Joe Torre’s exodus from the New York Yankees, a story I’m mildly happy about (because it probably won’t help the team next year), may be a boon for Yuniesky Betancourt and the Mariners. Kirby Arnold at The Olympian is reporting that Larry Bowa, the Yankees’ third base and infield coach, may take the same position for the Mariners next year. (The Seattle Times is a bit more tentative, quoting Bowa as saying “”I’m just weighing things out right now. [Seattle is] a good organization, with good people running it. I haven’t really put a deadline on it.”)
Bowa’s best known for getting fired despite holding a winning record as manager of the Phillies, and for being fiery, which is another word for easily angered. This is a bit concerning. Yes, with John McLaren’s usually bland persona, it’d be good to have an emotional coach on the team. However, Betancourt and Jose Lopez may not respond well to yelling.
After reading this New York Times profile of Bowa, though, I’m more excited. Bowa’s been working hard with Robinson Cano, and helped him become an All-Star. They even high five, which I heartily support. Of course, he also draws praise from Derek Jeter and Troy Glaus, neither of whom are sterling fielders.
The key quote from the article, for the M’s, at least, is this:

I got the impression from talking to people — not Yankee people, but scouts that I talked to — that this kid’s lazy… See, I think there’s a difference between lazy and losing concentration. I think he loses concentration. I don’t think he’s lazy. Anybody who comes out at 8:30 in the morning and takes whatever I give him, that’s not laziness.”

Obviously, Bowa’s talking about Cano, but he could be saying the same thing about Lopez or Betancourt next year. Both had mental lapses last year (Yuni before the All-Star break, Lopez after), and could use a stern coach. It’s a bit baffling that McLaren isn’t planning on hiring a Latino coach, but Bowa successfully replaced Luis Sojo as the Yankees third base coach.
If nothing else, Yankees fans aren’t happy about Bowa leaving, which can only be good for fans of other teams.