From the Seattle Times we get this news of another hiring in the Atlanta Braves front office.
Dave Wallace was known as one of the better pitching coaches of his generation, helping to develop the arms of Orel Hersheiser, Pedro Martinez and John Wetteland, to name a few. The past two seasons, since leaving the Boston Red Sox in 2006 and spending a year with the Houston Astros, he'd been with the Mariners. His first job here was as a special assistant to GM Bill Bavasi, and then this past year as the team's minor league pitching co-ordinator. He worked closely with a number of young arms -- Mark Lowe, Brandon Morrow, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Phillippe Aumont, to name a few -- being groomed by the M's for better things.
But Wallace is moving on, having accepted a job with the Atlanta Braves.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik told me earlier tonight that he'd recevied a call from the Braves asking for permission to interview Wallace for a similar position. Wallace was told he could interview if he wanted and did, then informed the Mariners he was taking the job.
The Braves have spring training in Florida, where Wallace lives, and also have their minor league affiliates much closer to his home than did the Mariners.
He seems to be very well thought of around baseball, and he's more of a marquee name than some of the folks we've recently hired or promoted. I believe this is the position formerly held by Bruce Dal Canton, but I'm not sure who was in this position last season (my media guide is not with me). The position was formerly held by Kent Willis.