Sources: Padres OK Melvin interview with Giants
-
Jeff Passan, ESPN
The San Diego Padres granted permission for manager Bob Melvin to interview with the San Francisco Giants, sources told ESPN, paving the way for an interdivision managerial change and the end of a contentious two-year relationship between Melvin and the Padres.
While league sources believed the idea of Melvin emerging as the top candidate in San Francisco was logical, the rarity of one manager jumping to a division rival while still under contract dampened the possibility. Granting permission makes Melvin the clear favorite for the San Francisco job, though because he’s still under contract with the Padres for one year at $4 million, the team could pursue compensation if he is the Giants’ choice to replace Gabe Kapler.
The Padres said in early October they intended to retain Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller, even after the slow fracture of their partnership as the Padres’ near-$250 million roster produced 82 wins and a third-place finish in the National League West. Melvin’s arrival in October 2021 had been seen as a coup for the Padres, as he left his job — while still under contract with the Oakland A’s — after 11 seasons, with an 853-764 record and six playoff appearances. Trust between him and Preller never developed, and sources believed their relationship was beyond repair despite the public proclamation that both would return for the 2024 season.
“From my standpoint, a lot’s been overblown,” Preller said when announcing his and Melvin’s return. “There are reports we don’t speak, and we’re talking four or five times a day. Personally, we have a friendship. All those things, I don’t put a lot of stock into the unnamed reports and sources and stories that are out of context. I think it’s really hard to comment on those things unless you have real specifics and details and names attached to those things.
“Bob is our manager,” Preller added then. “He’s going to be our manager going forward. A lot’s been said, obviously, in the last few weeks, but both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year. From that standpoint, a lot’s been said, and I think with Bob and myself, I think, just even in the last couple days, you get a chance to recap and look at some different things, and both of us feel really good with where things are at moving forward.”
The Giants’ request for permission to talk with Melvin, first reported by The Athletic, came early in the week, sources said. Were Melvin — who has also previously managed Seattle and Arizona and has a career record of 1,517-1,425 — to be hired, it wouldn’t be the first time a Padres manager under contract left for San Francisco. After 12 seasons as San Diego manager, Bruce Bochy absconded to San Francisco, where he won three World Series.
San Francisco has been unable to recapture its glory days since Bochy, now managing the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series, retired and was replaced by Kapler before the 2020 season. The Giants fired Kapler on Sept. 29, three days before the end of a 79-83 season that wasn’t as disappointing as the Padres’ but saw attendance flatline. It was the second consecutive mediocre season after an NL West-winning 107-55 campaign in 2021.
San Francisco had already talked with internal candidates, including bench coach Kai Correa, third base coach Mark Hallberg and assistant coach Alyssa Nakken, who became the first woman to interview for a major league managerial position. If Melvin does go to San Francisco, he is expected to receive relative autonomy in filling out his staff, with only a few coaching holdovers certain, sources said.
San Diego, with a star-filled lineup that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, would immediately become the one of the more attractive jobs available. Should Melvin leave, the new manager would be the fourth full-time hire for Preller since he joined the Padres in 2014. Two internal candidates are likely to receive significant consideration, sources said: senior adviser Mike Shildt and bench coach Ryan Flaherty.
Shildt, 55, is a former St. Louis Cardinals manager who joined the Padres before the 2022 season. In his 3½ years running the Cardinals, he went 252-199 with playoff appearances in each of his three full seasons. St. Louis surprisingly fired him following the 2021 season, in which it went 90-72 and lost in the NL wild-card game. Flaherty, 37, spent eight years as a major league utilityman and was promoted to bench coach and offensive coordinator before 2023 after spending the previous four years as a quality-control coach.
While rare, managers have jumped to division rivals still under contract. The most recent occurrence followed the 2012 season, when Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell went to the Boston Red Sox. As compensation, the Red Sox sent infielder Mike Aviles to Toronto, which traded reliever David Carpenter back to Boston.
Currently, three teams in addition to San Francisco are looking for new managers: Cleveland, where Terry Francona stepped away from managing; the New York Mets, who fired Buck Showalter; and the Los Angeles Angels, who declined the option on Phil Nevin’s contract for 2024.
Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell, regarded as one of the game’s best, could hit the open market, too, with his contract set to expire at the end of the month.
-
Max Olson
FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.
Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.
After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024
Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.
After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.
“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”
They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.
“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”
Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.
“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”
-
Jesse Rogers
The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.
The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.
MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.
MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.
As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.
The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike