EVERETT – Having returned to managing after a five-year hiatus, the Everett AquaSox’s Dave Myers knows there will be at least one change from how things happened under his predacessor, Pedro Grifol.
“Yeah, I don’t plan on getting thrown out of six games,” Myers said wryly, referring to Grifol’s penchant for ejections last season. “I’m probably going to stay in most of the games and finish out all nine innings.”
But while the manager’s temperament may be a little different this season – Myers’ laidback approach versus Grifol’s fiery intensity – it doesn’t change the fact that the AquaSox were left in capable hands, largely by chance.
After Grifol, who managed the AquaSox the past three seasons, was promoted to the Seattle Mariners’ Minor League Coordinator of Instruction, he was scheduled to be replaced by Jim Horner. However, Horner was rerouted to Seattle’s Midwest League team in Wisconsin when the scheduled Wisconsin manager, Scott Steinmann, had to withdraw during spring training for personal reasons.
That left Everett with a large hole to fill and little time to fill it.
Enter Myers, for whom the timing proved perfect.
“I’m kind of excited about it,” Myers said. “I had five years off from managing and I started to miss it a little last year. I enjoyed the break, I enjoyed what I was doing, but I’m excited to get back in managing.”
Myers has plenty of managing experience. He spent 12 years as a minor league manager in the Mariners organization, including stints in the Northwest League with Bellingham, where he won the league title in 1992, and at Class AAA Tacoma from 1996-2000. He then served as a member of the Mariners coaching staff from 2001-04.
Myers spent last season as Everett’s bench coach, a role he was set to reprise this season. However, when Horner was unexpectedly hijacked, Myers was asked to take over the head position in Everett. He didn’t need to think long about the offer.
“It wasn’t that big a deal for me,” Myers said, dismissing the idea of any shock from the situation. “I managed for 12 years and have a pretty good idea of what I want to do and how I want to do it. If they’d asked me to go manage someplace else, that would have been a different story. But since I was coming here anyway and I didn’t have to change any of my plans for the year, it worked out pretty good for everybody involved.”
Possible homecoming: There’s a good possibility that Lynnwood native Chris Minaker will be coming home.
Minaker, a graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School and the Seattle Mariners’ 10th-round pick in the June amateur draft, is a strong candidate to end up in Everett if and when he signs with the Mariners.
Minaker, a former Herald All-Area Baseball Player of the Year, was Stanford’s top offensive player as a senior this spring. The shortstop led all Cardinal regulars in batting average (.364), runs (47), home runs (11) and RBI (68).
Minaker has yet to sign with the Mariners, largely because Stanford’s season didn’t end until Sunday, when the Cardinal was eliminated from the NCAA Super Regionals.
Wither Morrow: The AquaSox are also hopeful that Mariners first-round pick Brandon Morrow might end up in Everett for at least a few days.
Morrow, the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from the University of California who was taken fifth overall, is believed to be headed to a higher level, with Inland Empire of the high Class-A California League the most-mentioned destination.
However, it’s possible Morrow will be sent initially to Everett for a short stint so that Mariner management can get a first-hand look.
The Mariners did that with their first pick last year as catcher Jeff Clement, taken third overall, played four games in Everett before moving on to Wisconsin of the Class-A Midwest League.
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