Perrotto says it's Russell

I know that John Perrotto's not exactly the most reliable source, but with an announcement coming on Monday regarding our new manager, I'm willing to believe that someone other than Neal Huntington, Frank Coonelly, and they mystery man know the identity of our new manager, so I'll link to Perrotto's article that says John Russell is that man.

I'm completely with everyone that says it's not worth getting worked up over whoever ends up getting the job. Huntington and Coonelly's work that has to be done is in the front office and with rebuilding the organization from the bottom up. Russell is just the guy that has to try and keep the ship from sinking too far in 2008. I know he's been here before (he was Mac's third base coach from 2003-2005), which makes him a part of the "culture of losing", but I've heard his name come up in conjunction with other jobs before and it's not like he's a Pirate lifer (like, say Jewett, who's been in the org forever). In fact, I definitely prefer him to Jewett and Cora, I'm pretty neutral on Skinner, and I don't know anything about Jauss.

Oh, and let's not forget that this is a Perrotto rumor, which means buckle up and stay tuned until Monday.

UPDATE: It's all over the place now, so it looks like it's for real. Russell is the pick.