Little Joey Cora could capitalize on Mariners' meager winning history

November 11, 10:00 AMSeattle People ExaminerLaura Vecsey

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Who are the Mariners? What is their tradition? What does the team need to do, post-implosion and now in a major rebuilding mode, to immediately signal to the world that the organization is on the fast-track back to the land of the living, and credible?

I think they have to find a field manager who says: I AM THE MARINERS. I AM ASSERTING A MARINER IDENTITY AND WILL TO WIN that hooks into something cosmically big. Like, for instance, 1995.

By the way: Where IS Tino Martinez?

That's why it has long been my feeling that the Mariners need to make one of their own former players a manager.

That said, since the M's are in the process of hiring their 4th manager in 6 years, what does this opportunity represent?

Besides the obvious fact that they have to find someone good, this time, the Mariners' manager hire has to give the team a center, a heart, a driving force that does not depend on a benign or cancerous clubhouse, because we all know it's going to take several years for this team to rebuild. Could be three. Could be five. But it's going to be a big process.

It's been my contention for several years that the organization has done a poor job of creating some kind of Mariner-centric core identity for the team. I go back to the days when former M's catcher Dan Wilson declined the Mariners overtures to be groomed for the field manager's job, which was too bad, because Wilson - -with his connection to the 1995 & other winning Mariners teams -- would have brought a home-town winning ID to the team.

This is still one of baseball's newest franchises. The Cubs -- where Lou Piniella fell flat trying to kill the goat curse this October -- have a World Series' futility record three times the age of the Mariners. The M's still own the dubious distinction of being one of three teams who have never gone to a World Series. There is not a deep well to draw from, when you're talking about former players or personnel who could come in and assert "The Mariners' Way."

Granted, the past is not always the way to the future. In fact, many times it is not. However, I've always been partial to the idea of Luis Sojo or Joey Cora coming in and giving this team a whirl. They were both part of the winning season here. They are both smart and knowledgable and now have both had excellent experience coaching with contending clubs.

Some of the baseball writers, including our Seattle Sports Examiner Bob Sherwin, continue to assert that Cora has communication issues. I don't know if that means he is not good with the media, or that he in fact is too suspicious in general. However, there have been plenty of super-paranoid managers who've yoked their teams to their nutty psychces and taken them into the post-season. When is poor media relations or paranoia a point on which to rule out a candidate?

Cora comes to Seattle today for an interview. He's one of seven candidates, as outlined by my friend Bob Sherwin. For my money, I would make Cora the front runner, because I think there's a need to establish a tradition here in addition to finding a way forward:

New M's general manager Jack Zduriencik had a small phone briefing this afternoon with a handful of reporters. He outlined his search and provided his list of seven candidates. They are:

• Joey Cora, the White Sox third base coach
• Chip Hale, the Diamondbacks third base coach
• DeMarlo Hale, the Red Sox third base coach
• Brad Mills, the Red Sox bench coach
• Jose Oquendo, the Cardinals third base coach
• Randy Ready, manager of San Diego's AAA affiliate, Portland
• Don Wakamatsu, the A's bench coach.