No Girardi...Now What?

Before I get started with this, Dave Trembley put Miggy in the starting lineup, let him bunt Brian Roberts over to second and immediately put Chris Gomez in as a pinch runner. His consecutive games streak intact, Tejada probably has some very good feelings about Mr. Trembley today...

Joe Girardi has turned down the job with the O's, not the biggest of surprises considering he is a hot commodity right now. The only chance the O's had was his relationship with Andy McPhail and the fact that the O's may offer him a lot of cash. But no dice. What's next? The other candidates:

Rick Dempsey: I'll start with Rick since my blog is dedicated to him but he probably has no chance in hell. In Rick's favor, I think the players would like him a lot and he is kind of an enthusiastic loose cannon in the Ozzie Guillen mode who could possibly jumpstart the team to short-term success. However, as you see in Guillen's case, that method only works for awhile. Like Girardi, he was a major league catcher.

Don Baylor: Don's going to get a call if for no other reason than he will fulfill the minority interview requirement. Baylor has had success, his Colorado teams overachieved at times but his Cub teams tended to underachieve. In Chicago, he managed Joe Girardi.

Davey Johnson: Peter Angelos could achieve the Steinbrenner dream by rehiring a successful manager he has previously fired. Davey has no recent track record, he last managed the Dodgers into second place in 2000 with 86 wins. He is the only manager on this list with a winning record throughout his career. Johnson managed the Orioles the 1996 ALCS against the Yankees, featuring Joe Girardi.

Jerry Manuel: The anti-Dempsey. He's boring. But he got results, he's a winning manager, if not a great manager. Not sure this is the kind of guy Baltimore needs right now though. He lived in Chicago at the same time as Joe Girardi.

That Bullpen Guy: The current manager needs to go on a tear, win 9 out of 10 while the managerial search continues to have a prayer of getting the job permanently but I do like some of the lineup changes he is trying. If he gets the job, he will really owe Joe Girardi.