Alou will decide on Thursday whether to join Tigers

DETROIT -- Felipe Alou plans to decide on Thursday if he will accept the Detroit Tigers' three-year offer to join the organization.

"I'm either going to my home in the Dominican Republic or I'm going to Minneapolis with the Tigers," he said Wednesday from his home in Florida.

The Tigers want the 66-year-old former Montreal manager to spend at least one year as Luis Pujols' bench coach, with an option to be a special assistant for two years.

Tigers president Dave Dombrowski was an Expos executive while Alou was with Montreal. Pujols was on Alou's staff from 1993-00.

Dombrowski hired Pujols as manager for the rest of the season and fired two coaches Tuesday, one day after dismissing manager Phil Garner and general manager Randy Smith.

"David Dombrowski will be successful, with our without me, I'm confident of that," Alou said. "He's done it in two places (Montreal and Florida) and he'll do it in Detroit. And I will always be there for Luis, whether I'm his bench coach or not."

Detroit entered Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox as baseball's lone winless team. The Tigers begin a three-game series in Minnesota on Friday.

"I'm still 50-50, and so is the advice I've gotten from a lot of people," Alou said. "One of my best friends said to take the job because I know those people.

"But other people said, turn it down, it's not a managerial job. But then there are relatives, close friends and baseball people that are telling me I should get back out there and let the world know that I'm still in baseball."


http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0410/1366222.html


Bench coach? Special assistant?

I think this offer is beneath Felipe. I'd like to see him back as a manager somewhere.