Valentine time for Team USA?

Jack Curry of the New York Times wants Team USA to consider hiring Bobby Valentine as their next skipper. Why? Because Valentine predicted Japan would win the 2009 World Baseball Classic title among his other obvious credentials.

The next Classic is not until 2013, but if Valentine is available, he should be strongly considered as a candidate to manage the United States team. Valentine has managed in both countries and was the first American manager to win a title in the Japanese Leagues with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005. If Valentine were free and the job were offered, he indicated he would take it.

After finishing fourth this season and eighth in the first Classic in 2009, the United States could use an infusion of energy in four years. Valentine would be a good start. He said Japan’s precise, disciplined style was perfectly suited for a three-week tournament, something the Americans should have noticed by now.

“If you rely on a home run in a short series, you’re destined for doom,” Valentine said. “I know teams have won with the home run. But you’ve got to play the game of baseball. Whatever style it is, if you make fewer mistakes, I think you’re increasing your chances of winning a short series.”

Valentine makes sense as Team USA's manager, but it will take more pitchers for the USA to compete. A manager that knows both teams inside and out is one thing, but you have to play the best to beat what's currently better than you.

Darrell Evans back in baseball

Former Major Leaguer Darrell Evans is headed to independent ball as a manager and director of player personnel in the Golden Baseball League. He had an illustrious pro career with the Braves, Giants and Tigers.

Evans retired with 414 career major-league home runs and as the first player to hit more than 40 homers in both the American and National leagues and one of only two players, along with Reggie Jackson, to hit more than 100 homers for three different teams.

Oh, and that World Series ring on his finger from the 1984 Detroit Tigers is pretty darn impressive, too.

Evans chuckled that is ancient history to the batch of pro prospects he will be guiding in Victoria.

"I've seen pretty much everything . . . but the only way some of these guys would recognize me is from a Nintendo '87 video game," he quipped.

I remember watching Evans play, but somehow I thought he had a brief stint with the Red Sox. My mistake.

Just a quick note: The Golden Baseball League uses Olympic Drug Testing policy. Hello, MLB.

You can't knock the Macha move, or can you?

Cubs fans can breathe a sigh of relief; Ken Macha was named Brewers manager. Bob Brenly, Cubs color analyst, was up for the job, but Bob Melvin and company went with the former A's skipper instead.

"One of the things I'm going to enjoy here I think is the relationship with Doug," said Macha, who spent the last two years as a television analyst. "He's been very honest with me, straightforward. He's more of a delegator. He's going to let me go out and do my job as a manager and I'm going to be very grateful for that."

That's a far cry from Oakland, where Macha took the A's to a pair of AL West titles but had an odd relationship with general manager Billy Beane and lost his job after the 2005 season for a week only to return in 2006.
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Macha also tried to dispel the notion that he'd lost touch with his players in Oakland, including Jason Kendall, now the Brewers catcher.

"I've got a couple things to say about that. No. 1, the job of the manager is really not to be buddies with all the players. You have to make very difficult decisions over the course of the year," he said. "Sometimes players get a little personal and think it's personal. It really isn't."

Sounds like an imperfect match for a team that nearly imploded on itself for a second straight season, but to his credit Macha built a pretty impressive resume in Oakland with a 368-260 record. Still, Oakland got swept out of the 2006 ALCS by Detroit, and Brenly has a World Series under his belt. That, and a very deep knowledge of the team Milwaukee chased all season long.

Wriggling Riggleman wants M's job

In an MLB.com article that lists Ken Macha, Willie Randolph, Ned Yost, Art Howe and Bobby Valentine as possible candidates, Mariners interim manager Jim Riggleman asks publicly for position full-time.

"Everyone in the organization knows of my desire to come back," said Riggleman, who compiled a 36-54 record after replacing John McLaren on June 19. "I just hope to be considered a candidate."

If the Mariners decide to go in another direction and cut ties with Riggleman, he could wind up as a coach with the Washington Nationals. He reportedly is being considered for a spot on manager Manny Acta's staff, possibly as bench coach -- the same position he had with the Mariners last season prior to McLaren's dismissal.

"I don't want to commit to anything until I hear from Seattle," Riggleman said.

Near the end of the Mariners' 101-loss season -- the first time they hit triple digits in losses since 1983 -- club president Chuck Armstrong said he had complied a list of 10 potential managerial candidates for the then-unknown Mariners GM.

Armstrong said Riggleman's name was on that list.

And prior to the final game of the season, Riggleman talked about his desire to return.

"I can promise you that nobody wants to manage this club more than I do," he said, "and nobody is more prepared to manage this club than I am. But if I don't manage this club [next season], I am not going to point to anything other than the fact I did not win enough games."

You can't blame Riggleman for his passionate plea, but you also can't expect him to beat out the bigger names. Riggleman isn't a bad manager. He did a nice job with the Cubs years ago, and he wasn't given much to work with after inheriting the M's mid-season.

Brewers stale on Dale

Baseball Musings makes a good point that Dale Sveum as manager of the Brewers makes more sense than Jerry Manuel as manager of the Mets. Sveum will not be considered to lead the Brewers next year while Manuel kept his job after New York failed to make the playoffs.

The Sveum firing, however, makes me wonder if the Brewers were not impressed with the postseason fallout. He only has about of month of managerial experience, and if Milwaukee still thinks it is close to competing for a World Series, it probably wants a manager with a long postseason resume.

Manuel, at least, is a known quality to the Mets, as he led the Chicago White Sox to an A.L. Central crown in 2000.