Saturday Rockpile: Walt Weiss Emerges As Manager Candidate

I would strongly prefer it if the Giants didn't win the World Series, thus writing about the World Series means that I would be writing something that I really don't like. Unless you want to hear about Coors Field parking, I'll just write a little about the manager search and let you discuss the World Series if you wish in the comments.

The manager search extends into its third week, and a new candidate has emerged out of the fog. This new candidate has extensive ties to the organization and had been mentioned as a future manager during his time here. Then again, he's currently managing a high school team. He is former Rockies shortstop Walt Weiss.

Weiss, who played for the Rockies from 1994-1997, was known as an intelligent player who "did things the right way". He would be another candidate in the mold of Jason Giambi, an insider with little to no managerial experience who would nonetheless be accepted by mainstream Rockies fans and would (likely) be able to manage players well. He also played for two of the most effective managers in recent history in Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox.

Weiss interviewed with Colorado this week and said this about the job:

"At its core, I think the job comes down to leading a group of men."

In other words, I see Weiss' candidacy as an older, less controversial (wiser?) version of Giambi who wouldn't rock the boat -- and who might have the added bonus of improving Colorado's infield defense. Then again, he doesn't have a whole lot of experience coaching and he probably wouldn't have much insight into helping the pitchers.

What do you think -- is Walt Weiss a candidate you would endorse for Rockies manager?