It's All Over But the Shouting

OK, the media are saying that Clint Hurdle, 53, is in and will be announced as the Bucs new manager tomorrow.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says they'll have a press conference to usher Hurdle in at 11AM tomorrow. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the contract is for three years.

From 2002-09, Hurdle went 534-625 as the Rox manager, and in 2007 took Colorado to second place in the NL West and eventually the World Series thanks to a dazzling September run.

He played OF for a decade in the majors, hitting .259 with 32 homers and 193 RBI.

The Pirates got their man (or at least Eric Wedge's Plan B), saving them from considerable egg in the face if Hurdle took another job. Now comes the interesting part; who does he bring in to help him right the Bucco ship? it's surely more than a one man job.

A Little Movement?

Ken Rosenthal and Tracy Ringolsby of Fox Sports report that "The Pirates, sources said, have made a strong push within the past 48 hours to ensure that (Clint) Hurdle will be their next manager.

'It's moving forward at a rapid pace,' one source said."

They add that the Mets don't intend to change their timetable for selecting a manager, so Hurdle may take the sure thing in Pittsburgh rather than await the Mets' down-the-road decision.

It seems the major hang-up is the contract length; Neal Huntington has a year to go on his contract, and that may cause the Bucs second thoughts about extending Hurdle's deal longer than Huntington's, write Rosenthal and Ringolsby.

The Beat Goes On

No mercifully quick ending to the manager hunt; the drama will continue for a bit longer. Clint Hurdle will take his show to New York next week to interview for the Mets' vacant skipper's job after talking with the Bucco brass yesterday.

New York GM Sandy Alderson has already spoken with Bob Melvin and Dave Jauss, and will be meeting with Wally Backman, Terry Collins and Chip Hale this weekend in San Diego. Ken Oberkfell is also said to be in the mix. While Bobby Valentine appears to be the peoples' choice, there's nothing in the air to indicate that he'll get an interview for the post.

Alderson was just hired last week by New York, and only began manager interviews yesterday. It's thought that the Mets' process could take until late November, so if Hurdle is one of the finalists, it could be a couple of more weeks of waiting for the Pirate FO and fans.

Hey, good thing Chuck Tanner is still around, just in case...

Manger Search Continues (Yawn)

OK, Clint Hurdle is on the way to parlay, Jeff Banister is on the back burner, and Tony Pena is apparently not on the dance card. Big deal.

This team isn't going to leapfrog the rest of the division because of the managing. It needs some players, particularly those that can throw the ball. So don't get too involved in this searching for Waldo game (heck, it doesn't even look like the FO is that into it) and instead keep your eye on the signings, the 40-man roster changes, and the call-ups through April.

Then you'll have a clue what the 2011 Pirates - and beyond - are on their way to becoming. All the manager provides is the cherry on top.

Friday

Friday could tell us a little about the Bucco skipper search, since it's the travel day for the Series, and teams traditionally don't do anything during WS game days that would deflect attention from the October Classic.

They could bring in Tony Pena then, though we think that's unlikely; he would have been interviewed at the start of the week if he was being considered. The FO could announce that one of the three remaining candidates, most likely Jeff Banister, is the new bossman.

Or they could sit on their hands, telling us that they're waiting on a series coach to free up, like the Rangers' Clint Hurdle or Giants' bench coach Ron Wotus.

Scrub Sveum

Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that Dale Sveum had joined the list of candidates who were one and done after their initial interview.

Still standing are Jeff Banister, Bo Porter and Carlos Tosca, plus whoever the FO brings in next week; we expect that they'll continue to kick a couple of tires before making a decision. That's not unusual; Toronto, which seems to be leaning toward Boston's John Farrell, is said to have interviewed twenty candidates.

Scratch Another One

The beat guys report that Murrysville's Ken Macha is no longer under consideration for the Bucco manager's job. That's no big surprise; he was an unexpected addition to the list to start with.

Eric Wedge and John Gibbons are out of the running, having landed gigs. That leaves Jeff Banister, Bo Porter, Dale Sveum and Carlos Tosca as candidates interviewed.

Porter is thought to be the favorite for the Florida Marlins' skipper position, although in an interesting twist, the Fish are supposed to be waiting for a chance to interview Tony Pena before reaching a final decision.

We'll see who gets added to the interview list now that the playoff coaches are becoming available. As we've said, there's no rush to fill the job.

We Wonder...

There's been no smoke coming from the FO's campfire as they search for JR's replacement. None of the guys interviewed have come back for a second round of palaver.

We're wondering if they're waiting for a couple of playoff coaches to finish their runs - somebodies like Tony Pena of the Yankees or Ron Wotus of the Giants? Just sayin'...

Porter to Fish?

Bo Porter, one of the Seven Samurai who the Bucs interviewed, is said to be the front runner for the Florida marlin job, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.

That would leave five candidates remaining of the seven the Bucs have interviewed: Jeff Banister, John Gibbons, Kenny Macha, Dale Sveum, and Carlos Tosca. The first man the Pirates talked to, Eric Wedge, was officially announced today as Seattle's new manager.

Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk thinks that John Gibbons should be da man.

We'd expect that the Pirates would expand the list; there's not much of a need to fill the position right away. But the FO works in mysterious ways...

Wedge to Seattle

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports that Eric Wedge will be named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, according to baseball sources.

That news sure makes the Pirate hunt a lot more interesting.

Our feeling was that Wedge was easily the most qualified of the candidates. Now, we kinda like Dale Sveum out of the remaining pack; he's hard nosed, played the game right, and didn't seem to antagonize his team. But we expect the list to grow now; it won't be limited by the current list of guys interviewed. So stay tuned.

And Behind Door #7: John Tosca

The Pirates interviewed former Toronto Blue Jays skipper Carlos Tosca today, after was hired yesterday to become the bench coach in Atlanta for brand new Brave skipper Fredi Gonzalez, for whom Tosca worked with the Florida Marlins. Both were canned by the Fish in June.

Tosca, 57, became Toronto's bossman in 2002, and was dismissed during the 2004 season after putting together an 189-191 slate. He was Arizona's third-base coach from 2005-06 before becoming Florida's bench coach in 2007. Tosca also has 17 years under his belt as a minor league manager.

The Dragnet Continues

Dale Sveum, 47, a back-up Bucco infielder in 1996-97 and again in 1999, became the sixth candidate interviewed for the Pirate skipper job.

Part of the Pittsburgh 1997 "Freak Show," Sveum also managed at Altoona from 2001-03, went to Boston's staff, and has served as a Brewer coach since 2006.

The others interviewed so far are: Eric Wedge, Bo Porter, John Gibbons, Kenny Macha, and Jeff Banister.

A New Name

The Pirate beat writers are reporting that John Gibbons, the former Toronto manager and current KC bench coach, interviewed for the Pirate opening at skipper.

He was 305-305 with the Toronto Blue Jays. In his three full seasons (between 2005-07), he went 80-82, 87-75, and 83-79.; he was replaced by Cito Gaston in 2008.

Gibby is best known for his player confrontations with Dave Bush, Shea Hillenbrand, Ted Lilly and Frank Thomas.

-- John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus writes that Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo is also expected to be interviewed.

That Didn't Take Long...

The Pirate beat writers report that the Pirates interviewed former Indian skipper Eric Wedge, 48, today. Wedge was Cleveland's manager while Neal Huntington was in their front office.

Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk said in his post: "Wedge would be a perfectly fine choice for the Pirates. He has experience taking over a young team and helping them through the growing pains. Say what you want about some of those Indians teams, but the kids generally liked Wedge and the ship stayed level. The real problems came up when people, you know, actually expected something out of the Indians. Wedge was not good in that situation, but it's a situation that the Pirates won't be facing for some time."

Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette added that the Pirates have contacted Juan Samuel, 49, a current Oriole coach and interim manager until Buck Showalter was hired.

Rob Biertempfel's Tribune-Review article said that Phil Garner has "expressed interest" in the opening.

He also said that "the Pirates will announce who has been interviewed after each session is complete, but will not make any further comment."

Here They All Come

Hey, there's no short list and no hurry for the Bucco FO to find JR's replacement, so we thought we'd compile a list of likely suspects.

Shakespeare said "What's past is prologue," so we'll start with the 2007 candidates for the job who eventually lost out to JR; maybe the second time's the charm:

Joey Cora, 45, is the Chicago White Sox bench coach and interviewed for the 2007 opening. He spent 2004-07 as the third base coach until Ozzie Guillen came along. Cora is said to be in line for the Seattle position.

John Farrell, 43, is the Boston Red Sox pitching coach who turned down a 2007 interview. He's a former MLB pitcher who served as farm director in Cleveland before moving to Boston in 2007. Farrell is in the running for openings at Toronto and Seattle

Dave Jauss, 53, is currently the Mets bench coach and was interviewed in 2007. He was the Dodger bench coach from 2006-07, and the O's bench coach from 2008-09.

Torey Lovullo, 45, is the manager of the Boston Red Sox's Pawtucket AAA club. He was considered in the running in 2007, but never interviewed. Lovullo managed eight years in the Cleveland system, the last four in AAA, and was a finalist for the Indian managing job, losing out to Manny Acta and moving on to the Bosox organization.

Joel Skinner, 49, a former Indians third-base coach, interviewed for the 2007 job. He managed on an interim basis in 2002, was in the mix for the job Eric Wedge won, and left the big league staff to manage the AA Akron Aeros in 2010. He's the son of ex-Bucco LF'er Bob Skinner.

If they're looking to make a splash, these guys are available:

Clint Hurdle, 53, is the Ranger's hitting coach. He was the manager of the Colorado Rockies from 2002 to May, 2009 and posted a 534-625 slate.

Bobby Valentine, 60, managed the Rangers and the Mets, compiling a 1,117-1,072 record in 15 years, and was a candidate for the Oriole and Marlin jobs this year. He may or may not still be in the running for the Fish position.

Tim Wallach, 53, was the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004-06; then he became a minor league manager for the Blue. For the past two seasons, he's managed the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes and was named the PCL Manager of the Year this season. He was recently bypassed for the LA job by Don Mattingly.

Eric Wedge, 42, is the one-time Manager of the Year for the Indians, which he managed from 2003-06 with a 561-573 record and is considered the front-runner at this early stage of the game. He has already had interviews with the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays.

The list of old Bucs who may get some interest:

Dave Clark, 48, third-base coach of the Astros. He served on an interim basis briefly, and interviewed for the 'Stros head job in 2009.

Phil Garner, 61, has compiled a 985-1054 record in 15 years as skipper of the Brewers, Tigers and Astros. He's been out of pro ball since 2008, and isn't likely to be in the running.

Ken Macha, 60, the newly fired Brewer manager and former Oakland A's skipper is a Monroeville native, and interviewed for the Pirate job in 2005. He's a very long shot; he lobbied for the job in 2007 but was never given an interview.

Tony Pena, 53, managed the KC Royals from 2002-05, with one good year and one terrible one, and since has been on the Yankee staff as a first base coach and now bench coach. He interviewed for the job that eventually went to Joe Girardi. Pena is a candidate for the Marlin job.

Willie Randolph, 56, the former New York Mets manager, was traded by the Bucs as a rookie for Doc Medich. He was the Brewers' bench coach.

Ted Simmons, 61, is a former Buc GM and has a scouting and player development background. He's now the Padres' bench coach.

Dale Sveum, 47, was the third base coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2004-05. He left the Red Sox to rejoin the Brewers as the team's bench coach, later becoming the third base coach and was the hitting coach until yesterday. Sveum briefly served as the Brew Crew's interim manager in 2008.

Ron Wotus, 49, has a decade of experience as a minor league manager, winning the PCL Manager of the Year, and has been the bench coach of the Giants since 2000.

Our short list would be Cora, Farrell, Hurdle, Wedge, Sveum and Wotus. We'll see if Neal Huntington agrees; his job depends on making the right choice.