The Freshmen Meet the new bosses, not the same as the old bosses By Stephen Cannella Call it the Larry Dierker Effect. The success of the Astros' manager, who has led Houston to three division titles since vaulting from the broadcast booth to the dugout before the 1997 season, has made it safe for talking heads to dream of trading in their headsets for skippers' caps. Last week two more Fourth Estaters made the jump when the Diamondbacks and the Blue Jays tabbed their TV color men, Bob Brenly and Buck Martinez, respectively. For the first time in recorded history Rene Lacheman and Jim Lefebvre were not candidates for the openings. As every want-ad reader knows, salary is commensurate with experience.
New guys work cheap.
It's no coincidence that four teams with new managers, the Phillies, the Reds, the Blue Jays and the Pirates, ranked in the bottom half of the 2000 payroll standings. Brenly, McClendon and Tracy are in their 40s. Bowa, at 54, is the oldest of the six. The hope is that younger skippers will mesh with today's players. That means the managers will be expected to be flexible and New Agey.