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Andrew L.: I liked the idea before of promoting Matt LeCroy. I also listened to Paul Toboni in a recent radio interview about hiring a manager and giving him a second chance . For some reason, I think he was talking about David Ross, but who knows. I could see LeCroy or another minor league coach.

DonH: My first choice is still Mark DeRosa. His analysis of players on MLB Central is spot-on. The manager bug has bitten him. The issue as I see it is when he wants to make the jump.

Steve: My 1st choice was the first guy off the board (Skip Schumaker). Second choice would be to find a great minor league manager who excels in moving players up a gear to steal Toboni’s words. Then marry that coach up with a tactician with MLB managerial experience.

Andrew L: I like DeRosa. And I agree with Steve that you could go with a manager of lesser experience then put him together with a bench coach who has MLB managerial experience.

DonH: I liked Steve’s ideas as well. How about a successful college manger. Like Jay Johnson at LSU. He, and other college managers, are experienced in coaching young players. The Nats are going to be young for a while.

Steve M.: I love that idea Don and as credentialed media with LSU there were the days when I was covering them close in 2023 and had the opportunity to be on ZOOM calls with Coach Johnson. He knows player development. The issue is that he’s making $3.05 million per year under a new contract that will increase by $100,000 annually until it reaches $3.65 million. This new deal, signed last month made him the highest-paid coach in college baseball. He’d take a pay cut initially. Maybe he has a clause to opt-out for an MLB deal. Another big name in college coaching is Tony Vitello of Tennessee. I recently saw him on Jayson Werth‘s podcast.

DonH: That must have been a great experience. I wonder if Dylan Crews being a Nat might entice him a bit. Given that there are only 30 MLB mansger jobs, I would think he would not say no to ann interview. Alternatively, I wonder what other college managers might be a good fit.

Andrew L: Don, I had the same thought that being with Crews again might be of interest to him. I can’t think of another college coach who would fit.

DonH: Now that we’ve all expressed our first choices, what does everyone think about the recently fired managers? Clearly Cairo won’t be Toboni’s pick. None of them stand out to me as clearly better. And none seem to be a good fit for a young team like the Nats. Are there any of them you would be OK with?

Steve : Managers are part of an evolution to match their team as the team evolves. Rosters are unique. Also, we have to get back to not having group-think with a manager and his bench coach. You need that friction to constantly be thinking and evolving. Davey was great in 2019 because he had Chip Hale in his ear. You could see Hale in close proximity to Davey. And Hale constantly spoke up, then was silenced and discarded. Then came Tim Bogar as Hale’s replacement, and Davey got rid of him and got Davey Jr. in Cairo. Those 2 talked the same. So no, Cairo won’t return but whoever is chosen as manager needs a smart voice as a bench coach, and their differences is like a good marriage where opposites attract. Yin and Yang fitting well. Yin and yang is a concept from ancient Chinese philosophy describing how two opposing yet complementary and interconnected forces work well together. I think Toboni gets that.

While Bruce Bochy would have been a great pick-up in 2018 as manager, I don’t think he is the fit now for this type of team. Now maybe there is a fired manager or someone with managerial experience ready to be a bench coach to back up someone with no MLB managerial experience. That could work. I’ve heard Brandon Hyde mentioned as a manager and I think he would be more of a bench coach candidate. David Ross was mentioned above. He’s had time away to think about things. Some Nats fans aren’t fond of him and some criticisms he had in the past. Remember how bad Joe Torre was in his first stint? How did that work out later? He had his faults but was the perfect fit for that Yankees job.

You know how this will go that the new pick will be loved or hated as a choice. But on March 26 after Opening Day, even I will be critiquing. That’s the way it is. I actually liked the Davey Martinez signing in 2018. I think he was the right guy for that time. He wasn’t the right guy for a young team.

Jim Riggleman once said that Tony La Russa was playing chess while other managers were playing checkers. The same with Davey Johnson who was a chess player. If you could get the next Johnson circa 2011-2012 (not the 2013 version), you would have the type of manager this team needs who can lead young prospects as well as a few older players and get them to win together.

It’s a tall order to check all of the boxes. One thing I liked about Cairo was that he stood up for his players. We haven’t seen that since Johnson. I expect managerial candidate names to be leaked in the next week. Again, exciting times.

Forensicane : Paul Toboni has allowed for managers with previous experience, and his tenure with the Red Sox included the successes of Terry Francona and John Farrell. The most recent success, however, was Alex Cora, a first-time manager. Cora was so successful for Boston that he was restored even at the expense of Torey Lovullo. So I think Toboni is looking for someone who is early enough in his managerial career who can translate fundamentals, teach the game, and connect with players, and integrate data smartly. We don’t know enough about why some candidates are held in high regard. But knowing just that, I would keep an eye on Rocco Baldelli (because of his success with a young and developing Twins team to play above their talent level).

Baldelli grew up a Red Sox fan, played with the Red Sox while Toboni was there, and has the Tampa Bay player development connection – particularly in defense coaching and placement, where he Nationals have been terrible. As for those with no managerial experience, George Lombard is known to Toboni by direct experience, comes from the A.J. Hinch coaching tree (like Cora) and has been coaching on winning organization (Red Sox) after winner (Braves) after winner (Dodgers – 3 WS) after winner (Tigers). He is known as an exceptional teacher of players. That’s two people who come to mind, and at least the pedigree I think we can expect. Toboni strikes me as an ambitious guy who wants to put his imprimatur on the organization as “the boss,” and so I see the pick fitting that imperative.

Andrew L: Some managers use their roster as an excuse. Yes, you can only play the players you have. That is true. It is how you use them. Managers have to make their players better. The ones who do that by using analytics to their advantage may not win the game, but they give themselves a fighting chance. Ryan Zimmerman in his interview of Toboni talked about making a move even if it was a 3% advantage.

Find a manager who understands that it is really the little things — not a manager who repeats that to a point that it just becomes a blur and meaningless. When you show players you care, they care more. I will give Cairo some credit that he did make some moves that his predecessor wouldn’t, and a few times they worked out. Baseball is about failure and not even the better move will work out. Find a manager who understands this paragraph.

Steve : Kind of goes to putting your players in their best position to succeed for themselves and the team. Don’t put players before the team. I understood the James Wood at leadoff when it first happened. I didn’t see the need to do it every game and bunch lefties together. Lineup construction matters. I am sure we could create a laundry list of questions for managerial candidates with scenarios. How would you handle X and Y situations? Another name that has come up is Bo Porter. My sources tell me he would love to come back to DC either as a manager or bench coach.

In the end, I can see Toboni picking a college coach or a minor league coach because getting your prospect stars to be MLB stars is the biggest need right now. Put that person with a bench coach who actually managed in MLB like Hyde. Let’s see it.

DonH: A bench coach who isn’t a yes man is essential. That point it spot-on. Likewise Andrew, paying attention to the little things (and I would add the big things) is also very important. I also want a guy who thinks outside the box. Just because something that has never been tried before shouldn’t mean it shouldn’t be tried. And likewise, something that was tried and failed might be worth revisiting with some tweaks.

And on your point about criticism after Opening Day Steve, we likely will see some of that in Spring Training. With that said, it is now time for the TalkNats commenters to weigh in with your thoughts as well as voting in our poll. Note that the poll allows multiple choices – select all the choices you like. And if you like them all, only select the ones you REALLY like ?.