TSN managers of the year

Notorious in elections, Florida is grade-A when it comes to baseball managers. The Sporting News leaves no hanging chads in selection Joe Maddon (Rays) and Fredi Gonzalez (Marlins) as MLB skippers of the year.

I like the Maddon selection, but Lou Piniella, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa are more deserving than Gonzalez in the National League. I like Fredi, and I think he did a great job with Florida this year, but consider what these other three managers accomplished:

Piniella: best record in the N.L., back-to-back N.L. Central division titles
Torre: first place in N.L. West, lifting the Dodgers over Arizona late in the year
La Russa: With a decimated pitching staff, kept Cardinals in race until September