I'm not even anywhere close to a Yankees fan, in fact I don't care for them. But truth be told, the AL manager of the year is Joe Girardi. When you had to talk 41 year old Andy Petitte out of retirement in desperation just to fill in your starting rotation, your stud pitcher CC Sabathia is having his worst season ever. When your hitting lineup looks like a band of castoffs and a mash unit combined (Ichiro, Overbay, Soriano, Wells, Jeter, A-Rod along with a catcher that is barely above the Mendoza line), and you have managed to position your team within striking distance of a wildcard berth, you have performed a miracle.
Ok, so maybe Terry Francona is the leading candidate for Manager of the Year in the AL. From 68 wins to what will end up being at least 90 this season. I think it may depend on if his team can hold on for the wildcard spot. They are one game ahead of Texas with 3 games to go. You could also say the Red Sox manager John Farrell. Boston had 69 wins last year, but that had all to do with Bobby Valentine. The talent was there, he was awful. So I still think the transformation in Cleveland holds more water. Even the KC Manager should get some votes Ned Yost. They stayed in the race for a wildcard deep into September, only getting knocked out a couple of days ago.
Don't forget Showalter. The O's were right there until the end, too. Of course, Melvin's also gotta be in the conversation. I absolutely love the A's with that system. This AL Wild Card race is insane. The Indians and the Rays are on 7-game winning streaks, while the Rangers have won 4 straight. Gonna be a photo finish, and a damn good team is gonna be watching the playoffs at home. The Rangers have some serious voodoo on the Angels with all those walk-offs.
Yeah but Baltimore got into the playoffs last year and haven't won as many games this year. So that's a resounding no to Showalter. The A's are going to win the division for a 2nd straight season with wins in the mid 90s. Melvin should have won it last year, if he didn't. I think it's going to be out of Francona and Farrell, with Yost coming in 3rd.
