Reaction: Hundley, Pujols & Niebla Padres manager finalists

Reaction: Hundley, Pujols & Niebla Padres manager finalists

All right, we might be getting closer to a Padres’s manager. It seems like they are getting pretty close. They’ve got finalists. We don’t know if it’s just three finalists or if it’s four finalists, but Kevin AC did report in the San Diego Union Trabune today. The Padres’s have narrowed their managerial search to no more than four finalists and expect to make a decision on who will replace Mike Schult by the end of the week. Pitching coach Rummana, former Padres’s catcher, and current Rangers adviser Nick Hunley, and future Hall of Famer Albert Puhol are finalists for the position according to Kevin sources. Not certain if they’re the only remaining candidates. The Potteries have not commented. Obviously, Kevin has reached out tried to reach out to Ruben uh Tindley. You’re not going to get comments there. Obviously already known that Pool Holes met with poverties officials Tuesday in San Diego. That news was put out, I think yesterday. And then earlier this morning was the second update from Kevin putting in Nick Hunley. And I think I’ve mentioned Nick Hunley. I know I mentioned AJ Ellis. I would have been Yeah, I’m pretty sure I mentioned Hunley. Like at least talked to Nick Hunley. Former Padre catcher. He’s been in working with the Rangers. I think Hunley lives in San Diego. I think Darren Smith on section 1904 was talking about that. So to me, yeah, you you interview the guy like it doesn’t hurt and I’m not surprised to see Nick Hunley be thought of to be to be thought of in this way by the Padres’s when you sit down and talk to him. Uh Bob Nightingale reported that the interview with Albert Puhol which was in person in San Diego um I think yesterday because Pools was supposed to be on MLB Network’s pregame coverage yesterday. He wasn’t. He was there today for the World Series. Wasn’t yesterday. Nightingale said the the interview was nine and a half hours in San Diego which maybe that’s exaggerating a little bit. I wouldn’t be surprised though like AJ Prowler likes talking baseball and you have an opportunity to talk to Albert Puhol and you can talk to him for however long you want because he wants the job so he’s going to stick around and talk to you about whatever you want to talk about then like what an opportunity that is. Um and maybe it’s not just about managing but maybe they wanted to see if he’d be interested in coaching at all, you know, under maybe a more experienced manager. Um, but with these guys though, these guys aren’t super experienced. Ruben, obviously he’s there in the building, but in terms of like MLB experience, right, managing experience. Um, so we’ll see what happens there. But before giving you my thoughts on these three guys and how I would rank these guys, who I want as Padres’s manager, them bringing in Nick Hunley, NAB obviously in the building, Puh Holes, I think these are three solid guys. Um Puh Holse, that’s the guy that’s getting a lot of buzz because it’s our Puhol the name. I think there’s a lot of Padres’s fans that are like, “Yeah, keep Ruben as the pitching coach. Have our Puh Hol be the manager.” And that sounds good, right? It does sound good. Um, but there’s question marks with that that would come along with that. Let’s first hit on the Pooh Holes thing. How successful would he be as a manager? We don’t know. game planning, execution, pitching changes, lineup changes, pinch hitters, pinch running situations, talking to the media twice a day, every day. Uh talking to the media sometimes twice a day during spring training, included winter meetings, like there’s a lot you got to do in that manager chair. Is he ready to do that? Does he want to do that? It’s one thing to be on Mo Network every once in a while cuz he’s not there. He’s not on Mo Network every day. It’s another thing to be talking to the media twice a day and them asking you the same questions that you’re probably annoyed about every day. Does he want to do that? Um, managing the Padres’s though would have its perks obviously and I’m not questioning Albert Poolh’s baseball knowledge, but I do look at former great players who have put themselves in there as coaches. is now not as managers, but Mark Magguire, what happened there with the hit as hitting coach of the Padres’s? Um, you look at Barry Bonds with the Marlins, how’d that work out? You know, like these really talented guys sometimes. Now, I don’t totally know the story, the background with Mark Magcguire, like did people actually like Mark Magguire? He was on, I think, Andy Green staff, so it wasn’t a great team anyway. So, how fair is that to judge Mark Magguire on that? Um, but those insanely talented players, sometimes they’re just insanely talented. So, they can’t do as well as maybe some other hitting coaches in helping the last guy on the roster get out of a funk or help a guy that’s slumping because those guys, they had the talent to get out of a slump or they didn’t slump for very long. the game has changed from when these guys used to play. Um, I’m more referencing like Bonds, McGuire, Pools recently played. Um, so I’m not I’m not questioning the baseball knowledge of someone like Albert Pools. I’m questioning he and I’m not saying he never struggled, but like those insanely talented guys. I do question because there’s not a lot of best players ever, best hitters in the history of the game go on and be great managers. You look at look around the game, the managers in baseball, Dave Roberts, is that a Hall of Fame player? No. Alex Core, is that a Hall of Fame player? No. Aaron Boon, is that a Hall of Fame player? No. Steven Vote, is that a Hall of Fame player? No. But they experienced a lot of different things because they did play their roles in those clubouses and they saw how stars went about things and what it is what it’s like to be one of the smaller guys and fight for a job. What’s it like during spring training to fight, you know, and that can be valuable. So, when we talk about Nick Hunley, I’m high on like if the Padres’s hired Nick Hunley as Padres’s manager, I’d be stoked. I know that not all Padres’s fans would be stoked. They’d probably think about Nick Hunley’s Padres’s career, which I don’t think you really should be when it comes to him managing the team. I think what you should be thinking about is this guy is a former Padre who I think lives in the area or at least recently did and he’s someone that’s been in that clubhouse, played at PCO Park night in night out and so he knows about this fan base. Sure, it was a different looking team, different colors, all that when he played. He played from 2008 to 2014 with the pods. I get it. It was different. But it was still in that ballpark. It was still in that clubhouse. And so he has that connection with clubhouse guys, with the fans, with probably some in the front office. Like there is that connection there that I wouldn’t mind having as the next manager of the team. Someone that played for the Padres’s and not in 1990. Played for him in the 2000s, like in the 2010s. Like I wouldn’t mind that. And the fact that he’s a catcher is really intriguing to me. And it it’s one of those things that makes me want to put Nick Hunley over Albert Puhols. NB I I don’t know. But personally, I’d rather have Nick Hunley as the manager over Albert Ples right now. Uh, I I just think I’m not saying there’s no question marks with Nick Hunley, but you look around the game and the history, former catchers do a good job managing. Bruce Bochi is one that immediately comes to mind. Steven Vote over there with the Guardians comes to mind. Bob Melvin used to catch. I know that I’m not the biggest Bob Melvin fan, but he has won a good amount of ball games. I’m sure there’s other catchers that should be coming immediately to mind that I’m not thinking about right now. But catchers, they see everything. They game plan for the opponents, so they know about that. They’re talking with pitching coaches. They’re probably talking with the bullpen coach. They have to know a full pitching staff. So, they are really good communicators and they have to be locked in all the time behind the plate and even when they’re in the dugout, they got to be locked in on that during their playing career. And Nick Hunley did this for 12 big league seasons. And I don’t care about did he hit 73 home runs. That’s not what I care about. You don’t need to hit 7003 home runs to go be a good manager. What I feel like you need is to be a good communicator, to be able to relate to everybody on the roster. And personally, as a Padres’s fan who’s born and raised in San Diego, to have someone that played that long for the Padres’s, that means something to me. And I I would love to have Nick Unley be the manager. I’d be stoked. I I think he has the knowledge. Like him being in the Texas Rangers front office as a what was the role? special adviser, I think. Yeah, Rangers adviser right now. And he’s been doing that, I think, for multiple years under Chris Young. So, he’s around. I think he was with the Rangers when Boch was still Yeah, he had to have been. He was with the Rangers when Boch was there. So, you don’t think he didn’t have conversations with Boch about managing? I’m sure he did about, you know, certain situations and what they do. Skip Schumacher was with the Rangers for a little bit before they named a manager, I think. So, Hunley maybe talk with Skip about certain things about managing. So, I think hopefully Padres’s fans, the more you think about this, the more you’re like, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having Nick Hunley be the manager.” Now, when you have Ruben Dabla sitting right there, I totally understand why you’re like, “No, you go hire Ruben.” But for me, when if it comes down to Hunley or Pooh Holo, I’m picking Nick Hunley because I I’m not going to get swayed by the big name. I want the guy that’s going to be the best manager. And I’m willing to bet more on Nick Hunley to be the a better manager than Albert Pools. And maybe that’s insane, but that’s how I see it. Um, then when it comes to Ruben Diablo, this is where it gets tricky because is this a situation where Hunley wouldn’t take a bench coach spot? Cuz if you’re trying to like I’m I was thinking today if I’m the Rockies, why would I not go hire Ruben Dabble to be my manager? What? I know they have to get like a president baseball officer, general manager first, I think. But what do you have to lose if you’re the Rockies, right? Go take Reuben from the Padres’s if you’re the Rockies. You tried Bud Black, the veteran manager. Ruben, I think he can do a good job managing. Now the Padres’s the tough thing there is like if you have Ruben Da as a finalist per manager and you decide to go with Puh Holse or you decide to go with Nick Hunley or maybe there’s a fourth finalist that we don’t know about. Espazito did interview. Don’t know if he’s a finalist. Maybe not. I don’t know. I wonder what that fourth name is. that there is a fourth finalist. But if you go hire someone not named Ruben Della to be the manager, what does that say to Ruben? That we don’t believe in you to be the manager? That you’re not going to be the manager of the Padres’s, so probably going to need to go somewhere else to be the manager? Maybe he’s like, cuz I know that there’s people like this where they know themselves. they can evaluate evaluate themselves, look at themselves in the mirror and be honest with themselves. Some people probably couldn’t be and they’re like, “Yeah, I’m ready to be a manager right now because I was a finalist, so I’m going to leave because this team didn’t hire me to be the manager.” Some can look at themselves in the mirror and be like, “Maybe it’s because I’m not ready yet. Maybe if I stay here on this contending team in a city that I love and still be the pitching coach. What if we go win? Then I can go be the manager somewhere. I’m regarded as one of the best, if not the best pitching coach in the game. All my players love me. Maybe this is a sign that I’m just not ready yet. and maybe I give it another year and then you can go manage, you know, because you you do want to be careful with where that first managing spot is because if you’re with, you know, the Rockies and you’re not given the the roster to make yourself look like a good manager, then maybe that’s the only shot that you get. So, Ruben maybe needs to be careful with what he decides to do. But Rubin could also look at it this way and be like, “For all I’ve done for this organization, I’ve been in the dugout with Mike Schult right there helping him game plan and helping him manage this team to back-to-back 90 plus win seasons. And you’re not going to hire me to be the manager when all the players love me? I haven’t, as a fan here, I haven’t heard any negative thing about Ruben Diablo and you’re going to go hire someone from outside the organization who hasn’t been in there every day. over me. And I’m supposed to sit here and just take that and think that you totally respect me and totally value me and I’m supposed to listen to you tell me that yeah, you’ll be a great manager one day. We just really value as a pitching coach and we want the best coaching staff, you know, in in totality. Cuz that’s probably what the Padres’s would pitch to him is we really value you. we value this person as well and you’re already in the organization and we want the best coaching staff as a whole. Maybe they’d give Ruben associate manager and pitching coach, you know, something like that. But that’s probably how they pitch it. And Ruben could look at and be like, you really want me to you really think you’re going to just pitch that to me and I’m going to believe that? No, that’s BS. you had a chance to hire me as manager after all I’ve done and you didn’t. All right, I’ll just go manage the Rockies or go be the pigeon coach somewhere else and then go manage that team eventually. Um, I don’t know cuz if if Reuben wants to take it that way, I would hope that he doesn’t, but he’s well within his right too because of how well regarded he is, I think, around baseball and in that organization. For him to take it and be like, “No, so you guys don’t fully, you don’t believe in me. You believe in this guy who hasn’t been in the building. You believe in this guy over me to be the manager of this team? I’m not going to be your How about this? I’m not staying as your pitching coach. I’m gone. See you. I think there would be organizations lining up to hire Ruben Diablo. He would not be out of a job for very long. Let’s just say that he would be getting calls later that day once that news came out. I guarantee you. So there’s a there’s probably a little bit of leverage there for Ruben. And maybe what happens is they hire Nick Conley or they hire Albert Puhol and Ruben Nebla gets a pay raise and maybe he gets associate manager and pitching coach, you know, something like that where like you still hire a bench coach, but you know, like Ruben’s second in line, not the bench coach, if that makes sense. to maybe make him feel better about it. I don’t know. It’s a weird spot that the Padres’s are in because I’m sure they value what Poles could bring or they value what Nick Hunley can bring, but those guys are outside the org and Reuben has been working his tail off inside the org, inside that clubhouse and knows spring training, the travel, the players well, Prowler well, the front office like he collaborates with a lot of people in that organization. His daughter works for the Padres. Like he loves it here. So for him to be one of the finalists and then boom, nope, you’re not the manager. We don’t believe in you as as much as this other person. That would really sting. And I can’t sit here and say I’d fault Reuben for thinking like, “All right, that’s just a sign that this isn’t going to be the place where I’m going to manage then.” And then he goes somewhere else. But you have our poohole sitting there for nine and a half hours there and he will he wants to manage his team. Like if you hire him, if you offer it, he’s taking it. Nick Hunley, like that’s a great baseball mind that you could have back in your organization as the manager. I have no doubt he could speak to the media well. Like not worried about that. In terms of respect, yeah, of course they’d respect Nick Hunley. They’d respect any of these three guys, Puhol, Nebla, or Hunley. You don’t have to worry about them respect. This is not a Tinkler thing or Andy Green where you got to where those players are going to have to be like, who’s this guy? I’ve never heard of this guy. Who’s this guy? Who’s Jace Tingler? Tingler? That’s his name. Andy Green. No, you’re not not going to have to worry about that. So, it’s it’s it’s a good problem to have, but also it it could get a little dicey maybe. So, I’m very fascinated to see how this goes. Um, I did say I would give you an order of these three because we don’t know about a fourth. Brian Espazito, by the way, like I wouldn’t have been like, “Oh, terrible hire.” So, maybe he’s still in the running. I don’t think he is, but we’ll see. Of these three, if I had to rank these, Puh Holtz is third. I’m really high on Nick Hunley. I want to put man, I’d go Ruben one. I’d go Hunley close second and then I’d go Albert third. Ruben, I think he could take he could totally take over and do it, but I’m not saying he wouldn’t help the pitchers, but his main focus wouldn’t be able to be just on the pitching staff. as the pigeon coat. So, you would be losing that. But, but like if you don’t hire Reuben, like I’ve been talking about here in this video, if you don’t hire Reuben, then he could leave and that could just be that. And then you lose him as pitching coach and just in your organization. Do you want that? Like, if I’m the Rockies, I’m hiring Ruben Diablo. I’m going to him and offering him the managing job because what do you have to lose? you know, and you can take him away from the Padres’s and you may end up having a really good manager because Ruben could end up being a really good manager, but so could Nick Hunley. Um, yeah, Hunley is very a very close second for me. And I’m going Ruben because like I believe in him as well and I love Reuben and seems like a great human being, you know, from I think his family from the area. daughter I think goes to San Diego State, works for the Padres’s. Like that’s great. Loved by the Padres’s organization. I I haven’t heard anything negative about Ruben Diablo. So he talk about buyin from players. He already he’s not going to be walking into a situation that’s new. He’s already going to know about the situation because he’s been in there. He’s in that clubhouse every day. He’s walking those halls every day. He has spoken to the media, not press conferences every day, twice a day, but like the Padres’s have now allowed him to speak to the media, which he did this year, explaining some things, talking to Kevin AC, talking to Dennis Lynn, u talking to these reporters about certain things after games even. I think Kevin has went up to Ruben and ask questions about stuff. So, he can do that. It’s not like he’s not experienced at all with that as well. Um, so and again like for anyone that be like, “Well, Ruben’s never managed in the big leagues either.” That would be one thing to say if like he was going up against Scott Service and Bruce Bochi or something, but and Scott Service may be a finalist, but of the three, like they don’t like all of them haven’t managed in the big leagues. Ruben’s the closest and he’s He was helping Mike Schil make decisions every single day that contributed to a 90 plus win season. And that pitching staff definitely the bullpen strong suit of the team. So yes, I would have full confidence in Ruben Da. I’d have confidence in Nick Hunley. I don’t know how much confidence I’d have in Albert Cruz, but it would sure be interesting and it would be good for a lot of people in this town in terms of content, that’s for sure. and Padres’s fans like that would be very interesting and I think attractive to Padres’s fans because it’s Albert Pals you know the name but managing I’m not getting stuck on the name of Albert Pals I’d rather have NBA I’d rather have Hungry but maybe that’s just me I’m sure there’s people that disagree um just some background on these three guys essentially has remade the Padres’s pitching program, Kevin Acright, since taking over as pitching coach in October 2021. He pitched in the minor leagues for the Expos and Dodgers, coached in the Guardians from 2001 to 2020, almost two decades of coaching experience there, then came over to the Padres’s. Hunley played in the majors for 12 seasons, six and a half of them with the Padres’s. He spent time working for Major League Baseball after his retirement in 2019. Has been a special assistant in the Rangers baseball ops department since 2022. Hunley lives in San Diego. Okay, he lives in San Diego. So when we talk about Oh, my family. I don’t live there. Nope. Lives here. So that’s great. What would be awesome is if like Ruben would be the manager and Nick Hunley would come on and be the associate manager or the bench coach. I think that would be pretty cool. You keep Ruben and you get to bring in Nick Hunley. Um, but Hunley’s got to be willing to do that and be like, “All right, I’m not the manager, but I get to be back with the Padres’s and really help the manager out and then manage games that Ruben gets ejected.” Uh, Poles 73 home runs, not 74. Kevin, fourth most in major league history, has never coached or managed in the minors or major leagues. Managerial experience is limited to leading uh don’t know how to really say this, but Leonz de Escojito, white person trying to say that to the Dominican Winter League and Caribbean Series titles in 2025. And then I think he was going to be managing the DR in the WBC coming up this next year. So, there’s some background there. I am on the Nick Hunley train. I’m on the Ruben Ya train. I I’m not as um on board, you know, yelling choo choo on the Albert Puhol’s train, if that makes sense. But give me your thoughts in the comments. Before ending this, shout out to the great partners of the show, Gagler and Bros. Famous Cheese Stakess and Garlic Fries. Their main location is on Friers Road. Check them out. All new details, link in the description, menu, address, phone number, all that good stuff. Great cheese steak, cheese steak fries, garlic fries. I missed that smell at Petco. Um, breaking tea, they’ve got Padres’s and Aztecs shirts and sweatshirts. Click the link in the description there. And SeatGeek code talking friars, $20 off your first order when you sign up with your email. Not just Padres’s, but other events, concerts. So, just trying to help you out there. San Diego State football is underway. Obviously, Wave will be at Kansas City. Could host a playoff game. If they win this weekend, SDFC is at Portland, but if they lose, they’ll be back home next weekend for a winner take all game three uh against the Timbers there. Um Saturday at 6:30 is SDFC’s that that second in the best of three in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Um, San Jose State basketball is going to be starting up pretty soon. So, there’s some stuff going on here in the city. Uh, but yeah, thank you so much for the time everyone. Have a great night, great day, whenever you’re listening or watching to this. We’ll see. Will we have a Padres’s manager on Friday, Saturday? Kevin Sand Potter expect to make a decision on who will replace Mike Schult by the end of the week. They could always postpone it. Maybe they want to talk to Don Mattingley. Maybe they want to talk to someone on the Dodger staff. I don’t know. But I think they’ve got at least a couple good options here. And Pooh Holst would be an interesting option for sure. [Music]

How would you rank the three publicized Padres manager finalists?

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