The selection of Jared Michael “Skip” Shumaker as Manager appears to be a solid choice. He played second base and outfield for over a decade with St. Louis, then became assistant to baseball operations and player development for San Diego, and then joined the San Diego coaching staff, first as first base coach and then as an associate manager. Last season he rejoined St. Louis as bench coach. All good credentials for the team’s new leader.
However qualified the new manager is will not matter one whit if management does not open its checkbook and bring in talent that can get on base more consistently than the current roster and provide the power needed to bring base runners home more frequently, and not rely on the pitching staff to hold the opponents scoreless. So far, there has been no evidence of this happening, but the season is still far away (March 30-October 1).
Photo: Miami Marlins’ General Manager, Kim Ng, New Manager Skip Shumaker & Owner, Bruce Sherman
Photos Courtesy Of Miami Marlins