News broke this morning that Dale Sveum (pronounced "Swaim") will be one of the first candidates to interview for the vacant managerial spot at Fenway Park.
You may remember that Sveum used to be a third-base coach for Boston. You may, in particular, remember August 2004, when he was waving runners home like crazy. OK, he was always waving runners home like crazy. But that August, over the course of 10 games, he managed to get six Sox runners thrown out at home.
Sports radio announcers nicknamed him "Death Wish Dale."
Bloggers started calling him "Send 'em Sveum," or simply, "The Moron."
And even before he arrived in Boston, Terry Francona had another nickname for him: "Nuts."
But yet - you have to like his attitude:
After that, he took on the challenge of becoming their hitting coach. In his own words:
I don't know a ton about the guy. But I like the fact that Cherington isn't playing it safe with his choices. Let's get some excitement next year!
Related posts:
Where Have You Gone, Tito?
You may remember that Sveum used to be a third-base coach for Boston. You may, in particular, remember August 2004, when he was waving runners home like crazy. OK, he was always waving runners home like crazy. But that August, over the course of 10 games, he managed to get six Sox runners thrown out at home.
Sports radio announcers nicknamed him "Death Wish Dale."
Bloggers started calling him "Send 'em Sveum," or simply, "The Moron."
And even before he arrived in Boston, Terry Francona had another nickname for him: "Nuts."
But yet - you have to like his attitude:
''[The booing] doesn't bother me that much . . . It's just the passion of the fans in Boston and it's a situation we appreciate here. Hey, if it takes the pressure off the players, give all the boos to me."Did he tone down his aggressive brand of baseball after joining Milwaukee as their third base coach? Not a bit. And when the Brewers were swooning in September 2008, losing 12 out of 15 games, Sveum was called upon to save the season. Taking over as interim manager, he shook up both the lineup and the rotation, finished the season 7-5, and got the Brewers into the playoffs.
After that, he took on the challenge of becoming their hitting coach. In his own words:
"[Manager Ron Roenicke] is bringing a message here of aggressiveness and positivity and that is right up something I like to do and want to be a part of."Yep, he sure did some nice things with the hitting talent in Milwaukee.
I don't know a ton about the guy. But I like the fact that Cherington isn't playing it safe with his choices. Let's get some excitement next year!
Related posts:
Where Have You Gone, Tito?
http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7170798/boston-red-sox-talk-pete-mackanin-dale-sveum-week
ReplyDeleteBoy do I remember the "send-em-Sveum" days. Drove me nutty. Don't know enough about the guy to make a decision but I like the points you make about him.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what happens, it sounds like we'll know who the guy is within the month.
Also interesting is this take on what the Red Sox do when they interview managers.