Knobler: Jim Fregosi Could Be Next Royals Manager

Danny Knobler at CBS Sports has an article up today on the Royals situation. In it, Dayton Moore is asked if he still has confidence in manager Ned Yost, which is the sports equivalent of asking a politician "when did you stop beating your wife?"

"Ned's been very steady and consistent in the way he has led the team," Moore said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Yes, he's been consistent. Consistently bad.

So who would take over for Ned if he were fired? Bench coach Chino Cadinha? Long-time minor league manager Mike Jirschele who skippers the Omaha ballclub?

Or maybe Dayton would bring in a young promising managerial candidate from outside the organization that can provide a fresh look at this ballclub. Maybe he'll snag one of the hot managerial candidates out there - Tampa Bay's Dave Martinez or Toronto's Torey Lovullo.

Or he could hire a manager who hasn't led a club since Bill Clinton was President. Yea, that sounds about right.

One name that has already come up: Jim Fregosi, whose son, Jim Jr., joined the Royals' front office last year as one of Moore's special assistants. Fregosi turned 71 in April, and his most recent job as a manager was with the 2000 Blue Jays. But he has remained active in the game as a scout with the Braves and, at times, has shown interest in returning to the dugout.

Fregosi declined comment, and Moore wouldn't say anything about the speculation.

Fregosi was a candidate for the Royals manager job in 2005, after Tony Pena left the club. He has managed fifteen seasons in the big leagues for the White Sox, Angels, Phillies and Blue Jays, with a career 1028-1094 record, including one trip to the World Series with the 1993 Phillies.

Fregosi is about as old school as you can get. He does seem to grasp the importance of getting on base:

I don't care about a combination of numbers -- don't care about his slugging percentage. I want to know how often he gets on base and if he can run.

But he is pretty dismissive of modern statistical analysis.

"I can watch any player for three days and tell you if he has range -- and I'll tell you more accurately than a chart in a computer,"

He does reportedly utilize platoons to their advantage, unlike Uncle Ned.

But this would obvously be a huge step backwards. We simply cannot afford to let Dayton Moore hire a third manager. Kill the snake by cutting off the head. It is time for Dayton Moore to go.