Byrne's baseball search closely watched
University of Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne’s baseball search is watched closely by those who built Jerry Kindall’s Arizona program into three national championships. The us-versus-them culture of ex-UA baseball players exists, and sometimes strongly so, pitting Kindall’s players against those who have played the last 14 years under Andy Lopez. Byrne is an independent thinker, who isn’t likely to consult many ex-Wildcats other than, say, D-backs manager Chip Hale in the process. Here’s an out-of-the-box idea: Why not hire from the impressive list of professional coaches/managers produced under Kindall? Let’s say you could get former White Sox director of player personnel Alan Regier (who also coached 11 years in the Pac-10, and is familiar with compliance and academic issues) with ex-UA home run champ Wes Clements, who managed for the Houston Astros in Double-A recently, and has since worked for ESPN as an NCAA analyst. That tandem would make the other Pac-12 coaches do a double take. Unlike when Arizona State hired Indiana’s Tracy Smith a year ago, hiring pros like Clements and Regier, or anyone from the UA family, would create some dread inside the Pac-12.
