Before I read any comments my thinking immediately was that Ron Washington is manager of the year. I mean who would have expected this. This includes him riding out a period without Josh Hamilton and Frank Francisco, two key components. He also successfully has integrated some young pitchers. He did it without pitchers that are household names but he does have a fairly productive staff. Washington should have also been an All-Star coach.

Francona has gone through some adversity with the team, however it was expected that the Sox would do well. The resources are always there, cash to make moves etc. The Rangers are broke. Because of very high expectations, the Sox have actually underachieved. They have also won despite some of Terry's poor decisions this year as well. Nod to Ron Washington.

Girardi is not even in the discussion as they should be 20 games ahead with that team.

How does one measure success? Do you have to be the world's champ every year to be considered successful? I am certainly no Yankee fan and can't ignore the resources that Cashman has to work with, but he gets the job done nearly every year. That is what he is paid to do. Earlier this year many Yankee fans were yelling for his head along with Giardi's. Now they are silent. If the Yanks don't win every thing this year they will be yelling again. The same with some Sox fans. Success can be measured in different ways using variable evaluative tools. Cashman uses is tools very effectively.

How did Cashman get into this?

Sorry about that. I was responding to another comment and some how mistakenly submitted it to Chiefdog's slugfest. Don't know how that could happen.I am not too literate with this computer stuff.

Girardi is not even going to make top 3. Or at least he shouldn't. He's doing nothing to manage that team. He's been handed a bottomless pit of money and superstars. He's lucky the Yankees turned things around this season, or he would have been canned as a laughing stock.

Tell me now, how big is that terrible start to the season the Red Sox had looming large? Had they played better in April, they'd have about a 3 or 4 game lead on the Yankees still. But they couldn't beat the bad teams early, and imagine how far they'd be out of the division had they NOT won the first 8 against the Yankees. Every win counts. And when everyone else was saying, "It's still early in the season," I was one of the few saying that early or not, they are playing poorly and those games would come back to hurt them because the Yankees were not going to play that poorly all season. Guess I was right...

Instead, I'm going to echo another vote for Ron Washington. Playoffs or not, he's kept Texas right in the thick of the Wild Card and Division all season long with a half-assed starting rotation. Good for him!

I think there is a big difference when someone first comes up to the big leagues and slumping vs. a veteran as Ortiz who had been slumping since last year. It was proper for Francona to try and stick with Pedroia to give a rookie a chance. Ortiz is doing better but as is the situation now there was no need for Ortiz to bat 3rd for 2 months. It's also the manager's responsibility to try and take some of the pressure off and therefore should have took Ortiz out of the 3 hole earlier. Perhaps he didn't do it earlier because didn't want to upset Ortiz too soon. Therein lies a lack of authoritarian figure.

What about last night's game vs Rays. Pap is in the game and he has Saito warming up. Why did he have Saito warm up first and then have Delcarmen and Bard warm right after? What's the point in that managerial decision? And then he's concerned about the bullpen? That's kind of funny.

The person establishing the Slugfest can frame the question/debate any way he likes whether it sounds good or not as long as it hopefully makes some sense. It is the responsibility of the challenger to read the position and then respond accordingly with a position that is contrary, otherwise the Slugfest is meaningless and ruined.

Jon1498 I agree with you 100% in that every one of the 162 games is important. It doesn't matter when they are played early or late as they have the exact same effect on the standings.

these have turned into jokes, ctchiefdog must be rigging the slugfests

This is ridiculous, how does ctchiefdog get 200+ votes in a couple of hours. Even these slugfests are rigged.

Rigged? Ridiculous. I rig them? Go eff yourself. Why so many votes? Here's a quick lesson, boston.com now shows some headlines of Slugfests, with a link, in the appropriate team section (Sox, Pats, etc). So any topic that garners interest will be flooded with regular readers as they skim through the articles. Go look at past Slugfests and you'll see a trend, anything that has an intriguing headline gets a LOT of votes, a headline like "What Happened" ends up with about 20 votes. These are turning into jokes because of jerks like the two of you. How many people do you think read articles on boston.com daily? And ONLY about 250 voted, use your brains for gods sake, do you really think someone is sitting here, voting over and over? Get a life.

To further my point...Delcarmen pitches in the 8th in a one-run game. Not Bard/Okajima/Saito/Ramirez(who already pitched), any of whom I'd rather on the mound in the 8th in a one-run game. I like Delcarmen, I especially like him in the 6/7th where he has excelled, not in the 8th where he has struggled. It would be nice to have some consistency in who comes out of the bullpen when. I am sure the pitchers would agree.

Since this has turned into a Francona for Manager of Year let'd discuss his grasp of the X's and O's of the game tonight. He lets Alex Gonzalez bat with bases loaded and 1 out with Lowell on bench who has hit Howell well. Lowell has more of a chance to hit a deep fly to get the run in. Neither Gonzalez or loweel have speed so a ground ball is a DP for either. I guess Francona was in one of those moods to give a guy a FULL mental day off again. Then Ramirez who rarely pitches more than an inning is sent back out there again after 30 minutes and proceeds to blow the game. Of course Bard can't be used because he threw a half of a game in the bullpen last night. What more can be said. Is Francona still brilliant?

I'm not sure who exactly is deserving of the MOY award this year, because the season's not over. I definitely agree that Girardi is not the correct pick either. I've never seen a manager who has had to do less managing throughout the course of an entire season than he has with the high-salary guys Cashman placed in his lap this off-season.

I know this is completely off topic, but if the Red Sox do go on and make it to the W.S. than Theo needs to be the front-runner for General Managaer of the Year... all the insurance moves he made for the rotation crumbled right when they were intended to have the biggest impact.

He acquired a V-Mart, who has dazzled so far, and I think Wagner will end up playing a huge role in the late innings before it's all said and done. Gonzalez has fit right in and has provided what Cabrera did for the Sox in that '04 campaign.

Almost every move at the trade deadline and after, looks eerily similar to those made in '04 when the Sox came in as the wild card and ran the table. I think an exciting post-season is in store, climaxing with a Yankees Vs. Sox series to decide the AL representative for the fall classic.

One thing Theo has not addressed in over month is a long man out of the pen which is desperately needed. The alternative is keeping a starter out there longer than he should be to chew up innings while he's getting racked and giving the team no chance to win or blow through your whole bullpen one inning at a time with all their relievers who usually can't go more than 1 inning. So, the question for the playoffs is, who is your long man out of the pen, Tazawa, Byrd or Wakefield (if he's even healthy) and are you comfortable with those choices? If the Sox depend on those guys, the Yankees will be tough to beat. I apologize for digressing but this slugfest is over anyway.

Paul Byrd is that guy I think. A veteran with a ton of experience, has good command of the dtrike zone, and knows has good situational pitching awareness. So, I think he actually has addressed that. And, Wake, if healthy has shown he can be reliable this year, so I would not be opposed to him either. The one option i would be hesitant about is Tazawa, but a spot long stint out of the bullpen for him wouldn;t be a complete disaster i don't think. Bowden would probably be an option as well as the rosters expand.

Joe Girardi Manager of the Year? HUH? They are winnng despite him, not because of him. He is a lousy manager, and a crappy interview. Ask him a question, and he doesn't answer the question, but he does blabber on. The NYY went from having the games premiere mgr in Joe Torre to one of the worst. They will NEVER WIN A WORLD SERIES with this manager, or with A-Rod for that matter. I predict a 1st round exit. Anyone?

I think it will not be a 1st round exit, but they will meet and fall to the Sox in the ALCS. The Yankees will draw Detroit in the first round, and they are a much batter team than the Tigers, shouldn't have any troubles. The Red Sox own the Angels, so it would appear they are, once again, headed for an October collision course.

Let's go Tigers! Shoot, as long as we don't have to play the Rays I'll be happy. I just get this feeling of impending doom when we play each other now. BTW if I was the manager, I would never pitch to Longoria, he's the scariest bat in that lineup.

If Success is measured by the number of wins and losses then how can anyone deny that Giardi should be the "manager o the year?" I dislike the Yankees as much as anyone, but you have to give the man his due. He steered the team through a brutish two months and is leading them to 100+ games won and they will be the odds on favorate to win it all. What else can you ask? Sometimes being a Yankee hater clouds a person's judgment and overrides reality. Yes Washington has done an admirable job, as has Francona. But not at the level of Giardi's

Because success is not measured in wins and losses for MOY, Fitzi. Joe Girardi was given a bottomless pit of money and superstars. All he had to do was write the same 9 names on the lineup card every night, and watch the Yankees score 10 runs a game. Then, all they had to do is hope the rotation and bullpen were average at best and they'd win 90+ games. Which, even in the AL East, is enough to contend for a playoff spot.

The rotation for the Yankees has not been great. Burnett, Chamberlain, Petitte, Mitre (I think that's his name; and Wang, Hughes and anyone else making starts for the Yankees) have been average or below average. Sabathia is the only one that's been good. The bullpen has been below average except for the ageless Rivera.

Sabathia and Burnett have not played well in the playoffs. The Yankees WILL score Detroit in round one, unfortunately. I'm tired of watching the Sox/Angels in the ALDS.

That said, I do think the Sox, if they keep playing the way they are now, can get past the Angels. As for the Yankees, I'm hoping Sabathia and Burnett pitch like they usually do in the Playoffs, the Yankees may go into an 0-2 hole and count on that big terd they lovingly call Joba the Hut. Personally, I hope Detroit sweeps the Yankees because the Yankees underestimate them. It's happened before, and I'd much rather see Sox/Tigers in the ALCS than another Sox/Angels then Sox/Yankees playoff year. That gets boring year in and year out.

It was nice last season when the Yankees were home in October.

Yes, I agree with Jon... Sometimes a team just rolls without the manager having to do too much. Fitzi, the Yankees and Rangers are not even comparable. The Yanks just have such a far superior team and that's why Washington has to be given the credit he deserves. Did you expect the Yankees to be where they are or the Rangers to perform as they. By the way the Rangers are hurting financially as well. They really could not do anything to improve for the stretch.

Jon. Thankfully the Sox are not the same team they were just a few weeks ago. Their pitching seems to be coming around and pitching is still the name of the game. They have struggled all year with the Angels and recently with Yanks, but we all know what can happen in short series. RE. Giardi: I have to stick with him as this year's manager. To me winning vs. losing is the all imortant thing and noone exceeds him in that this year. He steered the Yanks through two hellish months and is on pace to win 100 or more games and be the favorate to win it all. Sure he has a super strong lineup, but he has to play the pieces that he has and make the moves he does. What more can you expect from a baseball manager? Yeah it hurts to see the Yankees coming back from the dead. But that should not surprise anyone when looking at their resources. And it will remain so for years to come as with years gone by.

Giradi's a solid candidate. So is Tito. I might give it to Ron Washington or Don Wakamatsu, though.

If success is measured in wins and losses, I am having trouble reconciling how Joe Torre, managing the Yankees for 12 years with 10 1st place finishes and 2 second place finishes is only Manager of the Year twice, in '96 and '98. Something does not compute.

Fitzi, being that the MOY is voted on by the writers, wins/loses is NOT the criteria for the award. Expectations are a HUGE factor in MOY. The Yankees were expected to be very good this year. And they have lived up to billing. The Red Sox were expected to do well this year, and they have, for the most part (I consider leading the wild card at this stage doing well). So, Francona will not be considered either.

The thing these writers look at is what a team was expected to do, how many unforseen issues (like injuries) needed to be dealt with, and finally, and perhaps MOST IMPORTANT, if the same team would have performed any differently had a different manager been leading the team.

Let's face it, you or I could have managed the Yankees to a 100 win season this year. It doesn't matter if it was Joe Girardi or Sparky Anderson leading the Yankees this year, 100 wins was almost a lock unless every single player performed severely under expectations. The Yankees success this season has much less to do with Girardi than the team that was bought. Texas, on the other hand, was coming into the season with bad pitching and an unstable offense after Ian Kinsler. They were expected to finish at best third.

In the end, I'm looking at Ron Washington in the AL and probably Joe Torre or Bruce Bochy (my first place vote to the latter) in the NL.

Jon: What do the writers use as their criteria? If they don't look at wins and losses what do the base their vote on? You and I know that many writers have scrambled eggs for brains and are homers. I doubt NY writers would vote for Francona. I don't have any stats on that but that is what I think exists. Most people equate success with wealth. In baseball that is the number of wins regardless of where, when, and how. Are you pushing Washington because of his number of wins coupled with a bunch of unknowns even if he may not win enough games to make the playoffs? If he is that good and wins it all he should be named, but in my opinion that is not going to happen.

Had to break for dinner. Using your own criteria, Giardi had to deal with similar cicumstances: i.e. injuries to pitchers; A-Roid and his problems, Posada and his injuries, an aging shortstop with reduced range, a no arm left fielder, and fans screaming for his scalp in high pressure NYC caused by sky high expectations. He has had his share of difficulties over the year and pulled the team together.

Also, it might just be that it isn't Washington's presense or genius that has inspired the Rangers, but rather it could be Nolan Ryan's. No doubt he is a real winner, and he put the team together.

I know what the system is, but I wouldn't put too much credence in sportswriters and their judgment. I don't know if you remember Dave Egan and how he killed Ted Williams; or the one writer who would would not give Williams one vote out of his ten votes for MVP and denied Williams that award despite it was one of Williams best years; or the writers who would not vote for Jim Rice for the Hall over the years because of petty reasons. Some of these same writers vote for MVP, the Hall of Fame, and Manager of the Year. Writers are certainly not omniscient. Some of them are pretty stupid.

Lombardi once said that winning is not just something, it is everything. Winning it all is the ultimate. Washington will not reach that level this year. I dislike the Yankees intensely because of all of the disappointments they have caused me. But what is right is right. Giardi deserves the award. One man's opinion.

I'm guessing that one of the main criteria is which team has far exceeded expectations or overachieved if you will and what the manager has to work with along with the record which is secondary.
The Yankees have experienced All-Stars at just about every position and 4 out of the five starters would be a # 1 or 2 starter on any team (that's luxury). They also have the best future HOF closer and could afford anyone they need in trades, etc as money is NO object to them. The Yankees should be 20 games ahead right now so they have underachieved.
The Rangers are cash strapped with rookies in the rotation and play in sweltering heat half the time. It is somewhat difficult for any Yankee manager to get the award simply because what they achieve is expected, ala Joe Torre who only got it twice.
Any team that is successful you can point to that GM as being responsible but it's the manager who puts the lineup out there. Washington stuck with Chris Davis early on and he helped with his HR's. He gave Andruw Jones a chance. He managed through Hamilton, Kinsler and Francisco injuries without having a Yankee type bench.
I don't believe you can equate baseball with football. Football is all timing and execution in which every player has to be on the exact same page on every single play and the coaches' roles are much more important in bringing that about. Just another person's opinion

Only 6 of the last 14 AL MOY's have taken their team to the World Series. So I guess winning isn't everything. How about these fellows who have won and their records:
Lou Piniella -Seattle 2001 - (79-66)
Tony Pena - KC -2003 - (83-79)
Buck Showalter - Texas 2004 - (89-73)

At least Girardi must be a contender... He has given Yanks a new stamina and a desire for winning... He is prudently agressive... No comparison with Francona at all times overblowing his maudlin paternalism on professional players paid to play and perform... his overextended license on Penny, Smoltz, Papi as 3rd hitter, Tek and now DelCarmen, among others, could have cost Sox more than ten games... Hope his contract expires soon... THANKS GOD

Time to revisit the issue. No question at the moment Giardi is the A.L. manager of the year. Washington has dropped off the screen. Francona won't be considered unless he wins it all. Who else is there? Maybe the guy in L.A. Sure Giardi has the talent on the field and the big bucks in his pocket. He is expected to win and he wins. That is the name of the game. Another major disapppointment with the Sox? They could still win everything, but the pinstripes have to be favored. No surprise.