Power Ranking Joe Girardi and All the Mangers of Contending MLB Teams

As we get closer to September, there are 13 MLB contenders primed to make a run at the playoffs, and all of them have good managers. But who is the best?

Oddly enough, I was ready to put Tony LaRussa as No. 1, but then I forgot the St. Louis Cardinals were a minor (sarcasm) eight-and-a-half-games out of first place. I don't necessarily consider them contenders at this point.

So, back to square one. Is Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees the best? He has certainly had success, but having a payroll as big as the Yankees' is certainly nice.

What about someone like Jim Leyland or Bruce Bochy, who have the most experience of anyone on this list?

One thing is sure, all of these managers, at the moment, seem up to the task of leading their team to the World Series.

Here's a ranking of the ones I would most want to have right now. 

13) Manny Acta, Cleveland Indians

Manny Acta has had the unfortunate experience of managing the Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians.

In three years with the Nationals, he compiled an ugly .385 winning percentage, and in his first season with the Tribe, they went 69-93. 

He seems to finally have figured it out this year, though, as he has the Indians, a team expected to finish at the bottom of the AL Central, just four and a half games behind the Detroit Tigers. 

Acta has done what he can with minimal talent, and if he can continue to get production like this out of his players in the future, he will rise up this list. 

But for now, the jury is still out on Acta.

12) Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Kirk Gibson is probably best known for his 1988 World Series home run with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but last year, he decided to take his talents to managing the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The D-Backs were mediocre under Gibson to end 2010, but he has lit a fire under the young kids in 2011, leading them to a 69-54 record and a first-place standing. 

The jury is obviously still out on Gibson as a head coach, but he has taken a very young group of Diamondback players and turned them into winners. He's clearly doing something right. 

Things are certainly on the way up for the 54-year-old manager. 

11) Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox

Good ol' Ozzie Guillen, the manager that so many people love to hate. 

While he has certainly been controversial (understatement) at times, there's no doubting the success that Guillen has had as manager of the Chicago White Sox.

In just his second season with the team, Guillen led the Sox to 99 wins and a dominant run through the playoffs that resulted in a World Series championship. Throw in the fact that the White Sox were 13th in payroll that season, and it's even more impressive.

Guillen's harsh "tactics" seem to be wearing off, however. The White Sox payroll has increased since that World Series while the success has decreased.

That's not a sign of a good manager.

Guillen is aggressive and fearless with his players and the media, and while it has worked to an extent, you have to think he's treading on thin ice.

10) Fredi Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves

The word that comes to mind when trying to describe Fredi Gonzalez's career as a manager is "meh."

It hasn't been terrible, but it hasn't been spectacular either. It's been so-so. 

In three-and-a-half seasons with the Florida Marlins before getting fired, Gonzalez compiled a record of 276-279. Pretty much the definition of average.

This season, however, Gonzalez is leading the Braves to their best season since the early 2000's. 

He deserves a lot of credit, as he has gotten a lot out of an extremely young pitching staff. 

9) Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers

He's only in his first season as a manager, but what an impressive one it has been for Ron Roenicke.

As head coach, Roenicke has led the Brew Crew to a 76-52 record, putting them eight-and-a-half games ahead of the second-place Cardinals in a very good NL Central division.

The Brewers are on pace to finish the season with the most wins in franchise history, and Roenicke has certainly done an astounding job, but it will be interesting to see how he holds up in his first—ever playoffs. 

8) Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox

It's hard to criticize a guy who has brought two World Series titles to Boston, but what exactly did Terry Francona do to impress anyone before he got there?

In four years as manager for the Philadelphia, "Tito" led the Phillies to four losing seasons and two last place finishes.

Even in 1999 when the Phils had immense talent such as Mike Lieberthal, Scott Rolen, Ron Gant, Doug Glanville, Bobby Abreu and Curt Schilling, Francona only got 77 wins and a third place finish out of them.

He was fired in 2000 and four years later was hired as the Red Sox manager, and there's no overlooking the success he has had there.

Five 90-win seasons and two World Series championships is not too shabby.

Still though, Francona has often been criticized about his in-game managing skills, and his lack of success with the Phillies keeps him from jumping higher on this list.  

7) Ron Washington, Texas Rangers

The fact that the Texas Rangers wanted to keep manager Ron Washington after he tested positive for cocaine speaks quite highly to his managing aptitude, and he has backed that up the past few seasons.

Washington has led the Rangers to two straight winning seasons, including a World Series appearance last year, and he appears to be on the same track this season.

The 59-year-old got press in Moneyball for being an old-school manager who didn't accept sabermetrics, but it seems to be working for him as a head coach.

He's had a lot of toys to play with on offense, but he's made a starting pitching staff out of a lot of scraps. Here's to you, Mr. Washington.  

6) Bruce Bochy, San Francisco Giants

Bruce Bochy spent 12 seasons as manager of the San Diego Padres before making his way up I-5 to coach the San Francisco Giants. 

With the Padres, Bochy enjoyed mixed reviews, winning Manager of the Year in 1996 and leading San Diego to an NL pennant in 1998, but he also endured two 90-loss seasons. 

After Bochy made his move to San Fran, he went through two more 90-loss seasons, but management kept faith, and it paid off.

Bochy, of course, led the inexperienced Giants to a World Series last season, which was an impressive feat. 

5) Joe Girardi, New York Yankees

Having retired as a catcher in 2003, Joe Girardi is one of the youngest managers on this list. He doesn't come without his fair share of achievements, however.

In his only season with the Florida Marlins, Girardi led the team with the lowest payroll in the majors to a surprising 78 win season and run at the wild card.

Girardi was rewarded with both the MLB Manager of the Year award, and a swift kick out the door by Marlins management. 

Two years later, Girardi was hired by the New York Yankees. During his short stint there, he has won a World Series, led the Yanks to an ALCS, and has them primed for another deep playoff run.

Succeeding Joe Torre for one of the most stressful jobs in sports isn't an easy task, but Girardi has has passed with flying colors so far.

Whether he leads a low-salary or high-salary team, Girardi has shown he is up to any task, and appears to be one of the best up-and-coming managers in the game.

4) Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Mike Scioscia has been the Los Angeles Angels' manager since 2000, so it's pretty safe to say that they have been satisfied with him.

Throw in Manager of the Year awards in 2002 and 2009, a World Series title in 2002 and a career .549 winning percentage, and Scioscia has a pretty good resume.

Scioscia has been a terrific manager who has kept results very consistent throughout the last 10 years, and it's all the more impressive considering the fact he overcame radiation poisoning on The Simpsons back in 1992.  

3) Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are always forced to keep their payroll low, so they are constantly playing unproven players, yet manager Joe Maddon always seems to get the most out of the young guys. 

In his first two years with Tampa Bay, Maddon and the Rays struggled, but once he got acclimated, things started going great.

In 2008, Maddon led the Rays to 97 wins and an AL pennant en route to winning Manager of the Year. 

Since then, he has put together 84 and 96 win seasons, and has the Rays in contention again this season despite not being able to afford top players (see Crawford, Carl).

2) Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers

Of all the managers on this list, Jim Leyland is the most experienced, with 20 years of major league experience under his belt. 

Leyland has had his share of good and bad seasons.

He was the manager the last time the Pittsburgh Pirates were relevant, leading them to 90 win seasons in 1990, 91 and 92. 

He managed the Florida Marlins to a World Series and the Detroit Tigers, his current team, to an AL pennant. 

He also suffered some bad seasons, however, with Pittsburgh, and left the Colorado Rockies after one sub-par year.

All-in-all, Leyland has proven that he can win with any level of talent, and even though his decision making is somewhat, well, odd, they usually pan out.

The 66-year-old veteran is one of the best managers in the league today. 

1) Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia Philles

In 10 seasons with the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies, Charlie Manuel has led his teams to an average finish of 1.4 (1.4-st?). That's quite impressive.

Manuel led the Indians to two 90-win seasons before being fired because of a contract dispute.

In 2005, he was hired as the head coach for the Phillies, and after two second-place finishes, he has led them to four straight division titles, one World Series title and a second World Series appearance.

He is on his way to a fifth-straight division title, too.

Manuel's devotion to the job is second-to-none, and his immense success exemplifies that.

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