Bell made the surprising announcement Wednesday afternoon at the Metrodome, where the Royals are playing the Twins.
He will continue to manage the club for the last two months of the season and then remain with the Royals as a special assistant to general manager Dayton Moore.
Quotes here, including from Dayton Moore, courtesy of the KC Star:
"It started last year when I got sick," said Bell, who underwent surgery in September to remove a cancerous growth in his throat.
"My priorities changed real quickly. Not seeing my grandkids became important. When I grew up, my dad wasn’t there. When my kids grew up, I wasn’t there. Now my grandkids are growing up, and I haven’t seen them."
...
"It's been a hard decision," Bell said, "and I wanted to wait until things were better. They're still not as good as they're going to be, but I wanted to wait until things were progressing the way I think they should -- and then see how I felt.
"And I still feel the same way."
They're echoes of Mike Hargrove in that.
Bell's a family man who does things like visit hospitals and welcomes kids into the clubhouse. It's easy to make fun of his losing record as a player and manager, but he's been nothing but a class act for this organization. I think we all knew, however, that Bell wasn't the long-term solution as manager. Now the Royals have two full months to find a replacement and start the next phase of their winning plan, while Bell gets to move into the front office. A win-win all around.
The folks at Fire Buddy Bell haven't broken this news yet. Not that it matters, as I assume they'll be shutting down operations shortly.
Two words: Joe Girardi.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Erika Kelsey turned me onto your blog. I'm enjoy ing.
i get a bad feeling from girardi. he fights with management, disregards pitch counts (which has ruined plenty of floridas young arms) and LOVES veterans.
ReplyDeleteno thanks.
my choice is leo mazzone.
I would like...
ReplyDelete1. Joe Girardi
2. Terry Pendleton
I don't need another manager who will butt heads with the GM about who to play (ala Huber). Give me Pendleton.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on Cory's comment... from Baseball Prospectus's Will Carroll:
ReplyDelete"Speaking of Tommy John surgery, there are almost as many rumors regarding Josh Johnson as there are about Otsuka. Johnson is just back from ulnar neuritis, and is headed to visit Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. The Marlins shut down Johnson until that visit, and are talking about Johnson as if they've resigned themselves to his loss. With Anibal Sanchez already done for the season after surgery and Dontrelle Willis struggling, one source was openly cursing Joe Girardi. "It has to go back to the rain delay," he said, referencing last year's game where Johnson was put back in the game after an 80-minute rain delay. "Girardi broke two arms, maybe more, and set this franchise back five years." It's a bit much for me to place all the blame on Girardi, but the point made does hold some water. Young pitchers simply can't be treated like a fungible, easily replaceable resource, and it's not just Girardi that has done so."
Girardi strikes me as a really smart guy who might be good for the Royals, but I don't think he wants this job. He's lurking in the wings for Torre's position, which he'll probably get...