Yesterday, the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin wrote an article calling for the Jays to hire Paul Molitor as the permanent replacement for Carlos Tosca. Can't say I agree. As GM JP Ricciardi has said since he took over the position he initially wanted a manager who could teach the kids how to play the game at the major league level, that was Carlos Tosca. I agreed. He also stated, he was building this team to compete in 2005 and at this time he might need to go another direction with the manager. He hinted at someone with a little more experience who could guide the team through a pennant race. This I also agreed with. Knowing the limited budget the Jays are on you can be sure they are not going to go out and throw a big money deal at an "established" manager. Someone like Davey Johnson or Bobby Valentine. I think we'll see someone who has been around a winning team for a long time, understands the game and can pilot the good ship Blue Jay through the ups and downs of a pennant race. For me, two guys come to mind. Current Yankee bench coach Willie Randolph and former Astro manager Larry Dierker. I'll get back to Molitor in a minute.

Both of these guys have been through pennant races and have been on winning teams. Randolph has been with Joe Torre who has been through it all in NY and probably has a pretty good idea on how to run a team and keep them consistent through the course of a season. To me, that is one of the most important characteristics a manager can have. An ability to get consistency out of ones team. The Jays have certainly not been that the past few years. I think Dierker can bring this same mentality to the Jays. Remember, the Astros were a darn good team under him and the reason he was fired was because he could not pilot the Astros through the first round of the playoffs. That is a problem I'd like to have right now. Neither of these two would be overly expensive and neither of them are your typical refurbished, been there done that types. Hence, I think they fit the Ricciardi mold.

Finally, back to Molitor. Though I like Molitor a lot I don't think he'd be a great fit. As we all know, one of the biggest problems the Jays have had the past couple of years is they get out to a slow start in April. JP even mentioned this when he let Tosca go. I don't see how bringing in a first time manager who's latest experience is as hitting coach for the Mariners addresses this. I'd like to bring someone in who wouldn't be new to the whole spring training thing. Yes I know he's been through many as a player but it is a lot different as a manager. Plus, Molitor seems more of a nostalgia pick to me. Griffin even mentioned selling season tickets when he brought up Molitor's name. If you remember, that was the idea behind bringing on Buck Martinez and that didn't work out so well. You don't base personal or managerial decisions on how it will affect your marketing. The single best way to market a club? Win.