NL Manager of the Year???

[orioles119]

Okay, who is your manager of the year?

You've got Bob Melvin propelling the Diamondbacks to the best record in the NL, going 90-72 (is that all it took for the best record in the league?).

You've got Clint Hurdle, who led the Rockies to the Wild Card title in a one-game title.

You've got Charlie "I've grown up now" Manuel, who led the Phillies to overtake the Mets on the final day of the season, coming back from 7 games back on September 14th.

And you've got Lou Piniella, who outlasted the other bad teams in the central to win their division.

My vote would have to go to Bob Melvin. The Diamondbacks were supposed to rebuild one more year, but instead they won the most games in the league.

[square634]

I voted for Manny Acta in the awards thread, but now that I have looked at all the evidence, I think it should be Bob Melvin. The Diamondbacks were outscored this season, and have outperformed their pythagorean record by roughly 219,872 games. Hurdle is a great story, too, and now that the Rox have made the playoffs, he leapfrogs over Acta also.

[beaner]

I took Manuel due to all of the Phils injuries throughout the season. They lost Garcia and Lieber for the year, and Utley, Gordon, and Myers for a bit as well. Somehow they held it together and got the job done. Gotta be Manuel.

[sangell2007]

Manuel, Acta, Hurdle, and Melvin all would be more than deserving. My vote still probably goes to Acta for not only far exceeding expectations (I talked to a Baltimore area AP writer at the beginning of the season who basically said 70 wins for the Nationals was like 125 wins for anyone else) but also for playing such a huge role as spoiler. Manuel would be second, followed by Hurdle and Melvin.

[longflyball]

My vote still probably goes to Acta for not only far exceeding expectations (I talked to a Baltimore area AP writer at the beginning of the season who basically said 70 wins for the Nationals was like 125 wins for anyone else) but also for playing such a huge role as spoiler.

I don't pay as much attention as I should to the minors, Spring Training news, and the various transactions and signings that take place over the offseason, so throughout April and May I'm constantly asking myself how in the world did Player X end up on Team Y, or who the hell is Player Z and where did he come from? If someone asked me on April 1st to list all the Washington Nationals I could probably have come up with 2 or 3. And yet they won 4 more games than the Orioles. Unbelievable.

[markakis4pres]

I voted Hurdle

The Rocks were rumored to trade Helton at the beginning of the season and were supposed to rebuild and now there in the playoffs. They won there last 12 or 13 games to get into the playoffs. That is just insane.

[backwardsk]

What, no Willie Randolph?