Don't think anybody saw this coming. I do question the decision to bring in a guy like Alou who you know will only be around for a few years based on his age and the age of his top players. But if Alou can be a moderating force in the clubhouse the Giants could contend again next year...
I've always liked Alou, mainly because the 'Spos management dealt him crap year after year, and he did the best job with it he could. However, I'm not entirely sure this is his style of job, to be honest. I had assumed he was best working with prospects and the like - getting them to mature faster, etc. It'll be interesting to see how he does with a team that was already there.
I'm excited about Alou as a Giants fan. I think he will bring a likability to the job like Dusty did, and even more of respectable image than Dusty was able to give. The only thing that does bother me is the age factor. I guess that and the idea of whether or not Alou "still had the fire" to win were GM Brian Sabean's main questions he was concerned about. Alou apparently convinced Sabean that those two things were non-issues, so let's hope he can at least keep them a contender like Dusty was able to do. If there's anyone in the NL who deserves to win a championship more than Dusty, it is Alou.
This was also a very good move by Sabean from a PR standpoint. Getting another likeable guy in there, and a former Giant, was really a very smart move after losing Baker. Sabean really pulled that one out of his ass. Well, not really, I guess, because Alou was one of the names being thrown about anyway, but now that fans and media are thinking about it, it seems to be the best choice Sabean could have made. Let's hope the guy's health holds up so he can do the job. (How long had he been gone from the Expos?)
DMC
(edited by DMC on 15.11.02 1646) "RAW kicked all kinds of ass last night. No coffins or corpses and hardly any mentioon of necrophilia!" -LeechOfTheNight with a classic line
Here (worldbaseballclassic.com) are the rosters. Most of the countries only have provisional rosters because the 30 man rosters are not due until March 2nd. A few (USA and Canada) have been announced, but not too many.