Former MLB star Paul O' Neil interested in Cincinnati Reds managerial job

[HammerDown]

He was the guy in two of my favorite on-the-field moments in baseball.

1. As a Red RF, he once kicked a ball out of frustration in bobbling it to the cutoff man thus preventing the runner from advancing.

2. When he went out as a Yankee at the House that Ruth Built with the fans chanting his name the last two innings when he took the field. He was never the best player, but that moment showed how loved this blue-collar guy was. I remember watching him as he tried to hide his tears.

Anyone remember that throw from right field that gunned down the runner at 3rd? To this day it's the most perfect throw I've ever seen in my life. It's probably on YouTube somewhere and I should remember the particulars but I can't. I'm almost positive it was while he was still in Cinci.

Me and my Dad sure did love that team back then. We were in Nashville and so saw so many of those guys come thru the Sounds organization or come down to rehab. Got tons of autographs on cards I should have kept! My favorite player was Joe Oliver. Loved that guy!

 

[David_son]

He was the guy in two of my favorite on-the-field moments in baseball.

1. As a Red RF, he once kicked a ball out of frustration in bobbling it to the cutoff man thus preventing the runner from advancing.

2. When he went out as a Yankee at the House that Ruth Built with the fans chanting his name the last two innings when he took the field. He was never the best player, but that moment showed how loved this blue-collar guy was. I remember watching him as he tried to hide his tears.

Thats because there is no crying in baseball.

 

[HammerDown]

I think Dave Duncan at least as pitching coach he said earlier this year he wants to coach again him and Jocketty have ties from the Cards. If Walt hires Oquendo or someone Duncan wants to work with I can see him going their.

Dave Duncan would be huge.

Extreme frustration over manager/coaches is the worst. I feel so fortunate that my first love in baseball, the Padres, just haven't had those problems. We've been fortunate to have so much stability with Bud Black, the Boch, Glenn "Big Hoff" Hoffman, Rick Renteria and Darren Balsley at pitching coach. Dave Duncan is literally the only pitching coach I would rate higher than Balsley and I'm not alone in that sentiment.

 

[HammerDown]

Thats because there is no crying in baseball.

Tell Mariano Rivera that. Gloryhound pussy! :rollseyes:

 

[David_son]

Dave Duncan would be huge.

Extreme frustration over manager/coaches is the worst. I feel so fortunate that my first love in baseball, the Padres, just haven't had those problems. We've been fortunate to have so much stability with Bud Black, the Boch, Glenn "Big Hoff" Hoffman, Rick Renteria and Darren Balsley at pitching coach. Dave Duncan is literally the only pitching coach I would rate higher than Balsley and I'm not alone in that sentiment.

I really like Peterson when he was with the Mets. He was pitching coach for Oakland during the early 00s

 

[HammerDown]

What is LaRussa's status? Does he have any interest in returning to the dugout?

 

[Sportsguy9695]

I would love to see O' Neil as a manager

 

[JohnU]

LaRussa said he isn't interested and that the last time he talked to Jocketty, Jocketty wasn't interested.

 

[Redsfan1507]

LaRussa said he's only interested in a front office job/ GM in other words...and Jocketty knows he's on the hot seat next-and I would assume if the Reds don't improve next year, Walt might be in the plank and Drunk Tony might get an interview for his job.

At this stage, id prefer to think that the Reds will make a good hire or three for the dugout, add a piece on the roster and be Series bound.

Price has made a name for himself as a pitching coach, and as such he might receive only token interest as a manager, at least for the present. Duncan is a good name as a pocket plan B though. I can't see a Cards organization guy like Owuendo bailing that organization easily- like Marheney, they try to keep good baseball 101 organizational legacy people. Unfortunately, the Reds don't have many of those in the pipeline- a downstream impact of a decade long gap every few generations in the Reds. They have to build that going forward.

 

[ckhokie]

Is Jocketty really on the hot seat? He proved he could win in St. Louis, and his track record here has been pretty solid considering who's managing.

 

[JohnU]

I think Walt is in a position of not getting WORSE ... which is a tough nut in the NL-C. It's clear it's not a 2-team race now and it's probably a 4-team race next year. Soon, it may be up for grabs.

 

[Redsfan1507]

IMO, any time a GM fired a manager that has been to the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years it is a statement that the manager is the primary problem. If he also makes roster moves, it's a statement that he's addressing all the problems needed to go all the way- if he doesn't, it says they had enough to win already. Either way, no one to blame if they don't except the GM.

That's why I used the hot seat statement. A while back, Theo Epstein fired chicken-n-beer Francona, but realized his seat was too hot ( and his roster too weak) for him to survive 2012- and he bailed out before the '12 Sox crash. No doubt Jocketty is well respected, but if a guy that won 2 WS in the recent past can be let go, so can one that hasn't made a WS appearence in a decade.

One thing to keep in mind, this isn't 1975. The Reds do not and will not have the funding to support a payroll the size of ANY of the teams still in the hunt this year. IMO, Dusty could never get to the series without that kind of payroll. Obviously, Jocketty and Castellini believe it IS achievable though...and so do I, with the proviso they provably won't be able to afford to do it every year.

 

[JohnU]

If the Reds don't do anything, they can finish .500.
That's sort of where you start.
After that, you try to win 16 games a month instead of 14.
The issue is what kind of taste you leave in the fans' mouth. This year was pretty bitter.
Last year was bitter.
Even at that, no matter what the team does or who they get, winning the W.S. is not easy.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Winning the World Series would be nice but simply putting a ball club on the field that has fervor, passion, and drive would be better. Plus, it would be nice to know that a retard does not lurk in the dugout making the fans and players nervous about his next stupid move. A dugout leader will make this club flourish even without Choo and Arroyo.

 

[WvuDieHard]

I am hearing and reading strong rumblings about Paul O'neill getting the nod. Not sure if that is the best move but rest assured that Paul would be throwing bats instead of chewing toothpicks looking like a dumbass.

 

[Redsfan1507]

In skeptical about O'Neill being hired as a manager. I don't think Jocketty is going to hinge his move on someone without prior dugout experience- doesnt have to be MLB experience, but SOME experience will be required, IMO. There was a lot more missing from the Reds manager than just lack of urgency. I think Jocketty sees that.

 

[eburg5000]

Didn't O'Neil trash the Reds a few years ago, and refused to attend a reunion of the Reds 90 WS Champs. Now he wants to manage the Reds??

 

[JohnU]

O'Neill showed no interest in the Reds until the Island of Opportunity gave him a chance to upgrade his public persona in New York. He's no more a candidate to manage this team than Baker is. At least Baker knows the phone number of the general manager.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Would like to see this resolved by Nov.1

 

[Redsfan1507]

Typical good manners waits until after the WS...besides, you never know who might still become available.