Hargrove offers his opinion on Kirby

I woke up shivering this morning and noticed that my thermostat read 62 degrees. But I will not turn on the heat. I will, however, start wearing a little more clothing to bed. But you don't really need to know that, do you? Did anyone pick the Giants back in spring training to win the World Series this year? The starting pitching was impressive, but I kept hearing how they didn't have enough offense. Apparently, they have enough offense. Perhaps the Orioles will announce their coaching staff this week, before they become immersed in the organizational meetings in Arizona. Or they could wait until the conclusion. Either way, it should be finalized this week. That's the assumption. It's no secret that they're waiting to find out whether Don Wakamatsu gets a managing job. If not, he'll be the bench coach. But that's not necessarily the lone holdup. Looking for something to write about, I contacted former manager Mike Hargrove over the weekend regarding Wayne Kirby, who was an outfielder with the Indians from 1991 to 1996. The Orioles reportedly have sought permission to interview Kirby, the Rangers' outfield/baserunning coordinator. He's apparently on their list of coaching candidates. I remember Kirby for two reasons: He seemed a little short for a major league outfielder (he's listed at 5-11, and always looked smaller to me) and his brother is former NFL running back Terry Kirby. But I'm sure there's much more to him. Did Hargrove peg Kirby as coaching material when he managed him in Cleveland? "I did, surprisingly," Hargrove said this morning (about 10 minutes ago, actually.) "I always kind of looked at players in regard to seeing if I thought that they had that sort of mentality and ability, and I always thought Wayne did. He's a good guy. Great sense of humor. Real energetic. Works his butt off. And he's very knowledgeable about the game. He knows how to play to win and he knows how to win. "The first time I noticed him was when he was playing for Albuquerque in the PCL in 1989. He was a good player, always on base, always causing problems with his speed and athletic ability. He played center field at the time. And I was real happy when we got him. He was a good role player for us, a good left-handed pinch-hitter. He was a good baserunner, too, a good basestealer. He wasn't a burner, but he had better-than-average speed and understood jumps. And he knew how to play to win. A lot of guys don't know how to do that. "He was a great teammate. Never complained, always did what you asked him to do. If you asked for his opinion, he gave it to you. He wasn't shy about that. A lot of those things translate into being a good coach. "He was serious about his job and serious about working. He knew when it was time to work and play, and he knew when it was time to play and have fun. You'd listen to him talk and you'd laugh three-fourths of the time. "I don't know what Buck (Showalter) would have in mind for him, but to me, he'd be a great hire." Update: I turned on my heat.