Baseball Notebook | Yanks could hire manager this week
NEW YORK - Tony Pena thinks he can manage the New York Yankees to a championship next season.
So much for a grace period.
“With the talent that we have, I think we can do it with this team next year,” Pena said. “There’s no question in my mind that we have the capability and we have the talent to go and do the job.”
After spending two seasons as New York’s first-base coach, Pena interviewed Wednesday to replace departed manager Joe Torre. Team officials spoke with Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi on Monday and bench coach Don Mattingly on Tuesday.
New York was going to consider five or six candidates but Hank Steinbrenner, son of owner George Steinbrenner, said Wednesday the team wasn’t planning any more interviews.
“We’re very impressed with all three candidates,” he said. “I told you it would be a tough decision. Tony, I would describe him as a motivator. A high-energy motivator. That’s the way he came across.”
The Yankees’ baseball operations executives will meet, probably today, and come up with a recommendation to the team’s top officials. That recommendation is likely to carry a lot of weight.
“I don’t see any reason not to go with their decision,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “It’s been an in-depth process. You’ve got to respect the opinion of your experts.”
General manager Brian Cashman declined comment through a team spokesman. Girardi, speaking at a charity dinner, refused to answer any questions about the search.
Teams aren’t allowed to make major announcements during the World Series but if New York wants to make an announcement Friday, commissioner Bud Selig probably would give his permission.
Hank Steinbrenner said the team hadn’t made any contact with Major League Baseball about making an announcement before the end of the Series.
Bonds stung by departure
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds is just a tad bit bitter about his departure from the San Francisco Giants.
The 43-year-old home-run king heard a long list of his accomplishments read during a special speaking forum Wednesday night hosted by the Commonwealth Club, then was asked by KGO Radio host Ray Taliaferro if he’d really done all those feats.
“I did, and then I got fired,” Bonds told a group of about 400 people in the audience. “Shame on me, huh?”
Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron’s home-run record with No. 756 on Aug. 7, was told last month by Giants owner Peter Magowan that he would not be brought back for a 16th season in San Francisco.