Minaya Is Bright Spot for Expos

Omar Minaya, the Montreal Expos’ general manager, said Friday that he had just received a call from Dodger executive Tom Lasorda complimenting him on the aggressive job he has done in a difficult situation and how it “meant a lot to me coming from a man of Tommy’s experiences and stature.”

Minaya, the former assistant general manager of the New York Mets and director of pro and international scouting for the Texas Rangers, has definitely attacked what was perceived to be a lame-duck situation in Montreal. His recent acquisitions of Bartolo Colon and Cliff Floyd, working within a $40-million budget that demands creativity, are the biggest and brightest examples as the Expos make a surprising playoff run while uncertain where they will be, or if they will be, next year.

There is a theory that a club under the direction of the commissioner’s office is simply trying to make its roster more attractive to increase the price in a possible relocation auction. Minaya said the only aim is for the Expos to go as far as they can.

In the process, even if the Expos are eventually eliminated, he has certainly enhanced his own resume and possibly accelerated minority hiring in decision-making positions.

In a year in which Minaya became the first Latino general manager, Tony Pena and Luis Pujols became the first managers from the Dominican Republic to manage against each other in the same game.

“I think the commissioner is to be commended for making minority hiring an issue and taking what some people thought was a real chance in giving me this position,” Minaya said.

“Hopefully, I’ve helped open the door a little more. Hopefully, guys like Dave Stewart, Dave Wilder and Doc Rodgers will get the opportunity I did.”

Stewart is the Milwaukee pitching coach and Toronto’s former assistant GM who has expressed frustration at his inability to land a general manager’s post. Wilder is Milwaukee’s assistant GM, the same position Rodgers holds in Cincinnati. All are African American.

Of Thursday’s trade for Floyd, Minaya said: “We have 71 games left and [Manager Frank Robinson] felt we needed another hitter. [Making the playoffs is] a longshot, but we’re going to compete the best we can, and if you’re going to be in charge you can’t be afraid to pull the trigger. Historically, my background is in scouting and development, but I’ve always been aggressive, and that will always carry over whether I’m a general manager or working at McDonald’s.

“I mean, my focus is on the Expos, I’m not worried about where I’ll be next year, but if people say, ‘Hey, this guy has the ability to do this,’ I think that’s a realistic part of it, too.”

Manuel’s Labor

The rebuilding Cleveland Indians staggered into the All-Star break with General Manager Mark Shapiro saying he was “very happy” with his manager, Charlie Manuel, and that “under very tough circumstances he’s retained his positivity and energy. I think he’s done a good job.”

The Indians hadn’t played their first game of the second half when Manuel was fired and replaced by coach Joel Skinner on an “interim” basis--a term which probably could be applied to all 30 big league managers considering the rate they are being fired.

Manuel was the eighth to be dismissed since the start of spring training, and it’s possible that another Manuel--Jerry of the Chicago White Sox--could be next, because he recently got a vote of confidence from General Manager Kenny Williams.

Then again, maybe Jerry Narron in Texas or Hal McRae in Tampa Bay will be next.

Of the eight managers who have been brought on since the start of spring training, only Pena in Kansas City and Grady Little in Boston can be assured of retaining their job into next season, although it appears Clint Hurdle will be re-signed by the Colorado Rockies.

For the rest--Jerry Royster in Milwaukee, Pujols in Detroit, Carlos Tosca in Toronto, Bruce Kimm with the Chicago Cubs and Skinner--there is no certainty, and the fact that Kimm, who is replacing Don Baylor, played with the Cubs, almost makes the possibility of his retention ever more unlikely. He is the 22nd former Cub to manage a team that last won a World Series in 1908, when former Cub first baseman Frank Chance reached a managerial pinnacle no other Cub alumnus has been able to match.

In Cleveland, despite Shapiro’s pre-break compliments, the homespun Manuel mulled the club’s refusal to commit to his status beyond the second half and decided to force the general manager’s hand.

“I wanted them to put their stamp on me after the club traded Bartolo Colon and changed directions,” Manuel said.

Seeking that stamp in a Thursday meeting with Shapiro, Manuel was fired instead, rejecting a four-year offer to remain in the organization as an instructor and leaving after having won 181 games in his first two years at the Cleveland helm, including a division title last year.

No regrets.

“Rebuilding is going to take two, three or four years,” Manuel said. “I felt I had to know if I was going to be included in those plans. I felt my players, coaches and the team’s employees needed to know who the manager was going to be. I forced them to make a decision, but they forced me to seek a decision.”

Said Shapiro: “We’re in an awkward transitional period, having been a club that thought it would contend [and] moving toward a club that will still be rebuilding next year. In that environment and in those circumstances, we couldn’t make a commitment to Charlie.”

Debatable

In the endless discussion over the All-Star game, Peter Magowan, the San Francisco Giants’ managing general partner, said the 7-7 tie was a travesty and that the game needed to take a page from the past, where both leagues play to win “rather than a Little League game where everyone has to get in to please the parents.”

Can we please talk about strikes and steroids for a change?