Question: Why hire this guy with no managerial experience when they had a guy with no experience and didn’t do a bad job? Does it make any sense at all? Some experienced guys out there and they hire this guy? From: Stephen Pozzuoli
Answer: Stephen, I agree that Tony Mansolino did a good job as interim manager, but I think that Mike Elias was determined to hire a manager from the outside.
I will try not to make any judgments on Craig Albernaz until after he manages for a month or so. I’ve never met him, so I’m looking forward to getting to know him.
I don’t think that there was any potential manager that would excite the fan base. I think that fans will want to see what Elias does this offseason and see how the Orioles begin next season.
Question: What about Buck Britton? Why did the Orioles promote him this year to the big club? He has multiple years as manager at Norfolk; besides he basically grew up with most of the Orioles when he was at Norfolk. From: Gerry from Bel Air
Answer: Gerry, when the Orioles fired Brandon Hyde, they chose Tony Mansolino as the interim manager because he had coached in the big leagues longer than Buck Britton had.
If he wasn’t chosen in May, he wasn’t going to be picked in October. As I wrote above, I’m thinking Elias wanted fresh eyes from outside on the team, not someone like Mansolino or Britton who had seen the core players for several years.
Question: Will Albernaz have full autonomy with hiring his own staff or will these hires come from Elias and the front office? From: John Rhodes
Answer: John, no manager in contemporary baseball has full autonomy to hire his own staff.
Buck Showalter had quite a lot of say in his coaches when he managed, but he still didn’t have full autonomy, and he certainly didn’t have that when he managed the Mets.
When Dusty Baker, one of the best managers in recent years, took over the Houston Astros, he basically inherited A.J. Hinch’s staff.
I expect that Craig Albernaz will be able to hire a coach or two, inherit a few holdovers and work with Elias and the front office on the rest.
Coaching staffs have grown since Showalter’s time a decade ago. The Orioles had 12 coaches to begin the season. In Showalter’s last season, 2018, they had eight.
Managers don’t know a lot about the specialized coaches on modern-day staffs, and the front office collaborates with them on those hires.
Question: What lies ahead for Tony Mansolino? Are any other teams considering him for their managerial job? From: Ron Somers
Answer: Ron, I also got a similar question from Bill Leigh of Fenwick Island, Delaware. I expect that Tony Mansolino will find a good coaching job in a solid organization. I don’t think he will return to the Orioles as a coach under Albernaz.
I haven’t heard that he’s a contender for open managing jobs, but I know he will do a fine job wherever he goes.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.