Walt Weiss receives 1-year deal as Rockies manager

The Colorado Rockies signed new manager Walt Weiss to a one-year deal Wednesday that makes the former Rockies shortstop the sixth manager in team history. Weiss, 48, was head coach at Regis Jesuit High School, in Aurora, Colo., last season.

Though Weiss has never coached in professional ball, he did spend seven years serving as special assistant to the general manager for Colorado, a position in which he instructed and scouted for the Rockies. Former teammate Dante Bichette compared playing with Weiss to his experience with current Yankees skipper Joe Girardi:

"I would put Walt up there with (Joe) Girardi as the two guys I played with that had the most respect on the field because of how they carried themselves and how they played the game," said former Rockies star Dante Bichette. "Obviously leading a team is different, but they sure handled themselves well."

Weiss says that the one-year deal doesn't bother him and that he is "just focused on the job." Weiss also told The Denver Post that there will be "things that I won't foresee that will be part of the job... I will lean on guys around me and get help with the logistics about that part of the job."

Weiss' staff is not yet selected. Weiss thinks that his coaches will be selected from in-house candidates.