As Bobby V.'s inevitable hire draws near, it's instructive to try and figure out who the heck this guy is. Is he the tough disciplinarian that whipped a young Ranger team into shape or the clueless skipper who watched the Good Ship Met sink in a cloud a marijuana smoke in 2002? And, to paraphrase the great Bob Ryan, is he an 'old math' manager (instincts and hunches?) or a 'new math' guy (WAR and Pieces of Data?). Did he invent the sandwich 'wrap' or is he a slick ballroom dancer—or both? Is he an insufferable control freak who goes to battle with GMs or is he a mellow collaborator who can take advice?The problem is he has been described as all of these at one time or another over the years. He is a masked man (literally) and 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma' (with apologies to Winston Churchill). Hey, at least he won't be boring.
(PROVIDENCE JOURNAL PHOTO / BOB BREIDENBACH)