FanHouse BobBrenly

It's believed that the Milwaukee Brewers have their managerial search down to three candidates: Ken Macha, Bob Brenly, and Willie Randolph. As to when the Brewers will make their decision, nobody's quite sure, but it probably won't be announced until after the World Series is completed.

Of course Willie Randolph has other offers available to him besides the Brewers job. Both the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals have offered Willie a job as bench coach, but it's looking like Randolph has his sights set on the Brewers gig. According to a report out of New York, he's already told the Nationals he's not interested.

Willie Randolph turned down an opportunity to join the Washington Nationals' coaching staff, and if he doesn't get the Brewers' managing job, he'll probably sit out the 2009 season, a person familiar with the situation said.

Randolph, fired as Mets manager June 17, spoke with the Nationals about serving as either bench coach or third-base coach under manager Manny Acta, but he ultimately decided against working under Acta. The two men had a tenuous relationship in 2005 and 2006, when Acta worked as Randolph's third-base coach, because of Acta's strong alliance with Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice president of player development Tony Bernazard.

It's also reported in the same article that Ken Macha is the front-runner to land the Brewers job, so unless something changes, it looks like Willie will be sitting out the 2009 season.

Since 2004, Bob Brenly has been a steady and intelligent broadcast partner for Len Kasper in Chicago, but Brenly has never made any secret of his desire to eventually return to managing. The Milwaukee Brewers need a manager. You, citizen, must do the math:

So by deduction, we know what the Brewers will require of their next manager. He must have a calm, placid and reassuring personality wrapped around an old and wise baseball soul. Of all the candidates who have been mentioned for the job, Bob Brenly seems to present the closest match.

If this happens, Cubs fans will wave goodbye to an above-average baseball analyst. This is a surprisingly hard thing to replace.

In Milwaukee, this means a manager with a pretty good handle on the old and the new, who's also great with the media and apparently pretty laid back. That's just what Prince Fielder's diet needs. A little relaxation Also: More sausage. This vegan thing isn't going to cut it.

I kind of feel bad for Bob Brenly. He's from Ohio, working in the Cubs TV booth, and constantly reminding people that he'd like the Reds' semi-open managerial position, even though no one from the Reds seems to be paying attention. He said this once right after Jerry Narron was fired, and now that the Reds and Cubs are playing again, his name is resurfacing.

Former Arizona manager Bob Brenly, now working as a Chicago Cubs television analyst, said he has not heard from anyone from the Reds about their managerial opening.

But he would be interested.

"You're always interested," he said. "I'm an Ohio boy. I went to college in Ohio. I grew up as a fan of the Big Red Machine."

The Reds' next manager will likely depend on what owner Bob Castellini decides to do with general manager Wayne Krivsky this off-season. Krivksy is close friends with current interim-manager Pete Mackanin, who took over a Reds' team in July that was flat out awful and has had them playing slightly above .500 ball. If Castellini keeps his word and doesn't can Krivsky this off-season, it's probably a safe bet that he'll keep Mackanin in turn. If Krivsky gets the axe, well, someone might finally pay attention to Brenly.

Previously at FanHouse
Wayne Krivsky Gets a Vote of Confidence
Bob Brenly Is Interested, Are the Reds?

Yesterday Matt Watson told you that the Reds were interested in talking to Joe Girardi and Bob Brenly to fill their managerial position, currently filled by interim Pete Mackanin. Brenly seemed interested in the Reds' job, but said that no one had contacted him about it yet. He told the Chicago Sun-Times the same thing today.

''It's all rumors. I haven't heard anything from anybody,'' said Brenly, who added that if he got a call, ''I'd be interested in talking.''

[...]

The Reds reportedly have contacted former Cub Joe Girardi about the job, and interim manager Pete Mackanin has a strong relationship with general manager Wayne Krivsky.

I honestly haven't read any confirmation that the Reds have contacted even Girardi about the job yet (this stuff is always hush hush though). The last paragraph is the most telling one in the story, I think. GMs always tend to hire their friends. To a certain extent, a GM is putting themselves on the line with whatever manager they hire, so they go with people they trust. If Mackanin is friends with Wayne Krivsky, he's the front-runner for the job.

At the very least, I think Krivsky will give Mackanin the rest of the season as a tryout. Girardi is not interested in the Reds' job (I don't know that for a fact, but I think he's only interested in the Yankees job and his turning down the O's job didn't disprove that) and as recently as a month ago, I heard Brenly on the radio saying it would take a special job to get him out of the announcer's booth, where life is much less stressful. The Reds have to talk to guys like Girardi and Brenly for public appearance, but I'd be surprised if either ends up with the job.