the An ahe im An gels (1997-1999),and Sea ttle M arin ers(2000).In 2001, Bowa returned to managethe Phill ies. Under Bowa,thePhillies compiled a respectable 86-76 record, finishing in secondplace behind the AtlantaBraves in the NLEast. Bowawon the NLManager of theYear Awardfor 2001. Despite high expectation sover the next three seasons,Bowa's Phillieswere unable tomakethe postseason. Disappointmentandfrustration took their tollonth e team, an dBowa ha dfrequent run-ins withhis players.A fewdays be fo re the en d o f the 2004 seaso n, the Ph il l iesdism isse d B ow a. In 2005, he wo rke d as a base ballanalyst fo r ESPN.

    In his two seasons as the third base coach,Sojo wasoften crit icized fo r being to o aggressivean d gett ingrunners thrown out at home plate. During his pressc o n f e r e n c e , Bo w a ex p l a i n e d ho w he wo u l dcoach. "You're going to get people thrownoutat home plate,"Bowa said, as quotedby MarkFeinsand, a writerfo rMLB.com (November1,2005). "You ' l l make decis ions that don ' tgoyo ur w ay, but th at's the wa y baseba llis. I try tocoach by theScoreboard.If we'reup or tied,I'llbe aggressive.If we're down3- 4 runs,you haveto shut it down and run one baseat a time."As a player, coach, and manager,Bowa wasnotorious for his fiery temper andof ten go thimself ejectedfrom ballgames. Should GeorgeSteinbrenner cr i t icize the t eam dur i n g theseason, it is likely that the high-strungBowawill speak up and p ublicly take on the Yankeeowner.Le e Mazzilli returns to the Yankeesafter a two-year absence, replacing Joe Girardias theteam'sbench coach . From 2000-2003, Mazzilli coachedfi rs t base for the Yan kees . He previouslyman aged in the Yankees' minor league systemfrom 1997 to 1999.Mazzilli was a star outfielder with the NewYork Metsfrom 1976 to 1981,playing under then-

    man ager Jo e Torre f o rf ive seasons. In his only Al l -Star Gameappearance in 1979, Mazzilli slugged apinch hithomerun to tigame and the n w alked in the winn ing run in the ninth in ning.Afterthe 1981season, the Mets traded Mazzillito theTexas Rangersfo rpitching prospects RonDarling andWalt Terrell. OnAugust 8th e Yankees obtained Mazzi l l if r omth e R a n g e r sf o r shor ts topBucky Dent.After th e season, th e Yankees traded Mazzil l ito thePirates, where he spent the next few seasons as a pinbackup outfielder an dfirst baseman.On August3, 1986, Mazzilwho had been previously released by the Pirates, returnedto theMets, who went on to win their second World Seriesremained with the Mets as a pinch hitter untilJuly 31 , 1989the TorontoBlu eJay s claimedhimof f waivers. Mazzilli retiredfrombaseballafter th e season and spent th e nextfew years pursuingacting opportunities.

    " IT R YT OC O A C HB YT H ES C O R E B O A R D .I FW E ' R EO PO RT I E D ,I ' L LB EA G R E S S I V E . "Mazz i l l il e f t the Y a n k e e sa f t e r 2003to b e c o m etheOrioles' manager.In Mazzilli 'sfirst year,th einjury-plaguedOrioles f inishe d in third place in the AL Eas t witha78-84record. In2005, th e Orioles surprised bothth eYankeesand Red Sox by gettingoff to a strong startan d leadingthe AL East fo r nea r ly two mo nths . The Orio lescollapsed over the summer,and the teamfiredMazzill ion A ugust 4.With the obvious e xce pt ion o f closer M arian oRivera, the Yankee bullpen struggled last season.The

    Yankees hope that the experiencedJoe Kerrigancanimprove the bullpen. Kerrigan, a former relief pitcwith the Mo ntreal Exp os and Orioles, spent 14 yearswith th e Exposand its minor leagueaffiliatesas botha pitching and bullpen coach. In 1997, thhired Kerrigan as their pitching coach.After th eRe d Soxfired managerJimy Williams duringth e2001 season, Kerrigan was appointed the inman ager. He was let go durin g sprin g train ing in2002. For two seasons, 2003-2004, Ke rrigan wo rkedunder Bowa as the Phillies' pitching coach. LBowa, Kerr iganoften clashed withhis pitchers.At

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    Continued from page 17the end of one of his most difficult seasons ofhi s coaching career, Kerrigan left the Phillies.On July 1, 2005, Kerrigan joined the Yankeesas a spec i a l adv i so r to G e n e r a l M a n a g e rBrian Cashman.With no major or minor league experienceas a coach, Ron Guidry is the only rookie onthe 2006 Yankees coaching staff. Once regarded

    as a medi o cre p i t cher , h e d e v e l o p e d aneffective slider and emerged as the surprise aceof the 1977 World Series cham pion Y ankees. In1978, Guidry won the Cy Y o u n g A w a r d ,posting an incredible 25-3 record with a 1.74ERA and 248 s t r ikeouts . The Yankees, whocame from 14 1/2 games back to win the ALEast , w o n thei r second consecut ive WorldSeries title. Guidry remained the Yankees' aceuntil the mid-1980s, winning 21 games in 1983and 22 games in 1985. Guidry's career declinedwith in jur ies and age, and he had losingrecords in his three final seasons, 1986-1988. In1990, he began working for the Yankees as aspring training instructor.T h e' u p c o m i n g season will tell i f t heYankees made the right moves in picking theirne w coaches.