r/Mariners • u/PilotGuy701 SUPREME MISERY • 1d ago
Joe Espada As The Skipper?!?!
This was not on my bingo card.
https://www.mlb.com/news/joe-espada-to-interview-for-mariners-manager-position
180
u/lawmedy Sandberg Bobble Cars 1d ago
It would be exciting to have a manager where we can go straight to booing
52
u/dankney 1d ago
I looked it up -- he was the bench coach during the cheating scandals. This really a guy we want in our dugout?
34
u/Jata859 1d ago
He joined as the the bench coach in Nov of 2017 so " after " the cheating but I agree I want nothing to do with the leadership that was in Houston in that era. Why have they not interviewed Kai yet?
10
u/JaneDoeAsks ! MY OH MY 1d ago
They cheated through the 2018 season as well.
7
u/_nedyah 1d ago
I guess it doesn’t matter but they didn’t cheat through 2018. They stopped around the beginning of the 2018 season because the players felt it was no longer effective.
3
0
u/dankney 1d ago
In other worrds, during his tenure as bench coach if only briefly. If he didn't knew, he's stupid and we don't want him. If he did know and didn't report it, he's a cheater and we don't want him.
4
u/dbalatero 1d ago
Is it possible he rolled on as they rolled off the cheating? When did they stop doing it vs his start? Was he an advocate for not doing it? Etc.
1
u/dankney 1d ago
If he knew and didn’t report, he’s complicit. If he didn’t know, he wasn’t paying attention.
Either way, hiring him means I need a new team to root for.
1
u/Lightime81 12h ago
And if the Mariners FO don’t ask about in the interview, then they’re stupid. Err, umm…
2
-4
u/BlueChewer45 1d ago
If he’s the best candidate yes. Winning is the only thing that matters
-1
u/dankney 1d ago
It’s a game. Ultimately winning and losing doesn’t matter at all. Doesn’t feel good to win? Sure, just like setting a new high score in a video game feels good. But it’s doesn’t matter.
The impact they have within the community is way more important. Ethics and integrity are absolutely core to that. Putting a cheater in charge defeats the purpose of having a professional baseball team in the city.
-2
u/BlueChewer45 1d ago
You know what has a greater impact on a community for a sports team? Winning a championship. You should see what the city of New York was like after the Knicks finally won the championship.
Also you’re overestimating how much people care about the cheating thing now. I guarantee if Espada was our manager and we were in the playoffs nobody would be saying anything about it. They would just be happy.
Also just to bring it up, Nelson Cruz got suspended for PED’s before he was a mariner, and was still one of the more beloved mariners from the 2010s.
I would rather win than lose because this franchise has been losers for 50 years. We are one of the punching bags of the league, and I’m sick of it
1
u/dankney 1d ago
Putting a cheater in charge cancels my season tickets and makes me a Dodgers fan
-2
u/BlueChewer45 1d ago
Just a ridiculous statement. Guarantee you won’t do that if it happens.
0
u/dankney 1d ago
Maybe not the Dodgers part — at that point I’d be hoping Portland gets an expansion team over Salt Lake. But I’d definitely be on the hunt for a new team. I don’t mind traveling.
-1
u/BlueChewer45 1d ago edited 1d ago
Then you’re just not that big of a mariners fan. We’ve had multiple players cheat and be suspended from the game, only to come back and still play. Bret Boone was honored at the 50th celebration this year and he definitely took steroids. Nelson Cruz and Dee Strange-Gordon are also two guys that have been suspended for PEDs and joined the mariners later. I find this entirely hypocritical
It’s also just an easy way for you to grandstand because he’s probably not going to be our manager.
69
u/xMrLink My Depression Goes as the M's Don't 1d ago
I mean there is something to say about bringing in a guy who has faced your team and game planned for your weaknesses, that being said, the Astros were about the only team we could beat this season...
37
u/alliluna24 1d ago
exactly, the only manager in MLB who couldn’t figure out the weaknesses of the 2026 Mariners is probably not the critical outside voice you’re looking for
9
37
u/Portie_lover Finally better than “the double” 1d ago
Getting an interview, amongst presumably many candidates, does not mean much. Glad they’re doing due diligence. Now if they hire him…
21
u/serpentear Tartan 365 | Cruiser 1d ago
He’s available and they should interview him. If he’s the best candidate, hire him.
I kinda feel like he’s not going to be the best candidate though.
5
19
u/fatcat43 1d ago
No one on the 2022 Astro’s staff belongs in baseball
6
3
2
1
u/PilotGuy701 SUPREME MISERY 1d ago
Let’s simplify that:
“No one from the Astros belongs in baseball.” ;-)
8
3
u/shftravels 1d ago
Are the Mariners pulling an MLB version of the Rooney rule?
Why him of all people?!? 🤨🤨
He’s literally the only manager in 2026 we were able to consistently beat. 🙃
3
u/elementofpee 1d ago
Interviewing him doesn’t mean hiring him. Get him in the building and have him discuss how he and the Astros scouted and strategized against Mariners is a valuable conversation. You need to have outside perspectives during this stage of the process, and it doesn’t get closer than a rival’s manager.
3
u/leakingimplants 1d ago
i’d like to have a guy in our division, someone who knows us well and knows are weaknesses so he can work on them and turn them into strengths…
8
4
u/slurv3 K'd Anderson 1d ago
Are we gonna react to every person the interview? This is what the M’s should, interview everyone and see who they can brain drain from other coaching staffs.
It doesn’t mean he’s going to be hired, but it shows the M’s are truly casting a wide net.
2
u/jthanson My 40th year as an M's fan 1d ago
Exactly. The Mariners are looking at a wide range of options to see who they think will do the best work to make these players on this team into regular winners. They shouldn’t start this process thinking they should only interview two candidates. They are doing it right, looking at many candidates to get as wide a possible group of candidates as they can.
6
8
u/BlueChewer45 1d ago
If he’s the best candidate after interviews fine I don’t care. This org isn’t in a position to turn down guys cause they were Astros.
That being said 3rd manager for Jerry. I think shouldve been fired too, but if this doesn’t work out then there is no defense for him.
5
u/mwagner26 SELL THE FUCKING TEAM 1d ago
Honestly, at this point, I don't think anyone will be a successful manager with this piece of shit owner group.
6
u/_nedyah 1d ago
The comments in this thread show just how little we know about the inner workings of baseball. Being associated with the Astros in anyway does not automatically make someone a bad candidate.
The guy won 2 division titles in 3 years and has a winning record managing an old and not as talented Astros roster.
That’s a hell of a lot better than Dan Wilson, who everyone was so desperate to get rid of.
2
u/reubendevries 1d ago
I'm surprised this is even allowed, isn't he still under contract with the Astros? Or have they fired him already?
3
2
u/neonknightsofthenine 1d ago
Looks like he wasn't fired, but this was the last year on his contract so he's basically a free agent manager
2
u/kookykrazee 1d ago
I read that the Astros okayed it so I am guessing they do not plan to renew his contract.
1
u/ThatTallGuy11 Sunday Creams 15h ago
They just announced today he was let go (along with a number of other staff members)
2
2
2
4
u/Waf3l Juck Foe $tanton 1d ago
For everyone saying no just because he was a member of the Trasshtros, he wasn't a part of the scandal in 17. They hired him after the fact. Wouldn't exactly be my first choice either but then again my personal favorite candidate was their Minor League coach until 2018.
3
u/JaneDoeAsks ! MY OH MY 1d ago
Didn’t the sign stealing continue through the 2018 season though. They were caught in 2019
1
u/Busy-Appointment920 1d ago
Just get Vogt
8
u/AnnihilatedTyro RELEASE THE MOOSEN! 1d ago
I would very much like to live in the magical world where this is considered a realistic option.
6
u/boundlesssmh 1d ago
he’s deep into the playoffs and is not a free agent. not sure if the guardians are willing to trade him 🤣
1
3
u/SardonicCheese Kirbstomp Awakens 1d ago
The mariners owners arent going to agree to trade for and then pay Vogt. They’re going to go straight out of the new blazers owners playbook and ask Jerry to get a cheap (hopefully diamond in the rough type) just like espada
2
2
1
u/shinyidol 1d ago
Cleveland would ask for Sloan and Anderson.
It just isn't going to happen. Cleveland would just say no. He is loved in that clubhouse.
0
u/WarsawWarHero 1d ago
I’m a casual baseball fan so manager hires are something I don’t know much about, why would he leave them for us?
0
u/Busy-Appointment920 1d ago
He’s from the area, where he spends his off season even. Also we don’t spend much, but still more than cleveland.
1
0
u/_HGCenty I want my Piggyback 1d ago
Very few things would make me stop following the Mariners.
Hiring a head coach from the Astros coaching staff during the sign stealing period would do that.
Joe Espada can go back to the trash can he came from.
0
u/Bootleschloogen 1d ago
Espada was never on the 2017 team.
-1
u/_HGCenty I want my Piggyback 1d ago
For me the tainted period is from 2017 to 2019 when it all came out.
He was there from 2018 onwards and that's still tainted with the Astros knowing what they did and getting away with it.
1
u/SexiestPanda 1d ago
Would rather the guy that managed Venezuela that’s on their bench
As far as Astros coaches go
1
u/essdot1211 1d ago
Can you imagine the Mariners finally winning it all, and then having it tainted with cheating allegations.
0
-3
-2
u/AnotherPersonPerhaps Silver Boat 1d ago
They said they're going to interview a lot of people. This is just that. No way this guy gets the job.
-1
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
In honor of Rick Rizzs' last season in the broadcast booth, please consider donating to Toys For Kids. A 501(c) non-profit organization founded by Rizzs and the late Dave Henderson, their goal is to provide hope via toys, school supplies, scholarships and more to homeless and disadvantaged children across Washington State.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.