New Head Loon

The Dodgers named Juan Bustabad as the new manager of the Great.Lakes.Looooooooooons.

Juan Bustabad has had success just about everywhere he's gone as a minor league manager. He doesn't expect anything different with the Great Lakes Loons at Dow Diamond in Midland.

Bustabad, who has been a manager for 12 seasons, was announced as the Loons' new manager on Wednesday, and spoke to reporters in a conference call.

"I'll tell the players, 'We play to win, and we don't expect (anything) else,'" said Bustabad, 46, a native of Cuba who has lived in the United States since he was four.

Bustabad succeeds Lance Parrish, who was the Loons' manager for their inaugural season in 2007. The Loons' parent club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, did not renew Parrish's contract after the Loons went 57-82.
As a manager, Bustabad - whose nickname is "Boosty" - has won seven division titles, had eight winning seasons, and compiled a record of 483-361.

Last season, he managed the Gulf Coast League Dodgers' rookie league team to a 40-15 record, a division title, and a berth in the GCL finals. Bustabad also managed the team to a division title in 2006 with a 32-22 record.

This ain't the Gulf Coast League. Kidding. Kidding. And look who is on the staff:

Bustabad's staff consists of hitting coach Garey Ingram, who returns to the Loons from last season, and pitching coach Danny Darwin, who pitched in the major leagues for 21 seasons.

Yep. That Danny Darwin.

Signed - Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Texas Rangers in 1976 May 10,1976 - Signed as undrafted amateur Free Agent by Rangers. Jan 18,1985 - Traded by Rangers with Bill Nance to Brewers for Don Slaught. Nov 12,1985 - Granted Free Agency. Dec 22,1985 - Signed as Free Agent by Brewers. Aug 15,1986 - Traded by Brewers to Astros for Mark Knudson and Don August. Nov 9,1987 - Granted Free Agency. Jan 8,1988 - Signed as Free Agent by Astros. Nov 7,1990 - Granted Free Agency. Dec 19,1990 - Signed as Free Agent by Red Sox. Oct 21,1994 - Granted Free Agency. Apr 10,1995 - Signed as Free Agent by Blue Jays. Jul 18,1995 - Released by Blue Jays. Jul 31,1995 - Signed as Free Agent by Rangers. Nov 11,1995 - Granted Free Agency. Feb 4,1996 - Signed as Free Agent by Pirates. Jul 23,1996 - Traded by Pirates to Astros for Rich Loiselle. Nov 6,1996 - Granted Free Agency. Feb 7,1997 - Signed as Free Agent by White Sox. Jul 31,1997 - Traded by White Sox with Roberto Hernandez and Wilson Alvarez to Giants for Ken Vining, Brian Manning, Bob Howry, Keith Foulke, Mike Caruso and Lorenzo Barcelo. Oct 30,1997 - Granted Free Agency. Dec 6,1997 - Signed as Free Agent by Giants. Nov 3,1999 - Granted Free Agency.