Tim Wallach could be Red Sox managerial candidate

I think that whole Theo Epstein to the Cubs melodrama is over, but you know the way this daily goofiness has unfolded, it’s hard to be certain. I’m pretty sure it’s settled, but it’s only Monday.

Believe Golden Boy Theo is set to be officially introduced as the Cubs' new president on Tuesday. About the same time, Boston is expected to announce Ben Cherington as their new GM.

And Cherington’s first order of business is only to select a new manager.

Tim Wallach anyone?

The Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber reported that Cherington is not expected to place much significance on previous major-league managerial experience and that "Cherington figures to interview the likes of Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach, Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum, Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin and Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez."

I have no doubt Wallach is going to be a great manager one day for some team. After the way the Red Sox melted down the stretch under Terry Francona, they’re ripe for someone to come in and get their talented team in line.

Dodgers coaching staff tranquillity: Whole group returns for 2012

Ah, harmony, ain’t it grand? Not a frequent visitor to the Dodgers the last two seasons, but they have found a comfortable accord in one area.

The Dodgers announced Friday that their entire coaching staff would return next season, which, though expected, is still noteworthy for the speed in which it was accomplished.

Of course, the staff could still change if one of the coaches –- Tim Wallach? –- gets an offer to manage over the winter, but for now at least one significant area is all settled. And think how happy agent Dave Stewart must be.

It was Stewart who complained about the way the coaches Larry Bowa and Bob Schaefer were handling his numero uno client, Matt Kemp, last season. Guess which two coaches didn’t return in 2011?

Kemp, of course, found his groove this year with a breakout season, so why would there be any rocking of the boat now? Plus, they all seem to work well together with Manager Don Mattingly and are liked and respected by the players. Win-win.

So the seven solid coaches the Dodgers ended the season with are now all scheduled to return, though that technically still leaves them down one spot from the last few years. After hitting coach Jeff Pentland was fired in July, another coach was never added.

The seven samurai are:

Dave Hansen, originally hired as a hitting instructor to assist Pentland, was promoted to hitting coach on July 20, the team hitting .261 the rest of the way; Trey Hillman is back for his second year as bench coach; Rick Honeycutt is back for a seventh season as pitching coach after the staff composed a 3.54 ERA; Ken Howell returns for his fifth year as the bullpen coach; Davey Lopes, credited for igniting the team’s running attack, returns for his second year as first base coach; Wallach is back for a second stint as the third base coach; and Manny Mota a record 33rd year as a coach.

MORE:

Strong finish sparks hope for Dodgers in 2012

Dodgers' Matt Kemp has one final blast in 7-5 victory

T.J. Simers: Don Mattingly hopes he's earned his stripes as a manager

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Don Mattingly. Credit: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press.

The return of Andre Ethier power hitter in Dodgers' 8-5 victory

And on a gorgeous Monday evening, there was an Andre Ethier sighting.

That would be two-time All-Star Andre Ethier, not the right-fielder who had been struggling since the break.

Ethier, who was batting .152 (3 for 35) without one RBI since the All-Star break, crushed a two-run homer in the third inning to break a 1-1 tie.

With rookie Rubby De La Rosa allowing only three hits in his six innings, and with the Dodgers surviving a rough ninth inning, they went on to win 8-5 for their third consecutive victory before an announced crowd of 28,860.

De La Rosa (4-4) allowed only three hits, all singles, in his six innings. The three hits came consecutively with two outs in the third, Dexter Fowler’s basehit scoring the Colorado run.

Tim Wallach says he has no interest in Cal State Fullerton head coach opening

There was a time when he would have been very open to the idea. But this year, at this time, Tim Wallach says he has no interest in the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, Cal State Fullerton.

"I’m not in any way, shape or form interested,’’ Wallach said. "I was four years ago but not now. I like where I’m at.’’

Where he’s at now is with the Dodgers as their third base coach. He returned to the team Tuesday, missing the previous two days after his father died.

Wallach wants to be a major-league manager, and he would step off that path were he were to leave and become a college coach.

Not that Wallach -- who was the College Player of the Year for the Titans in 1979 -- doesn’t have strong feelings for Fullerton, which has won four College World Series.

"I’d like to see them get someone with Fullerton ties,’’ he said. "I think Mark Kotsay would be interested. I know he’s still playing, but I think he would be interested.’’

Dodgers' injury carousel continues: Rod Barajas to DL, Hong-Chih Kuo activated, A.J. Ellis up and Ramon Troncoso down

One’s up, one’s down.

Is it progress when you’re no longer going backward?

The Dodgers placed catcher Rod Barajas on the 15-day disabled list prior to Sunday’s game and called up A.J. Ellis from triple-A Albuquerque.

They also activated reliever Hong-Chih Kuo from the DL and optioned Ramon Troncoso back to Albuquerque.

The Dodgers have now placed 14 different players on the disabled list this season, a total of 19 different times. Entering Sunday, they had missed a total of 449 games. And it’s only June 19.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said Barajas’ ankle injury did not appear to be as serious as originally feared, and it was hoped he could be activated at the end of his 15-day period on the DL.

Dodgers let it get away in 6-4 loss to Reds

Things seemed to be going well enough for the Dodgers.

Rookie shortstop Dee Gordon had made a couple of terrific plays. Hiroki Kuroda was keeping the Reds in check. And the Dodgers had manufactured a pair of runs to carry a 2-1 lead through five innings.

But this is the season when there is precious little the Dodgers can rely upon. And after Chris Heisey hit a solo home run to tie the score in the sixth inning, it all came undone in an ugly seventh.

By the time the inning was over Monday, the Dodgers had committed two errors, Andre Ethier threw well wide of home on a play at the plate, Joey Votto had a three-run homer and the Reds were on their way to a 6-4 victory before an announced crowd of 31,372.

The Dodgers have been a reliable defensive team all season, but after several strong  plays, Gordon simply dropped a routine Ryan Hanigan grounder to open the seventh.

And the floodgates were open.

Dodgers' web musings: How long will Dodgers go with Jonathan Broxton as their closer if he struggles again?

In a little over three weeks, Jonathan Broxton will once again report to spring training as the Dodgers’ closer.

And barring injury, when spring training draws to a close six weeks later, he will open the season as their closer.

But how long of a leash will he be on? How long are the Dodgers willing to go with him in the closer’s role if he continues to struggle, as he did mightily in the second half last season?

ESPN’s Tony Jackson poses the question, and figures Broxton will get a minimum of a month. Jackson said Broxton’s overall body of work from the last 2½ seasons warrants another opportunity in the role.

Yet no one expects Manager Don Mattingly to stick with Broxton as long as Joe Torre did, should he continue to falter. Jackson attributes Broxton’s failing as a crisis of confidence, and though Broxton never admitted it, there’s no way his confidence could have been intact.

In the first half, Broxton had a 2.11 earned-run average, 19 saves, a 1.07 WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.86.

In the second half, Broxton had a 7.13 ERA, three saves, a 2.13 WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 0.86.

That’s hard to do.

If he should again prove unreliable, the next question becomes who steps in after Broxton has exceeded his rope.

The obvious answer is Hong-Chih Kuo, who took over in the role for Broxton on Aug. 13 and finished off all nine of his ensuing save opportunities.

Kuo had a remarkable season, yet his history of elbow problems likely dictates Mattingly will also be reluctant to pitch him on consecutive days. And at this moment, he is the only left-hander in the bullpen.

The Dodgers have mentioned the possibility of using Vicente Padilla in a closing role, which if nothing else, is certainly intriguing. Then there is Kenley Jansen, who was just short of sensational in his brief stint with the Dodgers but will start only his second full season as a pitcher.

Jackson said the Dodgers could go to something of a bullpen by committee should Broxton falter, though that seldom works long term.

One indication that Broxton is serious about reclaiming the closer role will be if he shows up in Arizona having shed a few of those extra pounds.

Also on the web:

-- Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes that at the Baseball Writers Assn. of America’s baseball dinner in New York on Saturday, Torre -- honored along with retiring managers Bobby Cox and Lou Piniella -- said he was "home" once again.

-- Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness’ Mike Petriello thinks it may be dawning on Scott Podsednik about now that he messed up by turning down his half of the $2-million option to return to the Dodgers. Podsednik remains unsigned.

-- On CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler’s wish list of 10 things he hopes happens next season, No. 4 is that Frank McCourt announces in May he’s selling the Dodgers.

-- ESPN Los Angeles’ Jon Weisman is glad the Dodgers weren’t as desperate as the Angels in taking on Vernon Wells’ mega-contract.

-- Dodgers.com’s Ken Gurnick takes a look at third base coach Tim Wallach's family of baseball players. He’s had three sons drafted by the Dodgers.

-- The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser said a scout told her the Dodgers were raving about the workout third baseman Eric Chavez had for the Dodgers last week.

-- Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo said the Washington Nationals made a good push for James Loney this winter before signing Adam LaRoche.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Davey Lopes, Tim Wallach and Trey Hillman officially named to Dodgers' coaching staff [Updated]

The Dodgers officially announced their 2011 coaching staff Monday, the news value of which had long ago dissipated as it was leaked out in pieces for weeks.

Manager Don Mattingly’s first coaching staff will look largely familiar, with even the new faces being old friends.

Officially out: bench coach Bob Schaefer, third base coach Larry Bowa, first base coach Mariano Duncan and, of course, hitting coach Mattingly.

The replacements: bench coach Trey Hillman, third base coach Tim Wallach, first base coach Davey Lopes and hitting instructor Dave Hansen.

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, hitting coach Jeff Pentland (up from instructor), bullpen coach Ken Howell and coach Manny Mota all return.

Schaefer decided it was time he moved on, but Bowa and Duncan wanted to return. I’d have liked to have seen the no-nonsense Bowa back, never feeling that leading a popularity contest in the clubhouse among coaches was a requirement.

Mattingly, too, wanted Bowa, but General Manager Ned Colletti said the coaching staff would be a mutual decision between him and Mattingly, so you can see how that went down.

"We’re really happy to have this group here," Colletti said. "In my tenure here, this has a chance to be the strongest group we’ve had."

Though I don’t have any personal insight about the American League’s Hillman, Mattingly and Colletti deserve some props for putting together a strong staff. And one largely with Dodgers roots.

Mattingly gets credit for not being threatened by Wallach, the former Dodger who had managed the last two seasons at triple-A Albuquerque and was favored by many to succeed Joe Torre.

More from The Times' visit with Don Mattingly

To report on a story on Don Mattingly that ran in Tuesday's print edition of The Times, I visited the Arizona Fall League for a few days last week. Here are some tidbits I collected that didn’t make the story:

-- Several members of Mattingly’s coaching staff were at one of the games I attended -- Trey Hillman (bench coach), Tim Wallach (third-base coach), Jeff Pentland (hitting coach) and Rick Honeycutt (pitching coach). The group sat with General Manager Ned Colletti, who has been out to Arizona at least once a week during the Fall League season.

-- Shortly after the Dodgers announced Mattingly would replace Joe Torre as manager next season, Mattingly asked third-base coach Larry Bowa to be his bench coach. But Colletti wanted to go in a different direction. Mattingly wouldn’t say anything specific about what happened, but said this about Bowa: “You know what? It’s difficult. I’ll say that. I don’t know if I want to go much further than that. Bo’s knowledge, the way he sees the game is as good as I’ve seen. It’s a difficult situation.”

-- Mattingly said he doesn’t feel threatened by Wallach’s presence on his coaching staff. Wallach, who managed the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate for the last two seasons, is considered to be a top managerial prospect. “I went through that with [Joe] Girardi in New York,” Mattingly said. “It’s one of those things. It’s not uncomfortable for me. I don’t think it’s for him either.” Girardi was chosen over Mattingly to manage the Yankees in the fall of 2007.

-- The Dodgers traded Mattingly’s son, former first-round pick Preston Mattingly, at the Mattinglys’ request. The Dodgers sent Preston, a minor-league infielder, to the Cleveland Indians. “I really appreciate that they did that,” Don said. “We kind of talked about it. He wasn’t playing. He didn’t do enough to warrant playing time. He’s 22. You don’t want to wait until he’s 24. I thought it was good that they did it. For him, it’s a new start, gives him a new opportunity. He still wants to try.”

-- Of the Dodgers’ position players in the Fall League, Mattingly said outfielder Trayvon Robinson is the most advanced. I spent some time talking to Robinson and will have more on him on this blog next week.

-- As I mentioned in the story, almost no one is at these games. At the first game I attended, there was a dead bird in the stands behind home plate. The bat boy was an old man in a maroon shirt and tan shorts who wore an oversized black helmet.

-- Dylan Hernandez

We now take a break in this storm surrounding the Dodgers to present a ray of sunshine

Hungering for some good news from the Dodgers?

Morsels, be happy with the morsels.

Good news could prove tough duty this offseason, but at least something positive eked out when The Times’ Dylan Hernandez reported Tim Wallach had signed on to be on the Dodgers’ major league coaching staff next season.

It’s unclear if that means Wallach has passed on accepting a potential offer to manage another club for the coming year. Not sure how, in good conscience, you could keep any coach from accepting a big-league managing job.

But it that doesn’t happen, at least Wallach will return to the Dodgers.

This is a good move for a couple of reasons.

The first is, Wallach is simply a good baseball mind who works well with the players. He has a great presence about him. I’m convinced he will be an excellent manager.

Much of the negative reaction to signing Don Mattingly as the next manager was directed less at Mattingly than the Dodgers simply passing on Wallach.

Mattingly may prove a terrific manager, who knows? With him, there is more a sense of the unknown. He has his share of credentials, though not included is any previous managerial experience. Fair or not, the only two games he managed included a pair of gaffs. And, of course, he served as their hitting coach at a time the offense went into a second-half hibernation.

The theory was, the Dodgers should be above a first-time manager. It’s certainly a complete turnaround from their last hire, Joe Torre having managed since Doubleday took bat to ball.

Mattingly’s learning on the job may prove dolorous, or it may not. It’s the road the Dodgers are on now.

But his hiring of Wallach is a good sign. It shows he wants the best people around him and is not going to feel threatened by having someone on his staff others thought should have had his job.

That’s a confident move. For Dodgers’ fans, a crumb of good news.

-- Steve Dilbeck