Coaching staff made official

This was reported a few weeks ago, but the coaching staff has finally been made official.

For those that need a reminder, here's Bryan Hoch:

Hitting coach Kevin Long and first-base coach Tony Pena will return, while Dave Eiland has been promoted to pitching coach. Rob Thomson becomes the new bench coach, and both third-base coach Bobby Meacham and bullpen coach Mike Harkey -- both members of Girardi's 2006 Marlins' coaching staff -- have joined New York. (MLB.com)

Girardi's coaching staff

From Tyler Kepner:

Tony Peña, the other candidate interviewed last week, will remain with the Yankees as the first-base coach, and the hitting coach Kevin Long is close to signing a three-year, $1 million deal.

Three newcomers are expected to join the staff: Dave Eiland as the pitching coach, Mike Harkey as the bullpen coach, and Bobby Meacham as the third-base coach.

Rob Thomson, a special assignment coach, will inherit Mattingly’s job as the bench coach. The Yankees had offered to let Mattingly stay in that position, but he turned down the job. (The New York Times)

Larry Bowa was likely headed to Seattle, but Peter Abraham suggests he may follow Joe Torre to Los Angeles.

I really don't have any complaints about the staff. Pena, Long and Thomson have done a good job with the Yankees in their tenures. Eiland has experience working with the younger arms, so I'm happy to see him get the job. I don't know much about Meacham or Harkey, but I do know that they both worked with Girardi in Florida.

Interviews to begin today

From Newsday:

The Yankees will interview their first three managerial candidates in quick succession, beginning Monday in Tampa, Fla., with Joe Girardi and continuing with Don Mattingly Tuesday and Tony Peña on Wednesday.

Those are the only three candidates whom general manager Brian Cashman has contacted, but he expects to add candidates in the days to come. Cashman, club president Randy Levine and some member(s) of the Steinbrenner family (owner George and/or sons Hank and Hal) are expected to be a part of the interview process. (Newsday)

Peter Abraham had a good article about Pena and how he has support from team executives. He doesn't seem to get as much play as Mattingly and Girardi get.

Of these three candidates, Girardi is my first choice. The team is headed in a younger direction and Girardi won the 2006 National League Manager of the Year award with the young Florida Marlins.

I think hiring the unproven commodity in Mattingly would be the wrong decision the team could make following Joe Torre. Torre will be a tough act to follow and I don't think that would be fair to Mattingly. However, he wouldn't have become hitting coach in 2004 if he didn't have thoughts about managing some day.

The Yankees should carefully examine each of the candidates and not rush to any decisions.

Cashman's short list

From Peter Abraham:

Just spoke to Brian Cashman. He said he reached out today to three candidates to become manager: Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony Pena.

The Yankees were interested in speaking to Trey Hillman, but by the time they had a vacancy, he had agreed to terms with the Royals. "Trey is somebody I talk to at least once a week,"” Cashman said. "But the timing wasn’t right."

Cashman said the process could be culiminated swiftly. But he also warned that it could take until after the World Series. "I’ll expand the pool of candidates if that is what I need to do," he said. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

I am opposed to Mattingly being the manager next year. I would love it if they hired Girardi. I would also support Bobby Valentine. His name has been mentioned but I don't think it will happen.