Q&A Time

The focus of today's Q&A with Dejan is, unsurprisingly, Jim Leyland. Some people agree with me, some people wonder why he isn't hired yet. Dejan gives his early handicapping of the candidates with the qualifier that Littlefield has made no indication who he's leaning towards and that Littlefield doesn't strike him as the type that will hire someone purely on the fact that they'll be a good PR move (which makes up pretty much all of Paul Meyer and Buster Olney's arguments for Leyland). Anyways, I tend to agree with Dejan's statement here:

Now, if you seek plain old guesswork, I would lean toward the Macha-Howe type. The most obvious reason is that they fit the criteria of having major-league experience. Kevin McClatchy, during his round of interviews the other day mentioned several times that he wanted someone with experience and, although he insists he will have nothing to do with the hiring process, his input surely counts. The other reason is that both Macha and Howe worked for Oakland's Billy Beane, who has a reputation for keeping a tight rein on all situations in the organization, including those that involve the manager. Littlefield is similar in that regard. Having someone as candid as Leyland, for instance, might not dovetail with the way he prefers to do business.

I would also add that they both have a good track record with young players, especially in Oakland. I would also caution to keep an eye open for someone that Littlefield has prior experience with, namely Jerry Manuel. The rest of the Q&A sees reader comments on Leyland and the hiring process and a bunch of stupid ryhmes trying to come up with a Duke/Maholm version of Spahn and Sain. Of course most of the entires ignore the format of the original poem, that there was more than just "Spahn and Sain and two days of rain." Still, there's some humorous stuff there.